View Full Version : Marijuana Inc: Inside America's Pot Industry
zuluzerosix
05-18-2009, 12:49
This was on last night. Intersting show on the pot industry. The show specifically mentioned Mendocino County, where I live. It showed an indoor grow that was seized just a few block from my house.
Link:
Marijuana Inc: Inside America's Pot Industry (http://www.cnbc.com/id/28281668/)
Future show times:
Monday, May 18th 12a ET
Monday, May 25th 12p | 10p ET
Tuesday, May 26th 1a ET
From what I know of in my home town, it seems pretty accurate. FYI, I am surrounded by pot growers. Both my neighbors grow, and my neighbor behind me grows also. I live about 300 clicks from the County main offices, the sheriff station, the jail and the high school. We are all on the same street.
Here are the economics:
Outdoor plants yield up to 3 pounds of bud-each pound sells for $1800-2200, depending on quality. 1 crop per year.
Indoor plants yield up to 1 -1.5 pounds PER LIGHT. A pound of indoor sells for about $2500-3300. Up to 3 crops per year.
The money is staggering. It is in your face here. This is how you get started. You go see a "Doctor" that writes you a reccomandation for Medical Marijuana Usage. The average cost is $150 for this visit....You take that to County Social Services Office and get a Prop 215 Card. It looks like your license. Then you can grow 6 plants. This is strictly for medicinal purposes only.
The selling part of course is illegal. Kick door home invasions are on the rise. They are getting more and more violent. My nightmare is someone kicking in my door at night because the home invaders have the wrong house. I also worry about the police kicking in my door and rolling in flash bangs because they have the wrong house.
Where there is drugs, legal or not-there is money. Where there is money there are weapons. Eventually comes the violence.
IMHO this state is is at a critical mass. It is just a matter of time before we implode.
Anyway, it was a good show. If you have not seen it I encourage you to see it. It will confirm what you were thinking about where California is headed.
The Reaper
05-18-2009, 13:20
This was on last night. Intersting show on the pot industry. The show specifically mentioned Mendocino County, where I live. It showed an indoor grow that was seized just a few block from my house.
Link:
Marijuana Inc: Inside America's Pot Industry (http://www.cnbc.com/id/28281668/)
Future show times:
Monday, May 18th 12a ET
Monday, May 25th 12p | 10p ET
Tuesday, May 26th 1a ET
From what I know of in my home town, it seems pretty accurate. FYI, I am surrounded by pot growers. Both my neighbors grow, and my neighbor behind me grows also. I live about 300 clicks from the County main offices, the sheriff station, the jail and the high school. We are all on the same street.
Here are the economics:
Outdoor plants yield up to 3 pounds of bud-each pound sells for $1800-2200, depending on quality. 1 crop per year.
Indoor plants yield up to 1 -1.5 pounds PER LIGHT. A pound of indoor sells for about $2500-3300. Up to 3 crops per year.
The money is staggering. It is in your face here. This is how you get started. You go see a "Doctor" that writes you a reccomandation for Medical Marijuana Usage. The average cost is $150 for this visit....You take that to County Social Services Office and get a Prop 215 Card. It looks like your license. Then you can grow 6 plants. This is strictly for medicinal purposes only.
The selling part of course is illegal. Kick door home invasions are on the rise. They are getting more and more violent. My nightmare is someone kicking in my door at night because the home invaders have the wrong house. I also worry about the police kicking in my door and rolling in flash bangs because they have the wrong house.
Where there is drugs, legal or not-there is money. Where there is money there are weapons. Eventually comes the violence.
IMHO this state is is at a critical mass. It is just a matter of time before we implode.
Anyway, it was a good show. If you have not seen it I encourage you to see it. It will confirm what you were thinking about where California is headed.
Shocking.
How far do you think a "click" is, BTW?
I would make sure that my address was prominently displayed on the house and by the curb with large numbers and letters.
TR
zuluzerosix
05-18-2009, 14:03
Shocking.
How far do you think a "click" is, BTW?
I would make sure that my address was prominently displayed on the house and by the curb with large numbers and letters.
TR
Oh man, I meant 300 Meters. A "Click" or kilometer, is 1000 meters. I missed the 300 meter target on thet one! But my POT numbers are accurate.
It's crazy here, sir. I get folks in here with lunch sacks, filled with cash. Often there is residue on the cash. The entire store will smell of pot. I am just a working stiff trying to make it. My wife is a stiff also. She works at Juvi Hall. County employees just took a 10% cut in pay.
But if grew pot, I could make alot of cash. It is not right that 2/3 of our local economy (according to cnbc) is pot driven.
We ain't right in this state.
zuluzerosix
05-18-2009, 14:23
Just in: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/18/BASQ17MIN1.DTL&feed=rss.bayarea
U.S. Supreme Court rejects Prop. 215 challenge
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, May 18, 2009
(05-18) 12:13 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- California's medical marijuana law survived its most serious legal challenge today as the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals by two counties that argued they were being forced to condone violations of federal drug laws.
The justices, without comment, denied a hearing to officials from San Diego and San Bernardino counties who challenged Proposition 215, an initiative approved by state voters in 1996 that became a model for laws in 12 other states. It allows patients to use marijuana for medical conditions with their doctor's recommendation.
The counties specifically objected to legislation requiring them to issue identification cards that protect holders from arrest by state or local police for possessing small amounts of marijuana for medical use.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government can enforce its laws against marijuana to prosecute users and suppliers of the drug in California and the other 12 states. The Obama administration has said it will target only traffickers who violate state as well as federal laws, although it has not stopped U.S. attorneys from raiding dispensaries that operate with local government approval.
Prop. 215 remains in effect despite federal enforcement efforts that began as soon as it passed. In the counties' case, the Supreme Court left intact a state ruling last year that said California remains free to decide whether to punish drug users under its own laws.
"The purpose of the (federal law) is to combat recreational drug use, not to regulate a state's medical practices," the Fourth District Court of Appeal in San Diego said in the July 31 decision.
In seeking Supreme Court review, San Diego and San Bernardino counties argued that the federal drug law overrides Prop. 215 and that they should not be required to issue identification cards allowing conduct that violates federal law.
Medical marijuana advocates were relieved by today's order.
"This was the most threatening case to state medical marijuana laws, the only one that tried to invalidate state laws," said attorney Graham Boyd of the American Civil Liberties Union, which defended the California law in the appeals court.
"No longer will local officials be able to hide behind federal law and resist upholding California's medical marijuana law," said Joe Elford, lawyer for Americans for Safe Access, which also took part in the case. He said the decision would strengthen his organization's case against the two counties and eight others that have refused to issue the identification cards.
The cases are San Diego County vs. San Diego NORML, 08-887, and San Bernardino County vs. California, 08-897
greenberetTFS
05-18-2009, 14:30
Oh man, I meant 300 Meters. A "Click" or kilometer, is 1000 meters. I missed the 300 meter target on thet one! But my POT numbers are accurate.
It's crazy here, sir. I get folks in here with lunch sacks, filled with cash. Often there is residue on the cash. The entire store will smell of pot. I am just a working stiff trying to make. My wife is a stiff also. She works at Juvi Hall. County employees just took a 10% cut in pay.
But if grew pot, I could make alot of cash. It is not right that 2/3 of our local economy (according to cnbc) is pot driven.
We ain't right in this state.
ZZ6,
I read the article,it is absolutely amazing what's going on out there, just unbelievable .......:rolleyes: My advise is to get out of there and go back to Houston..;)
GB TFS :munchin
zuluzerosix
05-18-2009, 14:37
ZZ6,
I read the article,it is absolutely amazing what's going on out there, just unbelievable .......:rolleyes: My advise is to get out of there and go back to Houston..;)
GB TFS :munchin
Working on it!
You have to understand that this is a Local Government trying to get a ruling from the US SC. They were trying to get them to rule to force a change to the state. They were not going to be sucked in on that play.
Flip to the Federal Authority......
Until they change the Fed Law the Feds will continue to Enforce the Federal law.
No one from the USAG's office has moved on that stance and until they remove it from the books or make Medical use legal on the Federal statues we in DEA will continue to bust the dopers that are dealing with a pretext of doing it for medical use......
zuluzerosix
05-18-2009, 15:51
You have to understand that this is a Local Government trying to get a ruling from the US SC. They were trying to get them to rule to force a change to the state. They were not going to be sucked in on that play.
Flip to the Federal Authority......
Until they change the Fed Law the Feds will continue to Enforce the Federal law.
No one from the USAG's office has moved on that stance and until they remove it from the books or make Medical use legal on the Federal statues we in DEA will continue to bust the dopers that are dealing with a pretext of doing it for medical use......
I sat with a DEA agent in my office for over an hour we talked about the pot problem here. He told me flat out the fed just are not interested in prosecuting
small time growers. The want the big growers. The 6-12 plant growers cost too much time and resources to prosecute with little result.
zuluzerosix
05-18-2009, 16:09
This is from 01/28/2009: This is the wife of one of our public defenders. We as a state, are screwed.
Bust yields 162 pounds of marijuana
The Salt Lake Tribune
Daily Journal reports
A Ukiah woman has been arrested in Utah after a traffic stop ended in a drug bust.
Deborah K. Schlosser, 56, of Ukiah was stopped by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper as she traveled through Salt Lake County Saturday evening.
The trooper stopped Schlosser around 8 p.m. as she drove eastbound on Interstate 80 toward Salt Lake City, said UHP Sgt. Larry Mower. The trooper pulled Schlosser over just after she'd crossed the Tooele County Line after observing her swerving on the road, he said.
The trooper, who was working with a canine named Tank, asked Schlosser if he could search her vehicle after the dog indicated drugs were possibly inside, Mower said.
The trooper and Tank discovered five or six large duffle bags full of suspected pot in the back of her charcoal gray Toyota Tundra.
Utah Highway Patrol arrested a woman on Interstate 80 with what has been identified as 162 pounds of marijuana. The street value of the drugs is estimated at $600,000, Mower said. The woman was arrested and booked at the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Schlosser was not cooperating with investigators late Saturday evening, Mower said. Before the trooper searched her vehicle and found the drugs she told him that she was from California and was driving to visit friends in Minnesota, he said.
dmgedgoods
05-18-2009, 16:27
#
BigJimCalhoun
05-18-2009, 19:14
I am curious what percentage of those on "medical marijuana" in San Francisco turn around and immediately sell it to those under 18 in order to take that proceeds and then buy other drugs.
Denver legalized a small amount of marijuana as did Massachusetts. But neither legalized the cultivation, sales, import, distribution etc. To me, that seems to just embolden gangs and illegal activity. Instead of that bogus 90 percent of guns.... argument, the politicians should be saying, "our semi-legalization and turning a blind eye to marijuana has allowed Mexican gangs even more of a market"...
Fiercely Loyal
05-18-2009, 20:09
Oh man, I meant 300 Meters. A "Click" or kilometer, is 1000 meters. I missed the 300 meter target on thet one! But my POT numbers are accurate.
Been hanging out with the neighbors a bit much eh? That isn't wood smoke in the air.
In British Columbia the indoor grows are so numerous they do not even prosecute because the police do not have the time. They do multiple raids everyday & only have time to destroy the plants & confiscate the equipment.
x/S
Fiercely Loyal
05-18-2009, 20:14
I sat with a DEA agent in my office for over an hour we talked about the pot problem here. He told me flat out the fed just are not interested in prosecuting
small time growers. The want the big growers. The 6-12 plant growers cost too much time and resources to prosecute with little result.
We are running into similar problems in Alaska. At one time we were the number 1 location for indoor pot growing / busts. Meth became a larger problem and had to focus on it more. Hell even the locals knew where the PD was taking the evidence after the case was dismissed or finished so they could get their equipment back. Now they destroy all the lamps and assemblies. They aren't too cheap from what I recall. We also have a state law about legal amount of marijuana in your home which is a misconception about the total legality of it since federal trumps state.
mojaveman
05-18-2009, 20:32
The problem is bad in Socal too. The large indoor cultivation operations are mostly done by Asian gangs. A large grow was busted only a block from my house. The criminals came to my white middle class neighborhood in '06 and paid 750K for a 2500 square foot house that sits on about half an acre. It also has a 2000 square foot corregated metal workshop that sits behind the house. They began growing immediately and after only a few months the Police got wise to what they were doing and raided the place. The entire growing operation was automated and there was nobody there when the officers came. The gangs that do this have so much money that they just consider it a small loss when they get shut down and go buy another house and start growing again.
That is it in a nutshell. The feds ingore the "small" grower in northern CA. They used to not go after anyone with less than 100 plants. They leave it up to the local and state authorties to go after anything less than 100 plants. That was about five yers ago, the number may have changed since then.
You ARE both right. We go after the larger cases because the locals should handle the small jobs. We in the Fed LEO side are after Larger Org's that make a bigger impact. The 100 plant thing is a rule of thumb by office not an agency rule. You break the law we will arrest you. It may be handed to the locals to prosecute or tried in Fed Court depending all factors and the AUSA.........
Just like the locals you need the DA to prosecute or you go no where.
Do the dead be prepared to do the time.
Fiercely Loyal
05-19-2009, 04:25
There is also the other common misconception we have up in AK. That less than 100 plants and it is ok. That you aren't breaking laws. So does DEA recruit directly out of active duty SF that are looking to ETS or retire?
There is also the other common misconception we have up in AK. That less than 100 plants and it is OK. That you aren't breaking laws. So does DEA recruit directly out of active duty SF that are looking to ETS or retire?
No DEA does not even go out and recruit from the military. You have the Age cutoff for being a FED LEO (1811) so it is hard to retire and get in. I am a rare thing here. Be aware if the DA or AUSA and agent want you bad enough you only have to have broken the law and they go after you. It just depends how bad they want you. Piss them off and they dig their heals in and you are screwed. Always be nice to the Cop and you may be let off with a warning...... Be bitchy with them and they will dig into you and they will find enough to charge you........ Daddy always said say YES SIR and NO SIR and be Polite.
OH NEVER SAY YES WHEN THEY ASK IF YOU WOULD MIND IF THEY SEARCH YOUR CAR........ That is just dumb........ You Say YES and you are going to have problems, if they have probable cause they will not ask and just do it.
Just my 2 cents
dmgedgoods
05-19-2009, 08:22
#
I have a question. When I drive, I set my speed control exactly on the speed limit.(I have a heavy foot) 3 times I have been stopped in 2 different southern states for what I don't know. I am an average, graying middle aged white guy driving an average middle aged guys 4 door sedan. They always check out the back seat and once asked to look in my trunk. Is it possible these are stops looking for drugs? Or maybe stops to avoid "profiling" charges? It doesn't bother me, I am not mad. If it helps stop drug trafficking, great, it is a small inconvenience. But I have been curious about it. By the way, I always address the officers as sir and they are always polite in return. Any thoughts?
The Reaper
05-19-2009, 09:00
Nobody drives at exactly the speed limit unless they are geriatric, or doing something they do not want to get stopped for. You drive the speed limit on an interstate highway on a trafficking route, you meet a profile, and by stopping you, they check the box for racial diversity.
TR
BigJimCalhoun
05-19-2009, 09:57
The drug trade is there regardless of legalized medical marijuana or not. I'm not saying it doesn't happen...there are several cases of medical growers selling out the back door. But for the actual "patient" selling their pot? You have to remember that these "patients" pay a premium for services rendered. As a business minded individual, I would have to say the money just isn't there.
Emboldening Mexican gangs? I have heard this several times across the country. Coming from an area where marijuana is as easy to get as anything at the local drug store, I consistently disagree. In my area alone, the Hells Angels and local Mexican gangs could care less about pot. Meth, cocaine, and heroine are the money makers. These gangs can still pull a premium within these markets, and do so on a daily basis.
Drugs are available everywhere, and are all too easy to get. The drug dealers and cultivators that have the biggest impact are those on the larger side of the scale. John Doe may grow 10 plants and sell the weed out his back door and buy a new motorcycle. Jane Doe may grow 10000 plants and use the money to traffic guns into border towns along the Mexican border. You really need to pick your fight carefully, especially with the marijuana trade. The last I heard, pot was the largest cash crop that America has. I feel the DEA and other federal agencies are doing a good job going for the big dogs, and trying to take the money out at the top. In the Bay Area, you rarely saw DEA actively engaging small time grow ops, or even medical facilities for that matter. As said before, the small stuff is left for the local officials to deal with.
Even in California, this is still a contentious issue that is hotly debated. We should see California as a bellwether for further federal action. I am all for strict drug enforcement, so let's see how it pans out in the Peoples Republic.
Shawn
Roger that sir.
At what point is legalization discussed as an option? I don't see many Mexican gangs getting rich off of whiskey.
Defender968
05-19-2009, 15:19
I have a question. When I drive, I set my speed control exactly on the speed limit.(I have a heavy foot) 3 times I have been stopped in 2 different southern states for what I don't know. I am an average, graying middle aged white guy driving an average middle aged guys 4 door sedan. They always check out the back seat and once asked to look in my trunk. Is it possible these are stops looking for drugs? Or maybe stops to avoid "profiling" charges? It doesn't bother me, I am not mad. If it helps stop drug trafficking, great, it is a small inconvenience. But I have been curious about it. By the way, I always address the officers as sir and they are always polite in return. Any thoughts?
I completely agree with TR, if you get tired of getting stopped set your cruise at 4 over, (with few exceptions like Virginia) you're very unlikely to get pulled over at all. Above 5 over and you have some chance (though still small IMO) of getting pulled. In some states such as NC there's no Points at 9 mph over the limit or below, so most LEO's wait for the magic 10 mph over the limit to pull, unless of course they're looking for something other than speeders.
dmgedgoods
05-19-2009, 18:09
#
greenberetTFS
05-19-2009, 19:00
Nobody drives at exactly the speed limit unless they are geriatric, or doing something they do not want to get stopped for. You drive the speed limit on an interstate highway on a trafficking route, you meet a profile, and by stopping you, they check the box for racial diversity.
TR
TR,
I'm amazed,you mean to say that they do "profiling" in the PD's here in the south.......:rolleyes: How shocking..........:p And by the way, I'm a geriatric and I do set my speed control at the speed limit,and haven't been stopped yet......... ;) Maybe it's the wheel chair I've got on the lift in back of the car!
GB TFS :munchin
incarcerated
05-19-2009, 23:25
Last week, I was listening to inmates discuss their ‘medical’ marijuana use. Felons love it. And it is a total scam, just a way around the law.
I have a brother-in-law with 30+ years in w/ the Forrest Service and BLM in No. Cal. In 1993, he told me about the prevalence of pot farms on public lands, and about how the growers had gotten themselves elected to County Gov’t office in most of the poorer counties in the northern half of the state, and thus controlled local government. His job is Timber Management, and there were places in the Ntl Forests that he couldn’t go because of the booby traps, dogs and armed men. This has not changed.
In the time since, my hunting friends have reported a steady closure of fire roads and semi-improved back-country roads on public lands in the state. Several other people have suggested to me that the environmentalists don’t give a rip about preserving ‘Old Growth’ forests and Spotted Owls: they just want to limit access to prime pot growing areas.
Consider the influence of this on kids.
The Mexican Cartels needn’t come north: the state will produce its own Cartels. And with them, corruption and violence will follow. The state legislature is dominated by Democrats who demonstrate no desire to act against drugs. We risk turning into a Mexico-North.
zuluzerosix
05-20-2009, 09:46
I am curious what percentage of those on "medical marijuana" in San Francisco turn around and immediately sell it to those under 18 in order to take that proceeds and then buy other drugs.
Denver legalized a small amount of marijuana as did Massachusetts. But neither legalized the cultivation, sales, import, distribution etc. To me, that seems to just embolden gangs and illegal activity. Instead of that bogus 90 percent of guns.... argument, the politicians should be saying, "our semi-legalization and turning a blind eye to marijuana has allowed Mexican gangs even more of a market"...
Yep!
Fiercely Loyal
05-20-2009, 11:45
His job is Timber Management, and there were places in the Ntl Forests that he couldn’t go because of the booby traps, dogs and armed men.
Similar problems in Northern Idaho where my family has been out on public lands. My grandparents went on a nice summer drive and were heading into the mountains in a very well known public access area. As they came into an open area they could see two armed men on 4 wheelers come speeding out of the woods and block the road about 300 meters in front of them. They continued forward a bit thinking they were locals out riding and it became clear that they were not when they began posturing themselves in an aggressive manner. My grandparents turned the truck around and started to head out and they were escorted by the armed men all the way to the main road.
zuluzerosix
05-20-2009, 17:07
The growers actually post no tresspassing signs on public lands here. If you don't have a map handy you would not know it was forest service land.
Don't forget about the booby traps. I won't describe any here today, but they are out there and nasty. We find them all time on my father-in-law's spread. We can't let the kids wonder the woods anyway, because of bears and mountain lions, but the booby traps add an additional danger.
greenberetTFS
05-20-2009, 18:24
Had a chat with Bryan last night and he brought me up to date on this issue......:rolleyes: Read his last post, he explains it pretty clearly I think...........;)
GB TFS :munchin
incarcerated
05-20-2009, 19:08
U.S. Supreme Court refuses hearing on medical marijuana question
May 20, 12:59 PM
Two counties in California, San Diego and San Bernardino, had sought to exclude themselves from the state law requiring they provide identification cards to persons qualified for California’s medical marijuana program. The counties brought the suit on the legal question of whether the state law was preempted by the federal ban on marijuana. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the case, a move which ends the appeals process in the case.
California’s Medical Marijuana Program Act, enacted in 2004, legalizes medical marijuana for qualified patients in the state who possess proper identification cards. Recreational use of marijuana is still illegal in the state. Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse, is not approved for any medical use, and is banned nationwide.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision would have set legal precedent as to whether states can apply marijuana laws which differ from federal laws. In Colorado, law enforcement agents have the same difficulty with judgment calls about jurisdiction: medical marijuana is legal in the state, and Denver has passed laws making marijuana possession the lowest priority for police officers, yet that does not mean a person will not be arrested and prosecuted under federal laws.
http://www.examiner.com/x-6256-Denver-Legal-News-Examiner~y2009m5d20-US-Supreme-Court-refuses-hearing-on-medical-marijuana-question
BigJimCalhoun
05-20-2009, 20:50
Don't forget about the booby traps. I won't describe any here today, but they are out there and nasty. We find them all time on my father-in-law's spread. We can't let the kids wonder the woods anyway, because of bears and mountain lions, but the booby traps add an additional danger.
Heard something about fish-hooks at eye level.
zuluzerosix
05-21-2009, 09:20
It is probably not a good idea to get into booby traps here in the open, some hip liberal hippy watchdog will say we are posting information on making them here. These open forums are searchable from the internet. Descretion.
greenberetTFS
05-21-2009, 10:41
That is one of their many tricks. Punji steaks, bear traps, pits, shotgun shells in pipes set to go off, trip wires.................. the list goes on.
BO,
How in the hell do these guys get away this? :rolleyes: It's just unreal what is going on there....... :confused: Maybe if a LEO would be one of the people hurt out there it would be a different,I don't know............:(
GB TFS :munchin
zuluzerosix
05-21-2009, 12:37
BO,
How in the hell do these guys get away this? :rolleyes: It's just unreal what is going on there....... :confused: Maybe if a LEO would be one of the people hurt out there it would be a different,I don't know............:(
GB TFS :munchin
If an LEO was injured, it would be WAR. Then again, sometimes LEO's run point for these guys. In this little town of 16K, we have enough folks carrying CCW's to sustain a small insurgency. This is one of the easiest places to get a CCW. The dopers don't just have weapons, they have them legally.
There is no short supply of assault weapons under the table either. Our Gun Club offers combat pistol and combat shotgun courses. The dopers are networked, well armed and the big growers have support.
A doper can purchase all his supplies and get great "how to"and instruction here:
http://hydropacific.com/
The DEA, really doesn't get much support here. Unless we are talking 100 plants or more, Meth, weapons and/or combination of them.
Where there is amajor grow operation, there will most certainly be cash, weapons, Meth or Coke (sometimes both) and Mob or Gang connections.
Remember, our former DA, made this possible. He is dead now, but read this:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/22/BAGUKLAN2P1.DTL&type=printable
Norman Vroman, the outspoken district attorney of Mendocino County who fought to decriminalize marijuana and once served nine months in a federal prison for refusing to file federal income taxes, died Thursday of cardiac arrest.
Mr. Vroman, whose unconventional personality and positions made him a controversial figure much of his career, was taken to Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa after his heart stopped Tuesday, but he never regained consciousness. He was 69.
He was, in many ways, the perfect top prosecutor for the rugged, mountainous region known as the Emerald Triangle, where marijuana is said to sprout like mushrooms from the forest floor.
He was a tough but compassionate outdoorsman and a staunch defender of the Constitution who left a promising legal career in Southern California for a land where overalls are standard garb.
Born in Los Angeles in 1936, he was given up for adoption three weeks after his birth. He grew up in San Dimas, in San Bernardino County. An industrious youth from the beginning, he drove an ambulance when he was still a teenager and was hired by the Pomona Police Department when he was only 18.
He earned a law degree from the University of Colorado in 1961 and began working for the Los Angeles County district attorney. He was appointed to a judgeship in San Bernardino County by Ronald Reagan in 1971, when he was only 35, said his daughter, Kathryn Vroman Benner.
Mr. Vroman also worked as a private practice criminal defense lawyer in Southern California before deciding he had had enough of the rat race. In 1975, he moved to Willits, where he worked as a cattle rancher, then in real estate.
In 1980, he decided to begin practicing law again, but was determined never to wear a suit.
"He didn't like wearing suits because it represented to him the rat race he had gotten away from," said his daughter. "I remember him actually going to court in overalls."
Mr. Vroman worked in private practice in Ukiah, as a public defender, judge pro tem and as a prosecutor for the Mendocino County district attorney.
In 1991 he served nine months in a federal prison after being convicted of a misdemeanor for failing to file federal income taxes.
"He felt there is nothing in the Constitution that requires you to pay taxes or to file," said his daughter.
Mr. Vroman expressed disgust later that he had to spend more time in prison than some rapists.
In 1997, he found his birth mother in Ohio and was overjoyed to find out he was part Irish. He often told the story about how, on a subsequent visit to Ireland, he wore Irish tweeds and faked an Irish brogue prompting an American tourist to request a picture of him as an example of an authentic Irishman.
He was elected district attorney in 1998, defeating 12-year incumbent Susan Massini, and took office in 1999.
He told The Chronicle at the time that he favored decriminalizing marijuana "because the war on drugs isn't working. If it is a war, we lost it a long time ago."
" He started the nation's first medical marijuana licensing program and stopped police from seizing legal pot gardens and hassling legitimate growers who registered under California law. He eventually started wearing ties again and, in the end, suits, but was forever known in legal circles as "that Mendocino Man" who protected pot growers.
Think about this like if was an insurgency,or something like that-
Motivated
Funded
Armed
Support network
intelligence support
zuluzerosix
05-21-2009, 13:53
Vroman was also one of the CCW instructors. He out fitted his investigators with silenced MP-5's. I saw him regularly at my work. He and the owner would often go to lunch. I spoke with him many times and handled the sale of his personal vehicle paid for by the county. New Ford 500-"loaded."
This just in:
BREAKING NEWS: Grows with Santa Clara County connections busted
By ZACK CINEK The Daily Journal
Updated: 05/21/2009 12:42:21 PM PDT
Mendocino county police worked to remove marijuana plants from several grows busted in the Ukiah area Thursday.
One grow located in a wooded subdivision just north of Talmage was busted around 7:30 a.m. and another smaller grow on Guidiville road east of Talmage was raided around 9 a.m., police from the Mendocino Major Crimes Task Force said.
At the first grow, 888 Watson Road, police loaded marijuana plants cut from growing pots into the back of a pickup truck.
"I think they just come here, water, and leave," Bob Nishiyama, task force commander said. One member of the task force estimated that there were about 500 to 600 plants through out the home and down below in a makeshift basement.
Based on conditions inside the home, Nishiyama said that the people were probably there for short amounts of time. "I think they spent time here when working and setting up."
A garage on the property housed nine grow lights and three household fans mounted around the walls. Nishiyama said that his crew was likely to be there all day.
In the basement, cloned marijuana plants taken from "mother" plants grew in large white plastic trays. The space under the house was illuminated by a grow light becoming increasingly brighter as it was turned on.
No one was at the grow when police arrived, but one involved with the grow was in custody in Santa Clara County. Those involved with the grow are believed to be Vietnamese, he said.
One measure taken by the growers was to bypass
the home's electrical meter by tapping into the power line, allowing the meter to read 750 watts; a below-average amount of electricity for a house.
On a property at 3010 Guidiville Rancheria Road, two were in custody as police readied to take down the grow. A small home and some vineyard grapes were planted on the hillside behind the home.
A bypass of an electrical meter was also done at that location and PG&E was coming to repair it.
In a metal building with plywood interior walls a neat and orderly office space and computer was in one corner. In a back room soft chant-like music played.
Early estimates from police placed the number of plants at about 200.
At the Watson Road home Nishiyama said that several cars would be seized as assets.
A soft-air style rifle in the form of a machine gun, made to shoot rubber bullets, appeared to be used as a decoy. Made of metal and plastic, the guns are actually heavier than the real thing, Nishiyama said.
Zack Cinek can be reached at udjzc@pacific.net or 468-3521.
incarcerated
07-23-2009, 23:43
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/07/23/national/a135922D59.DTL&tsp=1
Agents seize $1.2 billion worth of pot in Calif.
By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Federal and state agents have arrested 83 people for growing more than $1.2 billion worth of marijuana in an ongoing crackdown on illegal pot gardens in California's Sierra Nevada range.
Local officials said several Mexican marijuana-growing cartels helped set up the grow sites scattered throughout rocky mountainsides of eastern Fresno County, and warned more arrests were likely as the sweep continues.
More than 318,000 marijuana plants were destroyed in the operation, which also netted nearly $41,000 in cash, 25 weapons and two vehicles, Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims said Thursday....
Last year, more than 5.2 million plants were uprooted in all federal and state operations that reported seizures to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Operation Save Our Sierra" began several months ago, and has involved more than 300 personnel from 17 local, state and federal agencies.
Officials said some of the Mexican citizens arrested in the bust were nabbed in previous years' raids on gardens further south along the mountain range....
BigJimCalhoun
07-24-2009, 06:25
Another story here
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=120031&catid=188
Cliff Note:
Pike Forest, Colorado
5,100 plants
Tooks 24 hours to clear field
Utah Bob
07-24-2009, 07:07
There are now 9,000 medical marijuana users in Colorado. :eek: The retailers are doing a banner business.
I'm sure if O's health care plan goes through, there will be 18,000 shortly.:(
incarcerated
07-29-2009, 09:32
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/28/MN6P18K1FV.DTL
Mexican growers having big pot year in state
Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
07-28) 04:00 PDT Shasta-Trinity National Forest - --
Mexican drug traffickers have expanded their marijuana-growing operations in California parks as state and local governments have tightened spending and slashed jobs and services.
Law enforcement officials say the traffickers, taking advantage of the fact that there are fewer sheriff's deputies and rangers monitoring parks, are cultivating more pot than ever before. This year's multibillion-dollar crop is on pace to be the largest in history, said state officials.
"It's a huge problem," said Gordon Taylor, the assistant special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. "California is ground zero for domestic marijuana cultivation in the country."
The illicit crops are believed to be hidden on ridges and in gullies in California's 31 million acres of forest, with most being grown in state and national parks.
So far this year, more than a million plants have been seized by the state's Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP program, according to Michelle Gregory, the spokeswoman for the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, and the pot-growing season is not even half over.
"Our whole state is overrun," Gregory said. "It's an epidemic."
Much of the cannabis grown in California is being exported around the country, into Mexico and overseas. One batch recently harvested in Shasta County was tracked by drug enforcement agents to Chicago and South Carolina....
incarcerated
08-16-2009, 09:55
http://www.independent.com/news/2009/aug/15/fire-investigators-determine-la-brea-fire-caused-m/
Fire Investigators Suspect La Brea Fire Caused By Marijuana Cultivation
Evidence Points to Illegal Cooking Fire As Cause of the 84,000-Acre Blaze
Saturday, August 15, 2009
By Ray Ford
A week-long investigation by U.S. Forest Service Special Agents, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit, and Fire Investigators revealed that the origin of the La Brea fire is the result of a marijuana drug trafficking operation. Specifically, officials believe the fire started from flames or sparks from a campfire used for cooking.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit has confirmed that the camp at the origin of the fire was an illegal marijuana operation believed to be headed by a Mexican National drug organization.
At the intersection of Owl Canyon and the south fork of La Brea Canyon, near a backpacker’s campground known as Cuchadas, the fire began in one of the most remote and overgrown sections of the San Rafael Wilderness. The camp is several miles inside the area and approximately two air miles south of the Sierra Madre Ridge.
Evidence of the garden, which did not burn during the fire, was discovered in the past few days. The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Narcotics Unit, which has been working to eradicate other cultivation sites in nearby parts of the back country, believes the suspects are still within the San Rafael Wilderness and may be trying to leave the area on foot.
Officials warn not to approach anyone who looks suspicious but to instead contact the nearest law enforcement agency. Anyone with further information is urged to contact U.S. Forest Service, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department or local law enforcement agencies....
BigJimCalhoun
08-27-2009, 08:43
Another article talking about the problem in Colorado
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13212051
with a quote "We don't know why they have decided to come here," he said. "This is new for Colorado. We haven't had time to study the trend."
hmm, could the problem have anything to do with this article, posted on the same day?
http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13212872
Denver's marijuana policy review panel agreed Wednesday to send a letter to the presiding judge of Denver County Court urging a $1 fine as penalty for possession of marijuana of less than an ounce.
There are now 9,000 medical marijuana users in Colorado. :eek: The retailers are doing a banner business.
I'm sure if O's health care plan goes through, there will be 18,000 shortly.:(
I don't see a problem with medicinal marijana, if it is indeed being used for medicinal purposes.
A very good friend of mine was just diagnosed with lymphatic cancer at the age of 48. It has spread to her lungs and liver. They have given her less than a year to live, with chemo. The chemo makes her sick as hell. If marijuana could ease that, and enable her last year of life with her husband, children and grandchildren be more pleasant, I don't know why she shouldn't be able to do so.
Unfortuantely we live in IL, and she will never have that option.
America's khat.
And so it goes...:(
Richard's $.02 :munchin
BigJimCalhoun
09-30-2009, 06:52
This is the 4th park/forest bust this year in CO, that I am aware of.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=124183&catid=339
They got help from the Colorado Air National Guard which flew a Black Hawk helicopter above the search and lifted large bundles of cannabis out of the rugged terrain, where it could be loaded into vehicles
BigJimCalhoun
09-20-2011, 18:59
And yet another...
http://www.9news.com/rss/story.aspx?storyid=218068
This area is about 20 miles from my house. My family will have to be extra vigilant while hiking.
In this day and age. I can't believe pot is still illegal. The exact reasons they say it needs to remain illegal. Is the exact same description as how Alcohol effects society. But times the negative effects of alcohol by a 1000.
The fight against illegal Pot is big business.