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Medical Marijuana Payback Burns Colorado Police

safeaccessnow.org — Policing pot in Colorado is about to get a lot more complicated. The kick-in-the-door raids SWAT teams have long employed could now cost cities hundreds of thousands of dollars.

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  • webaddict, on 01/17/2008, -1/+94Looks like things are moving in the right direction. :P
    • williamdyer, on 01/17/2008, -18/+9It's a start. When they put more pigs in bags for this *****, that will really change things.
      • Ineedanap, on 01/17/2008, -3/+12sometimes you have to start a ***** storm- then the winds of ***** get so fast, you cant avoid the *****.

        lahey ftw

      • Myonosken, on 01/17/2008, -12/+4Yes killing individuals who are following the law, ***** brilliant, that'll make this situation so much better.
        • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -1/+8It worked in the 1770's.
        • williamdyer, on 01/17/2008, -1/+12Many of our laws, especially drug laws, have lost legitimacy. If you are a cop doing no-knock raids to enforce illegitimate laws, you deserve to go home in a bag.
      • mightydavefish, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Retard.
    • oxdeltaxo, on 01/17/2008, -0/+25I agree, I feel it goes something like this.

      Person Grows Marijuana, gets ratted out by friends/family/neighbors then gets raided by the local police because of federal laws. Later on they discover he was a certified grower, then begin to back pedal a bit, the guy decides to sue and the local police no longer will the have the funding to kick down his door for those slimy feds.
      • thebrawl, on 01/17/2008, -0/+20There's something about the phrase "local police no longer will the have the funding" that gives you a nice tingly feeling. I look forward to the day when safety and protection officers return to safety and protection.
        • oxdeltaxo, on 01/17/2008, -0/+10It's just the wake up call the local police need to start resisting federal law as well, if they don't resonate with the local populace they aren't serving their interests.
      • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -0/+6We need to start suing the feds as well.
    • ufia, on 01/17/2008, -34/+3Medical marijuana growers are shady at best. Is it any surprise to you why the police have to kick in their door?

      For instance, name one single pharmaceutical company who is operating from a private home basement. Legitimate scientists work in federally regulated labs.

      Doesn't it strike you as odd that leisure smokers are also pushing for legalization of medical marijuana? As it would remain illegal for them to smoke it for fun. How would this benefit them? Are they planning to cheat the system with subjective health problems of their own assessments that a real doctor could not positively diagnose himself.

      The truth you will hate to hear is that criminal drug dealers are behind all that lobbying for legalization of marijuana. Pot smokers are just followers, they are either misled or they think it's cool to tell the cops to ***** off.
      • oxdeltaxo, on 01/17/2008, -2/+23Stop spouting pr for drugs companies.
        Theres is an effective framework for legalization, which not only would reduce the instance of criminals but also reduce the availability to kids. Do you really think keeping marijuana illegal is going to work? It doesn't seem to be working now, it actually seems to stimulate the illegal drug industry, as soon as a dealer is caught another takes his place.
      • meschmie, on 01/17/2008, -1/+19Even if it isn't made legal for me, who wouldn't want people in pain to be in less pain without having to be worried about going to jail. Plus one step at a time. As Bob would say "Baby steps."
      • chaosium, on 01/17/2008, -1/+6"Medical marijuana growers are shady at best. Is it any surprise to you why the police have to kick in their door?"

        It's no surprise, but it's the federal agents' choice to do so.
      • BoneheadFarker, on 01/17/2008, -1/+12You know...if marijuana was legal, there would be a ***** less "criminals" for cops to bust. And if it were legal, real pharmacutical companies would be able to work with it, unlike now where it's illegal to even perform trials to see if there are any medical benefits (which have been proven in countries that allow testing). So how about you just go back to being angry about something else and leave the medical marijuana patients fight for their rights...
      • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -2/+15"The truth you will hate to hear is that criminal drug dealers are behind all that lobbying for legalization of marijuana." - Drug dealers make money off marijuana being illegal. If pot was sold legally, it would be much cheaper and sold by legal companies at a much lower profit that what drug dealers currently sell it for. The gangs and cartels that are involved in marijuana dealing want it to stay illegal so that they can continue to make billions of dollars every year. It is people who see how much of a failure the drug war has been and want our tax dollars spent on a reasonable drug policy that lobby for it to be legalized.

        PS. Learn how to write a ***** sentence please!
      • darkcooger, on 01/17/2008, -1/+6Perhaps grab a nice history book and read up on how marijuana became illegal in the first place. Here's a hint: it shouldn't have been, and everyone knew it.
      • mightydavefish, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5Way to show you are ***** clueless.
        Congrats, asshat.
      • accelleron, on 01/17/2008, -2/+2Am I the only one to recognize this as a troll, a rather obvious one at that?
    • narcofiche, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5I agree. It's still amazing to me that these days you can buy it legally with a card, but I still don't trust that method completely - it's definitely a start, though. Now this, awesome.
      • darkcooger, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4Interestingly, when the federal marijuana laws first came about, the only way to buy or sell marijuana was with a marijuana tax stamp. The reason the stamps thing had to be replaced was because the courts said it wasn't exactly on the up-and-up to require people to buy stamps that were never created in the first place.
    • Goodanswer, on 01/17/2008, -0/+15"Colorado police are charged with upholding Colorado law and not federal law."
      That is a brilliant assessment of what more states should be doing. Yes, at least it is a start.
  • cageybee, on 01/17/2008, -9/+56and then they wonder why they are called pigs?
    • BOFH2, on 01/17/2008, -10/+8I am pretty sure they do not. They were called pigs long before this tactic.
      • katrayun, on 01/17/2008, -1/+13Er, and that would be because some behaved this way long before this incident. I seriously doubt Cageybee meant everyone picked up the term recently.
      • Barbarino, on 01/17/2008, -13/+5Hey *****, these cops are just doing what they are ordered to do from up top. They didn't join the force to kick in pot growers doors. Maybe on the way home one of them saved the life of a kid or caught a home invasion criminal.. Not all cops are pigs and they sometimes have to do things they don't want to. They can't say no, just like you can't tell your boss no! Most cops are ex military, they deserve more respect than what digg offers them...

        ass clown
        • Sheryldx, on 01/17/2008, -1/+9They can't say no ? you can't say no to a boss ? mannnnn are you for real ?If my boss ask me to suck his *****, i sure will say no. We are responsible for the choice we make ! Just following arguable order isn't always the right thing to do. anyway that was a good laugh.

          Boss: Hey Barbino, Go suicide yourself you useless bastard
          Barbino: Sure boss, anything you ask boss !
        • insllvn, on 01/17/2008, -0/+7You know, if I am to respect people of a given profession, particularly one that sings songs of its bravery and virtue at every opportunity, I would really like them to stop using the same defense that was thrown out of Nuremberg. Not comparing kicking in a pot growers door to genocide, but when would your judgment kick in, exactly? When would you stand up to you boss and stop "just following orders, sir?" How bad would the order have to be? You want respect, you grow a pair and you earn it!
          • Barbarino, on 01/17/2008, -10/+1Earn it? 4 dead cops here in S. Florida in less than a year.. I think they "earned" it enough.. idiot...

          • insllvn, on 01/17/2008, -1/+6What is your point Barbarino? Having a dangerous job forever renders you above reproach?

            On a lighter note, does anyone know when they are planning on rolling out that update to the comment system? The video looked pretty good, but it just makes it sting more when I have to fight with the current, broken system.
          • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -0/+6The SS and KGB use to get killed all the time, I guess that makes them above reproach as well.
          • accelleron, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5"They didn't join the force to kick in pot growers doors."
            Actually, yes, this is exactly what many of them joined for.
          • Solis, on 01/18/2008, -1/+1The only good cop is a dead cop.
        • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3If my boss told me to do something that I thought was wrong, I would say no. Being ex-military does not mean that a person automatically deserves respect. I would actually be less inclined to respect someone after learning that the are ex-military, but I would give them a chance to prove me wrong.
    • saucedmike, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4Why wouldn't they check to see if he had a permit BEFORE raiding his house...
  • mikebeezey, on 01/17/2008, -1/+66hahaha, they kept the leaves and threw away the buds. You'd think at least one person at the police station would know a little bit about weed.
    • brentinkc, on 01/17/2008, -0/+14Yeah, but you don't want to be that one guy. Especially at the police station.
      "No, wait, all the THC is in the buds!"
      "Oh really, Cheech? You going to break out your papers now?"
      • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -0/+9They probably did steal the buds from the plants to smoke themselves.
    • dsmx, on 01/17/2008, -0/+43Or maybe 1 person did and told everyone else that the leaves were the valuable bit and they got to take the buds to the "incinerator".
    • orxor, on 01/17/2008, -2/+25Oh they've kept the buds. I'm sure every cop involved in that bust got to keep some.
    • skabyss, on 01/17/2008, -0/+12BRB, going dumpster diving at the police station.
    • HarryWatson00, on 01/17/2008, -8/+4I would love to be a cop in a drug raid....first off you can take a lot of the drug money...second off the drugs if you want to smoke them you can and you can just say that there were fumes in the air in the house getting raided...puff puff pass
      • stereoa, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5Scary.
      • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -2/+6And I would love to be the investigative reporter that catches you, costs you your job and possibly puts you in jail with all the other people who you put there. I am sure they would all love to have you as a cell mate.
        • williamdyer, on 01/17/2008, -0/+10Sadly 99% of reporters are too lazy and scared to challenge the police state.
        • jsmu, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8Yes, all .000001 of the time that rogue cops are caught, arrested, and convicted
    • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Ummm... do you really believe that they threw it in the trash? The cops know plenty about weed and at least one of them at the station knew where to sell it or else it would not have been 'thrown away'.
  • Caspercreep, on 01/17/2008, -1/+13This makes me wanna shed some happy tears!
  • VaporBro, on 01/17/2008, -1/+82LEGALIZE IT
    • stronglikedan, on 01/17/2008, -0/+7DON'T CRITICIZE IT!

      ---Sing it Bro!
  • greeninoregon, on 01/17/2008, -0/+34I really hope oregon will be the next state to do this. We have a lot in common with colorado, as far as the condensed hippy population goes. Portland has de-criminalized less than an ounce in the city, but that doesn't do much for the rest of us.
    Living in Eugene, I sometimes think it's absurd that it's still illegal. People talk about it in day to day activities with strangers here. Not just young people, either, but old people. People that look like they could be your parents or grandparents. It's not a big deal.
    • narcofiche, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8In California, Santa Monica is probably the most lenient city in southern California when it comes to weed. Even though I've heard 'they don't bother you' if you smoke a joint on the street, it's still scary to do until it's 100% legal. I'll never understand why cigarettes and alcohol is legal, but a natural plant is not.
      • BoneheadFarker, on 01/17/2008, -1/+6It's easy to understand why it's illegal...it's because those scray blacks and Mexicans smoke it and go wild with reefer madness and try to rape the white women. Oh wait...no, it's because it's turning young people onto heroin. No no no...that's right, it's because it kills brain cells and turns you into an unmotivated loser. Or no...it's because it's time to get tough on crime! Or maybe it's time to just say no.

        You know...if really don't know why it's illegal...
        • tophu, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8It is illegal because they could ban hemp along with it, and DuPont had a lot of money riding on nylon, etc.
        • Nth3nSum, on 01/17/2008, -2/+2On top of that the rich land owners were affronted by the fact that their Mexican and black slaves had such lazy siestas. They wanted more active slaves, not slackers smoking weed. Hence cocaine was not made illegal until much later.

          It wasn't so much nylon (not sure it was invented at the time) as it was cotton farmers. Hemp was much more durable, but cotton was a finer material that didn't last as long. Endless consumers of clothing that wears out. This all happened around the same time period as the industrialists changed over to consumerism and made things people wanted (soft cotton) rather than what people needed (long lasting hemp).
          • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Nylon was first produced on February 28th, 1935, two years before the Marihuana Tax Act.
        • accelleron, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5No, it's illegal because:
          1. The DEA, LEAA, and many local Law Enforcement groups depend on it for funding.
          2. Keeping it illegal inflates the 'drug problem' (think strung-out junkies shooting up in bathrooms) from a statistically insignificant percentage of people with a drug addiction to a percentage of the population that gives politicians and police chiefs importance. Busting a junkie is a lot less impressive than confiscating $XXX,000 dollars' worth of marijuana.
          3. The paper, textile, foresting, tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical, and prison industries, among others, would stand to have their profits greatly reduced by legalization.
          4. It's political suicide to discuss the issue openly and in a rational, scientific, non-ohgodthinkofthechildren manner.
          5. Racist sentiments about drugs and their users are still strong with a large number of voters.
          6. The public is misinformed about the true qualities and effects of drugs, and sees the effects of prohibition (black market involvement, turf wars, gangs in the inner cities, limited access to health care for addicts) as being caused by the drugs themselves, thus justifying continued prohibition.

          I'd keep going, but I need to get back to work.
  • factory81, on 01/17/2008, -3/+1The face we are, the face we were.....
    • YumYumKittyLoaf, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3It's nice and all to make an esoteric quote like that, but why don't you add in something about the article too? Like...
      [quote]
      [discussion on article]
      Anyways, I'm happy that medical marijuana growers have some kind of recourse now.
      • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2This is just one small step in the right direction. We will not have any real recourse until we can challenge the feds like the DEA and FBI.
  • dOOBiEx213, on 01/17/2008, -2/+10I feel like moving to Colorado, growing plants (legally), then tempting pigs to raid my crops ^_^.
    • dsmx, on 01/17/2008, -3/+3Yeah move to Colorado then put a big sign over the house that says 6 tons of pot being grown here.
      • sarixe, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5yes, because that's what he meant by "tempting"
  • synack, on 01/17/2008, -0/+43Have you ever kicked in a door... ON WEED?
    • snatchmstr, on 01/17/2008, -11/+4Dugg for obscure refrence.
      • unjustend, on 01/17/2008, -1/+10How is this obscure?
        • AzureRise, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5What is he referencing?
          • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -4/+3Drug war propaganda commercials, funded by our tax money. I think these horrible commercials simply cause drug use to go up if they have any effect at all.
          • rootneg2, on 01/18/2008, -0/+5it's a line from the movie Half-Baked.

            Jon Stewart says it, concerning the back of a twenty dollar bill.
    • rootneg2, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4RED TEAM GO! RED TEAM GO!
  • brentinkc, on 01/17/2008, -0/+22I'm medicating right now.
    • HarryWatson00, on 01/17/2008, -3/+2oh my I wish I could medicate some myself haha
    • rootneg2, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3bump while high?...
  • Asvetic, on 01/17/2008, -1/+52America... land of "what the government tells me I'm free to do."
    • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4A sad reality indeed.
      BTW: Expect to lose all the progress we have made if McCain wins. He said he would execute drug dealers and increase funding for the war on drugs. He even said Bush and Clinton are "soft" and "AWOL" in the "war on drugs".
  • iidestined, on 01/17/2008, -2/+2*clap clap*
    • joebaloney, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Hey, a member of the sarcastic clapping family. I haven't heard from you guys in a long long time.
  • h3lx, on 01/17/2008, -0/+51Holding police libel for damages incurred during their investigation seems long over due. Especially if the investigation bears no fruit.
    With any luck, this will become a trend.
    • mithrasinvictus, on 01/17/2008, -3/+15libel=defamation
      liable=legally responsible
      • h3lx, on 01/17/2008, -2/+11Liable then... damn it I'm an artist not a lawyer.
    • BlackBob, on 01/18/2008, -0/+3I especially like the way they are using the DEA standards for marijuana valuation of $5,200 per plant. I hope they have to pay every cent!!
  • Notasheeple, on 01/17/2008, -0/+30Good grief! I say throw the guy who ordered the seizure and the rat neighbor into the slammer for violating a law abiding war veteran!
    • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4Throw all cops/agents involved in jail or at least fine them.
      • accelleron, on 01/17/2008, -1/+3I'm afraid that won't do much good. The individual cops are really no more responsible for the tragedy they cause than a customer service rep is responsible for a bad policy her company has. They didn't make the decision, they didn't plan the raid, and if they were to step aside and refuse, I'm sure their position (both in the raid and in the department) would be filled by someone who is willing, rather quickly.

        I say we start by firing the chief of police, making the identity of the snitch a matter of public record, and opening both of them, personally, to legal action from the grower. Firing the individual cops would do nothing but add a few names to the receiving end of your wellfare/unemployment tax dollars.
        • nicholai, on 01/19/2008, -0/+1These cops are already wasting our tax money and I don't see why you would defend them if you are willing to target the snitch.
  • Digglits, on 01/17/2008, -0/+16About damn time. Marijuana should have never been prohibited in the first place. If this goes though it will be a major step toward legalization and decriminalization of pot. I love the example of smashing the new car it obviously pisses those cops off.
    • fireburner23, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Decriminalization is such a great way of still enforcing something without filling up the prisons for stupid charges. This idea that we need to protect people from drugs is a terrible idea, it just continues the idea of "Nanny State". By thinking of it that way, you would think that the majority of political groups would be for something like this.

      But as anybody who knows, the hemp plant seems to have a ton of ways in which we can make cheaper and better products for almost any application. We can only hope that if we decriminalize marijuana and allow industry hemp back, we can finally do stuff that should have been since it was outlawed.
  • Testiculese, on 01/17/2008, -2/+68"officers raided his home after receiving a tip from a neighbor"

    What kind of complete ***** would call the police because their neighbor was smoking pot?? Oh, I just answered it. An *****. Are we suddenly in 1930's Germany!?

    This country sucks because of the people in it.
    • qmeister, on 01/17/2008, -22/+1There are 300 million or so people in this country....stop lumping them all into one group of assholes. You are the ***** and you should get the ***** out now.
      • hamhat, on 01/17/2008, -1/+12he didnt, he said AN *****.

        • qmeister, on 01/17/2008, -11/+1He said, "This country sucks because of the people in it." Yes, he did.
          • MaynardJK, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8And he was right.
          • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4This country does suck because of the people in it. Are you going to blame another nation for our failure?
    • Buelldozer, on 01/17/2008, -3/+9You're here too.
    • emorgoch, on 01/17/2008, -19/+5Simple: a concerned parent who's worried about the influence it could have on their children. Considering that the majority of users & growers are doing it illegally, it isn't out of place for someone concerned to report it. It is the fault of the police for not properly investigating, discovering that a legal permit had been issued, and informing the neighbour that nothing illegal was happening.
      • sodade, on 01/17/2008, -1/+20Some guy growing pot in his basement wants NOTHING to do with their neighbor's kids. Do you really think that potheads are out there trying to get kids hooked on drugs? WTFever
      • joebonk, on 01/17/2008, -0/+11are you kidding? worried about the neighbor's getting high having a negative influence on your kids? have you lived in usamerican society? if you are trying to protect your kids from negative influences, high neigbors will be the least of your worries. i mean, are you aware of modern usamerican culture at all? do you read the news? ironically, someone so clueless is reproducing. did you know its ethically impossible to justify having kids anyways? ***** bad influence jesus christ i hope an asteroid wipes out humanity
        • AzureRise, on 01/17/2008, -5/+3I too am hoping for this cleansing asteroid to arrive. *pours liquid* More koolaid?
      • rootneg2, on 01/17/2008, -4/+2Growing pot *is* in sort of a shady legal status, and so individuals of a shady legal status are typically involved in *some* manner (whether it be the equipment supplier, a distributor, the grower themselves, or a buyer) and the reason the neighbor's suspicion may have been raised was from shady individuals, who might pose a danger to the child, as opposed to the cannabis or grower themselves.

        I can understand the parental concern, the blame here is really with the cops or the law itself.
        • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -1/+5I think the informant is not as responsible as the police but saying they are completely innocent is like saying the informants in Nazi Germany were guilt free as well.
          • rootneg2, on 01/18/2008, -2/+2making a comparison to turning in jews in nazi germany is totally wrong; in more ways than one.

            I'm not in *any* way trying to say that what happened is right (i'm just as pro-legalization as anyone, perhaps moreso), but i'm saying that I wouldn't blame the parents for trying to protect their child.

            I have personally known perfectly peaceful, responsible, and intelligent growers, ones that I would trust my children (if i had any) to in a heartbeat; this same grower was robbed at gunpoint, in his home, because the criminals knew the grower would have no legal recourse to pursue them. I might trust the grower, but i certainly wouldn't want the people who robbed him at gunpoint to be anywhere near a child of mine. You accuse me of saying the parents are innocent, and i do maintain that they are; in fact, i will go one step further and say that even the police who raided the apartment are innocent; the police are bound by law. The guilty party is the criminal status of cannabis itself; that is the *only* thing that we can change in order to fix the problem; we can have as many local police departments and individual law enforcement officers on our side, but until the *federal law* is changed, the problem will still remain.
          • nicholai, on 01/19/2008, -0/+1@root
            In that case the SS was bound by the law as well (so was the KGB and almost every other police force that violates human rights). We have choices in life and we can't let the government think for us. If you know a law is wrong, refuse to enforce it, no matter what the cost.
    • chewyrunt, on 01/17/2008, -2/+2who knows - maybe he was the neighbor from hell? the article doesn't get into motivation -
    • sebrOck, on 01/17/2008, -0/+19"Are we suddenly in 1930's Germany!?"
      You seem surprised. IMHO The USA has been in a very similar situation like 1930's Germany for quite some time now.
      • nicholai, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5At least since Richard Nixon started the "modern war on drugs".
    • Barbarino, on 01/17/2008, -15/+1Come on! 70 plants!!!!! The guy clearly is not using it just for himself and at what point do we say you can't have an industrial grown house of pot in your neighborhood where your kids play?? Whats the limit? What about the fire code? What about it making the house a target for criminals??? My debate is not whether it should be legal or not, but it should be illegal to grow the ***** in your house!
      • Otto, on 01/17/2008, -0/+11Why? Was he selling it to kids or something? What business is it of yours what your neighbors do in their own home?

        Mind your own ***** business, please. Let other people worry about theirs.
      • h3lx, on 01/17/2008, -0/+10You rotate crops... 70 plants at various stages of maturity to yield optimum results at different intervals.

        ***** the Gov't telling me what I can and can't do in my own home, and ***** you for thinking it's alright.
      • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -0/+10My internet access is currently filtered so I can not read the article, but I would like to explain something to you. According to everything I have read, the law considers anything with a root to be a plant. This means that everything from the fully mature plants to the tiny clones/seedlings count as a plant. When growing pot from seed, you want to take the number of plants you expect to get and plant two or three times as many seeds. This is to account for the plants that will be male, sickly or hermi. You can not know what this person intends to do with the pot just by the number of plants he was growing. The amount needed varies greatly depending on how long he grows (all year or just in season), how he intends to ingest it (eating usually takes more than smoking) and what the quality is in comparison to his needs.

        How does a house full of pot affect anyone including the kids that play in the neighborhood? You can't get high from playing near a house full of weed.

        The limit is what is set by the law in the state. That one seems pretty obvious.

        What makes you assume that a person can not safely use grow lights within their house? The reality is that it can be done and is done safely by many people. Would you still have this concern if he was growing tomatoes?

        How is a house full of pot any more of a target for criminals than a house full of fancy appliances, jewelry and nice cars? How would the criminals even know that he was growing pot? Why is this even a concern for you since it is his house?
      • insllvn, on 01/17/2008, -0/+7THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!

        The refrain of the oppressor.
    • iidestined, on 01/17/2008, -1/+2This is why you you should all park correctly.
    • yammy1688, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3This exact thing happened to my friend and I... One of our neighbors decided to go to the cops and now I'm on probation for 3 years, have to do 120 days of hopefully just house arrest, and to top it off, I'm now a convicted felon. The law is the law as they say; However it's makes me sick to my stomach the parties that influence law-making these days, the motive behind them, and who ultimately suffers due to them. ***** them.
      • yammy1688, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Oh I forgot to mention I live in Southern California.
  • killer2k, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5Well, it looks like we've finally cracked down on the most important unrighteous things happening in this country.
  • HarryWatson00, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8Score one for the good guys...
  • KraftDinner101, on 01/17/2008, -0/+31$5,200 per plant?!?!?! The DEA could get it for way cheaper if they shopped around.
    • dynamojoe, on 01/17/2008, -2/+5They inflate value in order to obtain steeper sentences. I suppose the price of a plant would vary significantly depending on where it is in the country, but they'd never take "market price" into consideration (except at press conferences).
    • entrophize, on 01/17/2008, -1/+12Let's also keep in mind that the value of the plants have NO correlation to the WEIGHT, but more so the concentration of THC in them.

      A highly potent, fertile, female plant with buds could be worth 100x what an infertile, tall male plant is worth.
      • deadcrickets, on 01/17/2008, -2/+3"A highly horny, fertile female with willing friends could be worth 100x what an infertile, average male is worth"

        There, fixed it for you.
        • rootneg2, on 01/17/2008, -1/+2ironically; still works for cannabis...
    • pintomp3, on 01/17/2008, -0/+11pot seems to be almost as valuable as mp3s.
  • newsfrommars, on 01/17/2008, -0/+47So, when your patting yourself on the back for a wonderful bust, you can use the DEA numbers to make your haul look bigger. But, if you get sued, then those numbers become absurd???
  • ElAssoWipo, on 01/17/2008, -0/+31Fun fact: Oregon is the only state in America to completely decriminalize marijuana (early 70's). That lasted about a year or two.

    Under Carter, only president who ever wanted to end the drug war.
    • hamhat, on 01/17/2008, -1/+9carter was elected in '76, and took office in '77.

      the early 70s was the Nixon era.
      • ElAssoWipo, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1lol, correct. It's early for me...
  • tman84, on 01/17/2008, -0/+9I'd be interested to see what percentage of a State's budget goes towards policing marijuana laws, or even an end of the year bill showing how much was spent prosecuting, on police. If everyone out there knew that they were pissing away a few hundred dollars a year in their taxes on SWAT teams for weed and what better uses that money could go towards funding, (local social services and community programs, pollution cleanup, as well as even law enforcement for violent crimes) I can't see how anyone wouldn't be outraged at such a thing.
    • dynamojoe, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2www.norml.org might be a good starting place, though obviously biased.
  • entrophize, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8I live in Boulder, Colorado and I can say with certainty that this state is the absolute best place to live (second to California) if you smoke pot.
    • hamhat, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1then stay out of the PNW
    • sodade, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2bah - too windy there. Makes it hard to burn a bowl while you are out hiking.
      • hamhat, on 01/17/2008, -0/+7the younger folks like blunts and all the assorted flavoured papers, the older ones bong it up and then go hiking. or, we shoot deer in the head - why? cause they are everywhere and they are very tasty.

        and thats the facts, jack!
    • joebaloney, on 01/17/2008, -3/+2"absolute best place to live (second to california)"
      Look into taking a logic class.
    • ordig, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5B.C. is the best place to live if you smoke pot.
      • insllvn, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2He probably meant here, in the USofA. I am thinking of moving out there after college and trying to find a job. It sounds wonderful.
    • chaos36, on 01/17/2008, -0/+0Boulder sucks unless you like trust fund hippis and homosexuals
      • chicofaraby, on 01/17/2008, -1/+3You should try Saudi Arabia. They kill hippies and gays there. You should fit right in.
  • compilererror, on 01/17/2008, -0/+51I like this part of the article:

    "If compensation becomes the status quo, he argued "it is going to place more and more departments in a dilemma" that conflicts state and Federal law."

    So if compensating people after illegally destroying their property becomes the expectation, departments will encounter a dilemma..... how sad.
    • Nth3nSum, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Perhaps if the state adopted a policy of priority for such crimes. I know here in Washington police are supposed to put marijuana seizures low on the list of priorities. Not sure it's helping as the police will search anyway it seems. Police always gotta stick their nose in everything.
      • chicofaraby, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3That is part of the pathology of authoritarians.
  • republicker, on 01/17/2008, -0/+15All they will do is call in the feds. The SS will not be stopped that easy.
  • alex7575, on 01/17/2008, -0/+27As usual, the Aurora's police chief Oates, doesn't believe in accountability.

    I guess it takes a real man to admit you ***** up and apologize, instead he acts like a douche and "stands" by his men actions.

    When is the police going to learn that they work to PROTECT US, not to treat us all like potential criminals?

    I've been saying this since high school, though college, before I got married, after I got married, before i become a dad, and after:

    "***** the police!"
    • ElAssoWipo, on 01/17/2008, -0/+11
      "When is the police going to learn that they work to PROTECT US"

      That's what the government tells you when you're a child. The police is there to enforce the law of the land. The law of the land is controlled by about 500 people on 300,000,000 citizens.
  • offspring06, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5Awesome news for Colorado.
  • flashingcurser, on 01/17/2008, -0/+18They constantly over-value marijuana for political gain when they bust people, I wonder if they will have to rethink that strategy now. Especially if they have to start repaying the victims of these raids.
  • Yond, on 01/17/2008, -1/+26You have to wonder why we don't train and screen our police officers better in our country. If you are raiding someone's home, why not simply talk to the guy before apprehending him. In a few little sentences they could have prevented this entire mix up from happening.
    "This is the Police we're coming in. We have a search permit for illegal drugs growing in your house."
    Then the police officers should listen:
    "I'm growing it for medical purposes"
    "What? why?"
    "I'm an Iraq war vet and its for the pain when i caught a grenade" I have a state license to grow it"
    "Oh crap!" "Can we help you find it then?"
    Yeah"
    1 hour later: "oh here it is, under the couch."
    "We are sorry about this intrusion sir I'm glad we cleared this up instead of being zombies about it."
    "Me too, would you officers like some herbal tea?"
    "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
    • republicker, on 01/17/2008, -0/+13I like the part where his license to grow is under his couch.lmfao But seriously, the point is to trash his belongings, take his property, infringe his rights, and ***** his day up. These thugs are no better than the gestapo, they don't want to find the truth. These assholes are like Nazi soldiers at a Jew prison camp, the only difference is they wear stars and stripes when the Nazis wore a swastika. The sad part is when the issues change to life and death and not some harmless plant, most of these people will not hesitate to kill you or me in the name of whatever evil creed they swore an oath to. This is why cops are pigs and cannot be trusted today or ever, this has remained a constant throughout history.
    • sodade, on 01/17/2008, -0/+7I think there is an assumption that cops have to be jack booted thugs to be effective. If you are a cop in West Oakland, maybe, just maybe, I'll buy that, but in the suburbs of CO? Not at all.
  • meltorme, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1What is the world coming to?
    • h3lx, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2not coming, it's going, going to *****.
      This little beacon on reason is dwarfed by the ominous shadow of oppression that shrouds us all...
  • msjo, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3so exactly how is this more complicated???
  • 6502programmer, on 01/17/2008, -0/+35So let me see if I have this straight. When calculating the value of a bust (and the value that gets handed out to the press following a bust), the DEA value is right. When calculating damages and compensation due, the value is wrong. I guess I'm just having a hard time taking to this whole doublethink thing.
    • hamhat, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3its SO easy: if your chocolate ratio is INCREASED from 10 grams to 5 grams, you just got MORE!

      sing along if you know the words...
    • jkgm, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2Sounds like crimethink to me...
  • theNazz, on 01/17/2008, -0/+25"Dickes, a 38-year-old Desert Shield Marine who suffers from debilitating pain after catching grenade shrapnel in the Gulf, says he was treated worse by Colorado police than by anyone in Iraq." ... Amen to that! Those jackbooted thugs need to be put on a ***** leash.
    • hamhat, on 01/17/2008, -0/+6this story needs to get passed around a bit, hopefully it will be all over the place (but of course not in any 'mainstream' media outlets).

      vets get treated like *****, this is just a hint of how their lives are at home after facing combat. its a shame.
  • skaface69, on 01/17/2008, -9/+3Whoaa man...whaaat
    Yeah, I totally agreeee man, Dark Side is the best album ever man...
  • qmeister, on 01/17/2008, -6/+3What seems weird to me, regardless of your stance on pot, is the growing of the pot in the home. How many prescription drug producers do so out of their own home? Again, I don't care of your point of view on pot, but it's just weird....I couldn't produce Valium in my basement and be legally able to sell it through a pharmacy.
    • hamhat, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2you cant grow valerian root?

      big pharma has no interest in selling cures, only things to keep sick folks sick. so, ***** them.
    • tman84, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4There is a huge difference between horticulture and cooking up chemicals in your basement. its a plant, you're just domesticating it.
      • qmeister, on 01/17/2008, -2/+2I get that, but that's not my point....if it's legal, but still a controlled substance, wouldn't there be more control on how it's grown, where it's grown? Again, I don't care, to be honest if my neighbor smokes pot, just thinking about the situation as a whole.
    • sandbags, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3Yeah! and thats the really ***** up thing about it. Its not even a drug. Its a plant! a PLANT! A ***** herb used by man for millenia to deal with pain and expand the mind. Don't even see how this ***** all got started....
    • i3rYs0n, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2the difference here is that the big corps are not the push making pot legal. if it were then it would be a few big corps making pot in their extra large basements. Since we have no corporate friends on our side in the war on drugs we have to do it ourselves.
    • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2You need lab equipment and knowledge of chemistry to produce most prescription drugs. Making a mistake while creating these drugs can cause a lot of harm to someone taking them, thus they are created in labs with quality controls. You need a little experience in gardening to produce weed and if you make a mistake, then the plant dies. You can't create poison pot by over watering it, thus there is no need for the kind of controls that are put on most other prescription drugs. That is why people are allowed to grow their own pot.
    • jgzman, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2You could (theoretically) produce Valium in your basement, and use it for yourself.
      As noted, pharmaceutical companies do not want there to be effective medication that can be produced at home, on the cheap.
  • jsmu, on 01/17/2008, -0/+12Amen to the comment about what kind of FLAMING HEMORRHOIDAL ***** calls the cops because his or her neighbor is smoking pot. Add to that what kind of goddamned Nazi regime pays its storm trooper cowboys to trash houses, private property, and valuables...
    and, unfortunately, what kind of *****-for-brains public puts up with this fascism?
  • mjj04, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2This is good news!
  • AWooWoo, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5We need to drop the medical part. The pharmacy companies don't like herbs in there business.
  • cutebutnerdy, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Roll up Rolo
  • bruizer, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4Alcohol has the legal monopoly on the buzz market, not just the hurt or sick should have legal access to it.
  • tvanwyk, on 01/17/2008, -0/+11I have this radical idea. I know how to make sure the pigs stop breaking down doors for drug "offenses" - fire the pigs and legalize the drugs. Completely. All of them.
    Screw this "medical marijuana" crap.
  • schoepsMS, on 01/17/2008, -0/+9Permit holders should be listed in a local police database as a legal grower to avoid such problems.

    Or easier, simply legalize all marijuana use.
  • joebonk, on 01/17/2008, -1/+7http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmxonXaq9NY
    chomsky on marijuana criminalization.
    "there has never been a medical reason for criminalizing marijuana..."
  • wbeavis, on 01/17/2008, -0/+16"He claims that at no point during the April 27th raid did Dickes inform police that he had a permit, though he also admitted that officers did not ask if he had one. It was only after Dickes was removed from the scene that a permit was found."

    So let me get this straight. It is STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE for the police to act before any preliminary work????

    If it is legal to grow MJ with a permit, then upon receiving a report of someone growing MJ wouldn't the first step be to check the permit registry? The whole incident would have been avoided it the police did their job. I would be completely outraged if I found the local police acted on tips without any research. Seriously, the potential of abuse is huge. If I don't like someone, I'll just report them for some crime. The police will kick down the door and arrest them, then "oops sorry".

    The guy had a PERMIT all they needed to do was confirm it. One simple phone call. They should absolutely be sued. The Chief should be reprimanded. An apology made. And the guy in charge of the raid fired.
    • jsmu, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2Yes. Welcome to fascist AmeriKKKa. Guilty until proven (good luck with that) innocent.
  • kurtwinter, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5They seem all broken up that they can't go in gestapo style to bust farmers. "What are we going to do with all this door ramming gear?" said Aurora Police Spokesidiot Shannon O'Fartery. I dunno - maybe do some real policework? Solve a murder? Like the Ramsey case? Maybe enter a high school shooting situation during the shooting, rather than 3 hours later, when people had a chance to die of non fatal wounds because of a lack of care? ***** Colorado. Can't do anything right,
  • bjs3171, on 01/17/2008, -0/+8"using the DEA standards for marijuana valuation, ($5,200/plant) Dickes will seek $369,200 in lost medicine."

    looks like their "absurd"ly inflated valuation is coming back to bite them right in the ass. I seriously doubt a plant would go for over 5,000 dollars even at street value.
    • belovedkid, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1depends on what kind and how much weight the plant yields
    • edebolt, on 01/17/2008, -5/+1they should throw him in jail for being greedy. I used to grow in Hawaii and Nevada and 74 plants is a enterprise. 2-3 plants will produce more than one person can smoke or vaporize in a given week or month. It's ridiculous. A decent small plant will produce 1/4 pound and that is 3 to 4 harvests per year. So easy easy 1 pound a year for just one plant at any time. Take your clones and rotate a two in vegetation and 1 in flower in and its an easy 2 pounds a year and never more than 3 plants in the house at one one time. That guy was a grower pure and simple.
      • jgzman, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4Unless the permit had a limit, your argument is irrelevant. He was within the law. You, however, were operating outside the law. Subjective judgment can not be used to make a crime more serious, but only to make the crime less serious.
        • sandbags, on 01/17/2008, -0/+03 to 4 harvests per year??? its not an apple tree dude. FAIL 4 MADE UP BS
          • edebolt, on 01/18/2008, -0/+1you obviously have never grown weed. From clone to harvest is 12 weeks
        • edebolt, on 01/18/2008, -0/+172 plants x 3 harvests a year = 216 plants for one year. That is at least 50 pounds of dried bud and probably more like 75 to 100 pounds. Does any medical med patient need that much weed? If there was not a limit on his permit then he was seriously abusing the intent of the law.
  • belovedkid, on 01/17/2008, -0/+5some neighbor...and I thought police had to still investigate or send in somebody to gather enough evidence to obtain a warrant. Working off of a phone call and being allowed to raid a house because of a conversation is quite ridiculous, possibly illegal in itsself.
    • hamhat, on 01/17/2008, -0/+2since the mid 1980s (1986 really) the 4th amendment has been ignored.

      /the more you know
    • jsmu, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1'possibly' illegal? LOL
      • belovedkid, on 01/19/2008, -0/+1the reason I say possibly is due to the fact that I dont study and loop holes in the system that the authorities follow. I have had a lot of dealer friends who the police tried to send a NARC in on and the procedures were done incorrectly, so the cases were dismissed. Knowing that this wasnt the Feds, the police could not have written their own warrant that would hold in court...so I'm not sure that this should have ever been taken to court after the first hearing or two anyway.
  • Barbarino, on 01/17/2008, -8/+2Come on! 70 plants!!!!! The guy clearly is not using it just for himself and at what point do we say you can't have an industrial grown house of pot in your neighborhood where your kids play?? Whats the limit? What about the fire code? What about it making the house a target for criminals??? My debate is not whether it should be legal or not, but it should be illegal to grow the ***** in your house!
    • Otto, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4Are you suggesting that growing plants in general should be illegal? I mean, it is legal to grow large amounts of other plants in your house, no? My mom has more than 100 plants in her house. All flowers, of course, but that's rather beside the point, isn't it?
    • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -1/+2Don't double post.
    • jsmu, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Don't post.
    • chicofaraby, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3"it should be illegal to grow the ***** in your house"

      Why?
  • edebolt, on 01/17/2008, -6/+174 plants???? he is a grower. I have grown and no way do you need that many plants for personal use. NFW. 3 or 4 plants will produce enough to destroy you lungs and keep your eyes dilated round the clock. Really you can get by with 2 to 3 plants and just let them grow more in the vegetation stage. This guy was trying to make money plain and simple
    • Phrag, on 01/17/2008, -0/+4Of course you know exactly how much pot this guy needs since you have also caught grenade shrapnel that tore you up from your ankle to your stomach just like him right?
    • YumYumKittyLoaf, on 01/17/2008, -0/+3I agree that's a lot of plants, but, he's not trying to get the best bang for his buck like most growers that are trying to sell, he's just growing them so that he has a large enough batch of them so he doesn't always have to grow pot, just seasonally.
    • sandbags, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1u have grown? so say you get 3oz of a plant (thats a high but not unreasonable estimation). Say you smoke an oz a week (its for pain, so I would assume he uses a bit). So, theres 52 weeks in a year so u would need about 17 trees to supply you for the year. Now. as you are obviously aware your breeding a strain so you will loose alot of those when they go male. So you have to grow higher numbers to cull back to get good stuff. So 74 plants is excessive but not out the realms of believeability. Also, how many of those plants were not fully mature? maybe he was growing his next crop so that he didnt have to run out?

      '3 or 4 plants will produce enough to destroy you lungs and keep your eyes dilated round the clock. Really you can get by with 2 to 3 plants and just let them grow more in the vegetation stage'

      destroy your lungs? keep your eyes dilated? THE VEGETATION STAGE??? (ITS ALLLLL VEGETATION BUDDY). You've grown? I doubt it.
      • edebolt, on 01/18/2008, -0/+1obviously you have never grown. There are two phases of growing weed. Vegetation and flowering. Okay so your saying he needs 52 ounces of weed. That's a hell of a lot of weed to smoke. Anyway that is 1 plant harvest needed per month. 4 oz of dried bud from one plant is pretty easy. You get 3 harvests a year and 4 if your good. 12 to 14 weeks from clone to harvest. So he needed 12 harvested plants for one year. 4 Plants going x 3 harvests a year or if he was good and let them bush out more in the vegetative stage then 3 plants x 4 harvests. Still the guy has about 20 times the plants that he needed.
    • republicker, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1Weed dilates your eyes, you must have something wrong with you.
  • sandbags, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1a "plant" is btwn 2-10 ounces, depending on how healthy they are. In australia you would pay no more than $350 per ounce. thats a max of about $3500. Hmmmm....10 oz from 1 plant is REALLY fkn good too....
    • YumYumKittyLoaf, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1well... 3500 x 69 is $241,500, which is close to what he's asking for. Plus he's not in Australia... Also, when making an estimate on how much something might cost to replace, I'd take the highest amount you can while still being reasonable.
      • sandbags, on 01/17/2008, -0/+1yes and 7x6 is the meaning of life. where did this 69 business come from?(im going to assume you meant the 65 approx they talk about confiscating in the article). $241,500 is only $127,700 off the $369,200 he's asking for using the DEA's estimate of worth which is, as I am pointing out, ridiculous. So I guess by that rationale 2 is almost 3 (BUT A THIRD LESS). 10oz's from 1 plant IS the highest amount (in fact its fukn highly unlikely). Pot prices follow gold very closely so you guys pay roughly the same as we do in australia AND given that our dollar is very close ATM its probably a fair comparison. So, what exactly was it you were trying to say?
        • YumYumKittyLoaf, on 01/18/2008, -0/+1"They found 71 marijuana plants, at least 65 of which they confiscated illegally" 69 is about halfway between those two numbers, I was guessing at the number too because I didn't feel like re-reading the article, and I thought you were arguing about the validity of the numbers they came up with. Also, I was tired, so sue me, but not for $369,000.
    • b8man99, on 01/18/2008, -0/+2Thanks! It took a bit of practice to get 10oz off a single plant without getting budrot. If you let me grow a plant in my garden under the sun then the yield will be more like 50oz.
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