My firewood guy got busted with 13 plants over the past weekend.

[fastfredracing]

This guy is a wildman. His name is Randy, and they call him randy of the wild. Hair down to the middle of his back, his left hand barely works from a rattlesnake bite, he has lime disease. Wears thick thick glasses, taped together in the middle. He is a little guy, but I would never tangle with him, he looks like a little ape man, I am sure wresting around logs all day, has made him one bad mother. Owns his own saw mill, and a bunch of land which he logs., and does firewood on the side. I always get a few dump loads from him in the fall for the shop. He is sort of an interesting fellow, and my dad and I get a kick out of listening to his stories.
He was dumping a load for me this morning, and told me that helicopters, doing a speed check over the weekend, spotted his field, and they raided him yesterday. They took all his plants, his guns, and all the cash he had laying around. He was NOT dealing. He told me that he has never sold as much as a doobie, and it is only for him and his ( also crazy ) old lady.
I wonder how much trouble he is in? Pot laws seem silly to me. Especially in a situation like this. Just growing what he uses .

[Geronimo '74]

13 plants is a lot for one person. A lot.
Even if he's not selling, the amount of plants alone is hard to justify as personal use.
Hope they don't come down on him too hard.

[masraum]

Didn't the war on drugs back when the Reagan's were in the white house make the punishment five years a plant or something like that?

[fastfredracing]

I think in some states, like maybe Ohio, you can grow a small quantity and it is just a misdemeanor. Not sure about Pa, I would guess, that he is in some hot water.

[tevake]

I agree with you that there are much bigger fish to fry in the drug law enforcement picture.
As to 13 plants for personal use. From what I hear . There is a lot of attrition in getting to mature female plants. That might just end up being 3 or 4 at the end of the season. From what I hear, mind you.

Cheers Richard

[widgeon13]

Pot should have been legalized many years ago. Crazy.

[juanbenae]

Originally Posted by tevake

I agree with you that there are much bigger fish to fry in the drug law enforcement picture.
As to 13 plants for personal use. From what I hear . There is a lot of attrition in getting to mature female plants. That might just end up being 3 or 4 at the end of the season. From what I hear, mind you.

Cheers Richard

if growing outdoors this is generally the end of the season, so the male plants were prolly downed months ago. poor randy...

[72doug2,2S]

What total and complete waste of resources. When are the Democrats ever going to give up this control fetish and let Americans be free? Freed from the DEMS ever present and oppressive regulations and useless laws.

[Zeke]

Sorry to hear about your firewood guy. He is probably screwed without a good (read expensive) attorney. The gov't needs to see the forest more than the trees.

[vash]

bummer..

double edge sword for me. wish it was legalized. right now, as it stands, the drug trafficker represent a real danger to police officers like my brother. i think most of my brothers day to day stuff is drug related. dangerous.

[widebody911]

I wonder how much it cost to execute that bust vs the actual value of the stuff.

[dennis in se pa]

I also live in PA.
The drug laws here are nuts.
The punishment is worse than the crime.
I quit smoking weed 34 years ago. I finally realized it was making me stupid. Probably didn't stop soon enough. Most drugs should be decriminalized. The lawyers and people who build and manage the prisons won't stand for it.

[greglepore]

Well, the deal is this-if his guns were all legal, its probably not a huge deal...if its only state charges. Without evidence of further dealing, 15 plants IS manufacturing (one is) but not likely enough to convince a judge of intent to deliver. If it stays state, its likely misdemeanor and probation...but if feds want to get involved (unlikely) they assign a finished weight to the plants and he's looking at a felony (federal felony is lifetime loss of gun rights, forget about what your state may say) but likely probation.

However, as he found out, the weed is used a means to conduct a full search. If his guns aren't all squeaky (ie maybe he unwittingly bought something stolen at a gunshow?) then its BATF and he has major problems......

This is not just some hairball opinion.

[greglepore]

Originally Posted by tevake

I agree with you that there are much bigger fish to fry in the drug law enforcement picture.
As to 13 plants for personal use. From what I hear . There is a lot of attrition in getting to mature female plants. That might just end up being 3 or 4 at the end of the season. From what I hear, mind you.

Cheers Richard

The drug laws don't care whether the plant is male, female, usable or not. Seedlings that are finger sized count the same as full plants, at least under federal law. State laws vary, but even if weight is the issue, sex isn't.

[URY914]

Originally Posted by greglepore

..... but even if weight is the issue, sex isn't.

Weight is ALWAYS an issue when it comes to sex.

[GWN7]

No idea what the pot laws are in PA but I just hope he lawyered up when they raided him. If he did then they have to prove the plants are his and not someone elses just being grown on his land.

[HardDrive]

If this guy ends up in the pokey, how much is it going to cost to house the guy? How much is it going to cost to prosecute him? What a DUMB waste of money. Sheeesh!

[Bob Kontak]

For personal possession under and over one ounce it is a misdemeanor with possible probation (here is where the lawyer comes in)

http://norml.org/pdf_files/state_penalties/NORML_PA_State_Penalties.pdf

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by widgeon13

Pot should have been legalized many years ago. Crazy.

It was legal when my dad was born . Pot laws are crazy...he needs to lawyer up, and it'll cost him, but he'll be OK. To be clear, I've never grown it or sold as much as a joint either...but I did recieve a "slap on the hand" (fine) once. A DUI is a much more serious offense around here (as it should be)...

[Jrboulder]

I really don't see where they got the idea of making pot such a big effing deal.