cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Mansions
Marijuana Mansions
Posted by CN Staff on December 08, 2007 at 05:25:56 PT
By Steven Kurutz
Source: New York Times
California -- Marijuana growers have long faced a dilemma. If they grow pot outdoors, weather conditions are unpredictable, and plants can be spotted from the air or accidentally discovered. Yet if they set up an indoor operation in a sleepy town, their suspicious activity tends to draw attention. The new and counterintuitive solution of some growers in California is to move into a busy, upscale suburban neighborhood and establish a “marijuana mansion,” as the street-life magazine Don Diva recently termed it.
A home that costs a half-million dollars or more is essentially converted into a weed factory: rooms are packed with hydroponically grown plants; fans and air ducts are installed for moisture control and to remove the skunky odor; the electricity box is rewired to steal electricity from power lines. With precision light and temperature control, the growers, who don’t live in the houses but check in a few times a week, can harvest more (and more potent) pot.According to Lt. Greg Garland of the sheriff’s department in San Bernardino County, where more than 50 pot houses have been raided this year, the growers favor newer communities in outlying suburbs because they get more space for the money, and residents pay scant attention to their neighbors. “In these communities, both the husband and wife work; they’re busy coming and going,” Garland says. “One man we spoke to lived next to a grower for a year and wasn’t even sure what color the guy’s car was.” Curiously, the subprime mortgage fiasco helped make the phenomenon possible: many pot houses were purchased by first-time homeowners using interest-only loans, and with speculators buying houses to flip them, it wasn’t uncommon for a home to sit empty for months. Authorities have started to alert the public to the signs of a pot house, a telltale one being a dry lawn. But, ever adaptive, the growers are hiring gardeners — just like their suburban neighbors.Source: New York Times (NY)Author: Steven KurutzPublished: December 9, 2007Copyright: 2007 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on December 10, 2007 at 16:54:35 PT
Patrick
Here's a link about the program. He is a Canadian and makes his adventures very interesting. http://www.historyinternational.com/nakedarchaeologist/?page=about
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Comment #37 posted by Patrick on December 10, 2007 at 16:44:55 PT
FoM
Sorry I haven't seen that show. My time there is a great memory for me even with the trouble that never seems to end there.
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Comment #36 posted by FoM on December 10, 2007 at 16:26:26 PT
Patrick
You lived there! My that must be a wonderful memory. Everything important seems to bring us back to Israel. One of my favorite tv programs is the Naked Archaeologist.
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Comment #35 posted by Patrick on December 10, 2007 at 15:45:35 PT
Israel – Palestine
I lived in Israel for a short time even though I am not of Jewish or Palestinian descent. It was a wonderful time in my life and to see the lands of the Bible with my own eyes was an amazing experience for this former Catholic. In fact, my time there reinforced my abandonment of Catholic teachings and the power they hold over millions. Anyway, the kibbutz I lived on had a good deal of information on the creation of Israel after WWII. The kibbutzniks had to come in and inhabit a swamp under the cover of darkness as the Bedouins slaughtered the first round of settlers foolish enough to move onto the land they purchased during the daytime. Those Jewish settlers turned this swamp land into a productive farm and lush oasis. They had to fight off the roaming Bedouins in order to do so. Here is a link…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nir_David The river in the pictures was a malaria infected swamp in 1936.This is NOT a proclamation of who is right and who is wrong but the Bedouins/Palestinians were nomads who traveled the lands much like our Native Americans did. So, when a group of people stake out a place to build a home the ones who like to roam don’t like the fences, and thus the battle begins. Seems like history shows that wanderers end up as the losers and get shuffled off to reservations. In Israel/Palestine those reservations are called The West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The only difference between Palestinians and what happened to the American Indians in my opinion is the Palestinians don’t have any casinos yet.
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on December 10, 2007 at 14:17:08 PT
My 2 Cents
The fighting between the Jews and Muslims goes way back and they both believe God gave them the land. I can't figure out anyway to resolve that issue in my mind because of how old it is. Which group will give up what they believe God gave them?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem#Religious_significance
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Comment #33 posted by Dankhank on December 10, 2007 at 13:55:51 PT
Israel ...
Best-case description of the USA/Israel duo is that of a parent and a very spoiled child that we birthed out of the chaos of post-war, WWII, Middle-Eastern politics.A willful child, but what will the USA be seen as, in this world, if we just orphan Israel?Instead, might we inform the willful child that we are going to start weaning them of their dependence on us for defense by bribing the Palestinians with what we know works.air-conditioning, flush toilets, cable tv ...hiring Palestinians to do the work ... jobs ...a true compassion would help ALL to grow.
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Comment #32 posted by whig on December 10, 2007 at 12:49:15 PT
Fortunately
We know the cure for cancer.
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Comment #31 posted by whig on December 10, 2007 at 11:37:13 PT
runruff
It is the manifest destiny of each organism to grow until it stops growing or develops cancer.
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Comment #30 posted by Max Flowers on December 10, 2007 at 11:27:42 PT
runruff
I agree, and feel (as many others do ) that that issue is the root of ALL the problems we are dealing with now. In a nutshell: the British-led displacement of Palestinians and the subsequent unconditional US coddling/arming/enabling of Israel. I often dream about how much calmer and safer the world might be if those things had simply never happened.So many cruel actions have come out of Israel that I no longer see or consider valid any connection between what jews suffered in WWII and what Israel gets away with. In other words, the cruelty they have exhibited in "defending themselves" has long ago erased for me (and many, many others I suspect) any feeling that they might be justified in it. In short, they have become the same type of monster they originally set out to defend themselves against and which victimized them.
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Comment #29 posted by whig on December 10, 2007 at 11:27:40 PT
PatrioticDissension #25
Precisely.
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Comment #28 posted by runruff on December 09, 2007 at 19:29:15 PT:
I need to be more clear about when I am switching
gears.I am not antisemetic but I don't agree that [they], meaning the Jews, have the right to displace people who have lived in these lands for two thousand years. It was the Romans who displaced them [the Jews] not the Palastinians. But that's another story. The British made way for the Jews to create Isreal in 1947 or 49.
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Comment #27 posted by runruff on December 09, 2007 at 19:19:18 PT:
From Wikipedia:
Manifest Destiny is a 19th-century belief that the United States had a mission to expand, spreading its form of democracy and freedom. Advocates of Manifest Destiny believed that expansion was not only good, but that it was obvious ("manifest") and certain ("destiny"). Originally a political catch phrase of the 19th century, "Manifest Destiny" eventually became a standard historical term, often used as a synonym for the territorial expansion of the United States across North America towards the Pacific Ocean.The term was first used primarily by Jacksonian Democrats in the 1840s to promote the annexation of much of what is now the Western United States (the Oregon Territory, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican Cession). It was revived in the 1890s, this time with Republican supporters, as a theoretical justification for U.S. expansion outside of North America.The term fell out of usage by U.S. policy makers early in the 20th century, but some commentators believe that aspects of Manifest Destiny, particularly the belief in an American "mission" to promote and defend democracy throughout the world, continued to have an influence on American political ideology.[1]
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Comment #26 posted by runruff on December 09, 2007 at 18:40:01 PT:
Patriotic Dissension
I have never seen you posting here before I'm always glad to meet new friends. I'm glad you got a good laugh out of what I had to say. Sometimes I get in such a hurry to say things, I may not spend the time I need to spend to make myself clear. I would like to say though that my understanding of manifest destiny originated in Washington and had to do with United States settlement of the entire continent. I've never heard it applied to the movement of the Mormons. Yes I know that Semites are Jewish. Maybe I didn't make myself clear, by skipping around so much in my posting, but I was talking about how the Brits created a new Israel for the Jews by forcing the displacement many of the Palestinians that were occupying that land at the time. Anyway, I say what I say for effect and not so much to show off my knowledge of history so if I make a mistake here and there so be it. Happy holidays to you and yours and it's really nice meeting you.
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Comment #25 posted by PatrioticDissension on December 09, 2007 at 16:33:48 PT
whig comment 12
Being both simply means EVERYONE is a suspect.
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Comment #24 posted by PatrioticDissension on December 09, 2007 at 16:31:48 PT:
runruff comment 11
runruff lol i think you have your religions mixed up. "manifest destiny" is the mormons. Semites are the Jews. ....boy do i ha...uh dislike mormons coming to the door time after time grrrrr.
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on December 09, 2007 at 09:22:22 PT
Sam
It would help if you didn't attach slogans to a post but explain what you mean. My sister (who is 74) is a Republican but is an environmental activist. I asked her if they called her any names and she said they call her and others Environmental Wackos.
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Comment #22 posted by Sam Adams on December 09, 2007 at 09:06:10 PT
fom
Maybe I've read too much Edward Abbey. I also just saw a documentary on the American obsession with the green lawn. In the southwest many springs and water sources in the desert are running dry because of people's obsession with green lawns, even in Arizona.I'd love to see a lot more people in the US filled with rage over the environment - we don't have much time left before the seas come in from global warming and ruin our civilization. The thought of people happily wrecking an entire ecosystem and killing plants and animals just so they can have a green lawn is repugnant to me. The selfish American is the cause of the problem. No different from the majority of us that are happy to see hundreds of thousands arrested and jailed over cannabis, just so their own personal sense of sanctimony is intact.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on December 09, 2007 at 08:50:25 PT
Whig
I have been really busy too. The news is slow here on our topic but the news isn't slow in general.
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Comment #20 posted by whig on December 09, 2007 at 08:47:11 PT
Hi
I'm busy with some projects right now and haven't been keeping up with CNews. It's nice to drop by and say hello once in awhile though. I'm not hard to find if anyone's looking.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on December 09, 2007 at 08:46:30 PT
Off Topic: 1968 with Tom Brokaw on History Channel
December 09, 2007 - 09:00 PM In 1968, the fury and violence of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago propelled us toward a tipping point in politics. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated, America suffered its bloodiest year in Vietnam and drugs seduced us. Yet idealism--and hope--flourished. Explore the significance of that turbulent year and the way it continues to affect the American landscape. Tom Brokaw offers his perspective on the era and shares the rich personal odysseys of some of the people who lived through that chaotic time, along with the stories of younger people now experiencing its aftershocks. Includes archival footage and interviews with former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, who was talking to King when he was assassinated and rushed to his side to try to staunch the wound; Olympic gold medalist Rafer Johnson, who wrestled RFKs' assassin to the ground; and Arlo Guthrie, best known for his song "Alice's Restaurant. http://www.history.com/schedule.do
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on December 09, 2007 at 06:15:20 PT
Sam
You're hatred is really showing these days.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on December 09, 2007 at 06:14:27 PT
runruff
You are thinking like I think. We are such a WASP type people even to this day in some areas and in some states.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on December 09, 2007 at 06:09:43 PT
Whig
It's good to see you.
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Comment #15 posted by Sam Adams on December 09, 2007 at 06:04:39 PT
dry lawns
Yes, raid all the pinko environments that don't drain the West's dwindling rivers to keep green lawns in the middle of a desert. Bring that water table down until the forest and desert dies!what a sick, conformist society we've become. The American obsession over green lawns is mental illness on a mass scale.
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Comment #14 posted by runruff on December 08, 2007 at 21:36:31 PT:
I ment
Hi Whig!
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Comment #13 posted by runruff on December 08, 2007 at 21:32:55 PT:
Hi Wig!
It's good to hear from you. I hope you are doing well. Happy Holidays.
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Comment #12 posted by whig on December 08, 2007 at 20:59:09 PT
Dry lawn, or well manicured lawn
Either is a sign you may have a pot house.
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Comment #11 posted by runruff on December 08, 2007 at 20:46:47 PT:
Actually, right vs wrong is not might makes right.
I have always been sympathetic with the American Indian, the Mexicans, Palastinians and I think that England stole the Falkland Islands by force from Argentina. Anyone who has lost their homes to ambitious empire builders. Imagine "Manifest Destiny." What a load! I am not antisemetic but I don't agree that they have the right to displace people who have lived in these lands for two thousand years. It was the Romans who displaced them not the Palastinians. But that's another story. The United Kingdom once claimed that,"the sun never sat on the British Empire." Creating that "Empire" was the bloodies endevor in history. The Mexicans and Native American peoples occupied the southwest since time out of mind. France, Spain and the U.S. spilled a sea of human blood stealing this land from it's peoples. I've known many Mexican people in my life. As far as they are concerned this is still their land and they will have full control of it again someday. U.S. power is waining. I believe someday they will take it back. It's like a bully who knocks a boy off his bike then calls it his. Is it his? Then the boy goes away to serve in the military then comes back and kicks the bullies butt and takes his bike back because it was always his anyway. That's how I see it.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 08, 2007 at 18:16:49 PT
runruff
I'm glad you understand how I put my priorities.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on December 08, 2007 at 18:14:42 PT
runruff
As far as immigration goes. Didn't Mexico own a good bit of the United States at one time? I can compare how I would feel if another country took my little place from me. People don't forget.
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Comment #8 posted by runruff on December 08, 2007 at 18:11:10 PT:
FoM
True that!
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 08, 2007 at 18:05:56 PT
runruff
I look at the government as a way of trying to make civilized living possible for everyone. It just isn't perfect because nothing man does is perfect. I feel rich. I have a warm house and food to eat and water to drink and clothes to wear. We have more then so many people around the world. I am content. Merry Christmas to you and Linda.
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Comment #6 posted by runruff on December 08, 2007 at 17:49:29 PT:
Hey Ya'll
I am not for seeing other people suffer or go without. That seems to be the way it is with most of the world. I think the concepts outlined in this. It is probably closer to the original intent of the founding fathers. I know that today most Americans are looking for answers for something they see is wrong in our government. I didn't really post this for the intent of any one either agreeing with me or disagreeing. I thought it was an interesting piece of writing and wanted to share it. Yes as for me. I have a bigger kinder heart, but have fewer answers, and even less money. Merry Christmas.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 08, 2007 at 17:41:36 PT
runruff
I'm not good at history but I'll tell you how I see it. Our lives are like a vapor. We are here and then gone and that goes for countries too. We have a big split in our country. Middle America doesn't exist anymore. You are either rich or poor. I read Animal Farm again and that is how I look at us too. Greed always takes and never cares for the poor. Many poor people are in situations out of their control and some use the system but do we not care for those who had bad hits in life or do we care. We have too many people and no way of keeping them gainfully employed to achieve any financial success. We also are competing to survive against the invisible world of microbes. I don't fear terrorists or things like that but I do know that we are very close to a major epidemic. It's going to take out a lot of people and then we will have to start all over again. It seems simple but that is how I see it. After an epidemic the rich and the poor must pull together to rebuild and the whole thing starts all over again. That's the cycle of life to me.
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Comment #4 posted by runruff on December 08, 2007 at 17:22:35 PT:
The Crux of the Problem is Not Just Prohibition.
HOW LONG DOES THE USA HAVE?
This is the most interesting thing I've read in a long time. The sad thing about it, you can see it coming.
I have always heard about this democracy countdown. It is interesting to see it in print. God help us, not that we deserve it.
How Long Do We Have?
About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at
the University of Edinburgh, this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:
'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a &nabs p;permanent form of government.'
'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public
treasury.'
'From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.'
'The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years'
'During those 200 years, those nations awl ays progressed through the following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage'
Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:
Number of States won by:
Gore: 19
Bush: 29
Square miles of land won by:
Gore: 580,000
Bush: 2,427,000
Population of counties won by:
Gore: 127 million
Bush: 143 million
Murder rate per 10 0,000 residents in counties won by:
Gore: 13.2
Bush: 2.1
Professor Olson adds: 'In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...' Olson believes the United State s is now somewhere between the 'complacency and apathy' phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the 'governmental dependency' phase.
If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.
If you are in favor of this then delete this message if you are not then Pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.
Thanks for reading.
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Comment #3 posted by potpal on December 08, 2007 at 08:53:59 PT
grow up
This story and all the grow house bugaboo stories is (are) so lame and sad. And so much sadder to see them in a big publication. Nice distraction. People been growing cannabis indoors for over 20 years. They don't necessarily steal the electricity, some pay for it, I'm sure. Peter Jennings' Pot Of Gold was out in 1997 and detailed all of this then. That documentary also pointed out the county- wide outdoor growing that was taking place then (and now) in the south. Worth viewing.http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-37.html But the facts are, cannabis can be grown in a closet with a 250w (about a tv worth) bulb or less, with a some rain water and the right soil combo. Oh yeah, oooh, don't forget the 'hi tech' timer!Sow every seed.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 08, 2007 at 07:48:57 PT
Governor, Prosecutor Still at Odds Over Pot Cases
December 8, 2007 COLCHESTER, Vt. -- Windsor County State's Attorney Robert Sand says Gov. Jim Douglas is mischaracterizing his policy for handling felony marijuana cases brought to his office.Speaking on Vermont Public Radio's Vermont's Edition Friday, Douglas said Sand had a blanket policy of sending all marijuana cases to the court diversion program, which if successfully completed will result in no criminal record for the defendant."The essence of prosecutorial discretion is making a decision based on the facts of an individual case. But when you say I have a blanket policy, I don't care what the facts are, this is how this is going to be treated, that's not an exercise of discretion," Douglas said.But Sand said the governor had it wrong."My policy is that every case that comes into the office gets reviewed on its individual merits and a decision made at that point about whether to go forward, what charges to file and what type of sentence recommendation or other disposition is appropriate," said Sand.It's the latest round in an ongoing dispute between the two that escalated earlier this year when Sand referred the marijuana case of a 61-year-old lawyer and part time judge found with 36 marijuana plants and more than two pounds of dried marijuana to the court diversion program, which if successfully completed, will result in no criminal record.Douglas has ordered the state police and other law enforcement agencies to refer all significant marijuana cases to the state attorney general's office or the United States attorney.Sand has been outspoken in his call for the Legislature to revisit Vermont's drug laws and possibly decriminalize certain marijuana cases.The dispute between Sand, a Democrat, and Douglas, a Republican, got even more attention Friday after the governor said it was appropriate for the Orange County prosecutor to use the diversion program for a man found with 110 marijuana plants.Sand said the governor was using a double standard.Copyright: 2007 Associated PressURL: http://tinyurl.com/ys9ct6
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Comment #1 posted by Treeanna on December 08, 2007 at 07:02:20 PT
OT from my local paper
Hi all :)I wanted to link you this silliness that is being repeated ad nauseum in our local papers so that hopefully some of you will brave the crappy website and figure out how to send these people some letters of sanity. The website is hard to navigate, but once you click on 20-30 buttons, there is an online LTE page in there.http://www.siskiyoudaily.com/articles/2007/12/07/news/88120707news3.txt
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