Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
From the outside, it looked like just another modest home nestled in a peaceful community. Nothing about its white shutters, vinyl siding and neatly trimmed shrubs in the front hinted at the secret within the Shrewsbury house.
Inside, walls covered with family pictures and decorations brightened the room where a television was set up in front of a couch. But in the attic was something a little different — a plant not typically found growing in the yard next to carrots and tomatoes.
Hundreds of marijuana plants basking under artificial light and soaking up water from soil-rich nutrients were this home’s hidden secret.
Central Massachusetts hasn’t seen an onslaught of homegrown pot operations, but authorities predict that with tighter border security since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and more aggressive efforts to find and eradicate outdoor crops, indoor marijuana nurseries on American soil will increase.
“Over the last six months we have seen a handful of indoor grows at different levels, some for personal use and some for sale,” said Worcester Police Sgt. Eric A. Boss, a member of the department’s vice squad.
*edit
All the equipment to grow marijuana was inside the apartment, police said, including a how-to book on growing the weed.
Two years ago, Shrewsbury investigators found about 120 marijuana plants growing inside the attic of a two-story house at 50 Longfellow Road, which led to the arrest of a mother, her two children and two other men. They were also accused of growing 26 marijuana plants in the woods off Gulf Street in Shrewsbury, crimes for which several of the people arrested received no more than two years’ jail time and others had their cases continued without a finding.The crop in the November 2005 bust was valued at roughly $125,000.
Leicester Police Chief James J. Hurley, a Shrewsbury lieutenant during the 2005 discovery and now the unit supervisor of the Regional Drug & Counter Crime Task Force for the Middle District of Eastern Worcester County, said more enforcement against outdoor marijuana growers has forced them to move their operations indoors.
Helicopter flyovers and state, federal and local authorities’ marijuana-eradication programs at harvest time are well-publicized ways investigators find and destroy outdoor crops. The pot growers know it too, authorities said.
“There have been several significant grabs of outdoor marijuana grows and that has driven people indoors,” he said.
Pot growers also see added financial advantages to the indoor grow, said Chief Hurley, who has had a couple of articles published on the topic of marijuana grows.
“Outdoors you can only get one good grow in a year,” he said. “The cycle indoors is three to four grows in a year. You’d be surprised how many plants a good indoor marijuana growing can get going.”
While indoor plants are usually smaller — 3 feet to 4 feet tall compared to the 8-foot to 10-foot outdoor plants — dealers find the indoor grows more profitable because more plants can be harvested over a year, the chief said.
A good grower can get a pound of marijuana from one plant and net a profit of $800 to $1,500 per pound, he said.
Authorities here say many of the indoor marijuana grows are for personal use. Many people caught growing their own cannabis are usually novices, Sgt. Boss said.
While large grow houses are not common in Central Massachusetts, authorities know of marijuana distributors in other states buying homes strictly as grow houses.
“In fact, Canada-based Asian groups are increasingly operating indoor grow sites in homes in the Pacific Northwest and California, purchased or rented and then modified for the purpose of producing two to four crops before abandoning the premises,” said a National Drug Intelligence Center report. It also said that more high-potency marijuana is being grown indoors domestically.
“Intelligence reports say there will be an increase of indoor grows,” said Gardner Police Lt. Gerald J. Poirier, commander of the North Worcester County Drug Task Force.
Since border security is tighter, the chance of pot smugglers being caught coming into the country has increased, he said. Instead, the organized groups are producing their product in the United States, he said.
The indoor grows are also harder to detect, but investigators say they have methods of finding them but won’t discuss them.
Steven S. Epstein, a lawyer and founder and current treasurer of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, the state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of the Marijuana Laws, said under legislation his organization wants passed, 24 plants in a home would be deemed a personal-use amount.
His organization has legislation filed with the state seeking to have marijuana decriminalized. If marijuana were legalized and taxed, the revenue stream would be at least $26 million in Massachusetts, he said.
Mr. Epstein believes it shouldn’t be a crime if someone had three separate rooms, all with about eight plants in each room and all the plants in different stages of growth. That would be deemed personal use, he said.
While marijuana possession generally isn’t treated as harshly as possession of some other drugs — bringing only a citation in some states for certain minimum amounts — that doesn’t mean police want to see it legalized.
“There is a big difference between someone driving smoking pot and someone driving smoking a cigarette,” Chief Hurley said.
*content has been edited
News Hawk- User 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Worcester Telegram
Author: Scott J. Croteau
Contact: scroteau@telegram.com
Copyright: 2007 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.
Website: Worcester Telegram & Gazette News
Inside, walls covered with family pictures and decorations brightened the room where a television was set up in front of a couch. But in the attic was something a little different — a plant not typically found growing in the yard next to carrots and tomatoes.
Hundreds of marijuana plants basking under artificial light and soaking up water from soil-rich nutrients were this home’s hidden secret.
Central Massachusetts hasn’t seen an onslaught of homegrown pot operations, but authorities predict that with tighter border security since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and more aggressive efforts to find and eradicate outdoor crops, indoor marijuana nurseries on American soil will increase.
“Over the last six months we have seen a handful of indoor grows at different levels, some for personal use and some for sale,” said Worcester Police Sgt. Eric A. Boss, a member of the department’s vice squad.
*edit
All the equipment to grow marijuana was inside the apartment, police said, including a how-to book on growing the weed.
Two years ago, Shrewsbury investigators found about 120 marijuana plants growing inside the attic of a two-story house at 50 Longfellow Road, which led to the arrest of a mother, her two children and two other men. They were also accused of growing 26 marijuana plants in the woods off Gulf Street in Shrewsbury, crimes for which several of the people arrested received no more than two years’ jail time and others had their cases continued without a finding.The crop in the November 2005 bust was valued at roughly $125,000.
Leicester Police Chief James J. Hurley, a Shrewsbury lieutenant during the 2005 discovery and now the unit supervisor of the Regional Drug & Counter Crime Task Force for the Middle District of Eastern Worcester County, said more enforcement against outdoor marijuana growers has forced them to move their operations indoors.
Helicopter flyovers and state, federal and local authorities’ marijuana-eradication programs at harvest time are well-publicized ways investigators find and destroy outdoor crops. The pot growers know it too, authorities said.
“There have been several significant grabs of outdoor marijuana grows and that has driven people indoors,” he said.
Pot growers also see added financial advantages to the indoor grow, said Chief Hurley, who has had a couple of articles published on the topic of marijuana grows.
“Outdoors you can only get one good grow in a year,” he said. “The cycle indoors is three to four grows in a year. You’d be surprised how many plants a good indoor marijuana growing can get going.”
While indoor plants are usually smaller — 3 feet to 4 feet tall compared to the 8-foot to 10-foot outdoor plants — dealers find the indoor grows more profitable because more plants can be harvested over a year, the chief said.
A good grower can get a pound of marijuana from one plant and net a profit of $800 to $1,500 per pound, he said.
Authorities here say many of the indoor marijuana grows are for personal use. Many people caught growing their own cannabis are usually novices, Sgt. Boss said.
While large grow houses are not common in Central Massachusetts, authorities know of marijuana distributors in other states buying homes strictly as grow houses.
“In fact, Canada-based Asian groups are increasingly operating indoor grow sites in homes in the Pacific Northwest and California, purchased or rented and then modified for the purpose of producing two to four crops before abandoning the premises,” said a National Drug Intelligence Center report. It also said that more high-potency marijuana is being grown indoors domestically.
“Intelligence reports say there will be an increase of indoor grows,” said Gardner Police Lt. Gerald J. Poirier, commander of the North Worcester County Drug Task Force.
Since border security is tighter, the chance of pot smugglers being caught coming into the country has increased, he said. Instead, the organized groups are producing their product in the United States, he said.
The indoor grows are also harder to detect, but investigators say they have methods of finding them but won’t discuss them.
Steven S. Epstein, a lawyer and founder and current treasurer of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition, the state affiliate of the National Organization for the Reform of the Marijuana Laws, said under legislation his organization wants passed, 24 plants in a home would be deemed a personal-use amount.
His organization has legislation filed with the state seeking to have marijuana decriminalized. If marijuana were legalized and taxed, the revenue stream would be at least $26 million in Massachusetts, he said.
Mr. Epstein believes it shouldn’t be a crime if someone had three separate rooms, all with about eight plants in each room and all the plants in different stages of growth. That would be deemed personal use, he said.
While marijuana possession generally isn’t treated as harshly as possession of some other drugs — bringing only a citation in some states for certain minimum amounts — that doesn’t mean police want to see it legalized.
“There is a big difference between someone driving smoking pot and someone driving smoking a cigarette,” Chief Hurley said.
*content has been edited
News Hawk- User 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Worcester Telegram
Author: Scott J. Croteau
Contact: scroteau@telegram.com
Copyright: 2007 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp.
Website: Worcester Telegram & Gazette News
