Sheriffs Plan Shed For Drying Marijuana

Jim Finnel

Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
It's no longer enough for sheriff's deputies to cut down and confiscate marijuana plants.

They also have to do what drug dealers do: dry, sort and weigh the leaves.

Criminal charges are determined by the weight of the marijuana, but those weights are based on the dried product. So before the evidence can be used in court, it has to be processed.

Right now, Kennebec County deputies store stalks of the unprocessed drug in a basement evidence room at the Hill House, the State Street building that houses county offices. The stalks sit there until they shrivel. They are then stripped of their leaves, which are placed in plastic bags and storage boxes.

In the future, the marijuana will be dried in a shed to be built on top of one of Sheriff Randall Liberty's garage bays behind his office. County commissioners this week gave their approval to the plan.

Capt. John Perkins said he could build the drying shed for about $1,100 using in-house labor.

He also would need to buy an exhaust fan.

The sheriff promised the second-story shed would be secure.

"Only law enforcement goes into that bay and the rest is locked," Liberty said.

When fresh crops are brought in during the early fall, county Administrator Robert Devlin said, the smell of the illegal plants can be clearly noticed in his upstairs Hill House office space.

"About 10 o'clock, you find yourself craving a lot of chips," the administrator joked.

Perkins told commissioners he planned to build a 20-by-16-foot area with drying racks and an air-exhaust system to speed the drying process.

"Access would be from the back side, there'd be a set of stairs, and there'd be a cage in it and some sort of fan ventilation," Perkins told the commissioners. "It doesn't affect any other areas, it would be lockable and I'd put in some sort of infrared alarm."

"I just wanted to see if you agreed with the concept," Perkins said.

Commission Chairwoman Nancy Rines said, "I don't have a problem with it when you're ready."

"I don't see anything wrong with it," said Commissioner George Jabar II.



News Hawk- User https://www.420magazine.com
Source: MaineToday
Author: Gary Remal
Contact: gremal@centralmaine.com
Copyright: 2007 MaineToday
Website: Sheriffs plan shed for drying marijuana crop
 
Next are the curing cabinets, the sampling station, the snack bar, the beverage counter...
 
That cop sure looks awful happy as he holds his stolen stash.
 
Yeah, you'll know what's going on when you see all the cops hanging out on the roof of the building.
 
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