Cannabis growers make good neighbors

There was a fairly major bust in my old stomping grounds in the Happy Valley this week. Police busted a grow-op in an old factory building with somewhere between 400-500 plants in various stages of maturity. Frankly, I thought the mature plants were rather unimpressive looking but police estimates of their value were at least more realistic than usual. Records found at the scene suggest the operation has been ongoing for about ten years, which brings me to the point of this post.

The Union News notes the only reason this place was busted is because someone ratted them out. I can't link to the Gazette since they have a subscription only site, but they reported that neighbors had no complaints about the operation and were in fact unaware that anything at all was going on at the old factory.

The prohibitionists like to spread scare stories about the dangers of grow-ops but that's just bullshit. The greatest danger comes from jerry rigged bypasses to electricity the growers are forced to use in order to avoid attention to their energy use. A cost they would gladly pay if it didn't result in arrest. The owners of this building no doubt paid to the taxes to the town on the property and would have been happy to pay taxes on the crop if it were legal.

As it stands, the building will no doubt be seized under forfeiture, removing it from the tax rolls and the consumers this op served will be forced to deal with someone else to get their product. Chances are good it will be a dealer who is less responsible than these men were. As prohibition forces out the small growers, organized criminals inevitably take over. So I ask you, how is this making you more safe from drugs?

[graphic gratitude]