cannabisnews.com: Pot Grower Complains of Bad Rap





Pot Grower Complains of Bad Rap
Posted by CN Staff on May 08, 2003 at 07:33:23 PT
By Randy Richmond, Free Press Reporter
Source: London Free Press 
Marijuana home-grow operations are getting an unfair rap, says an Ilderton grower busted last week by police. "I just want people to know there is a safe side. My house is not going to burn down. The kids are not going to burn in their sleep," said Mike Mcdowell of Ilderton. Mcdowell offered The Free Press a rare invitation to see a home-grow marijuana operation yesterday. He admitted he was growing marijuana and said he has no problem with police doing their job. 
"They were very courteous and professional," he said. But the pot he grew was hardly worth what police said and was only used for personal use, Mcdowell insisted. "People do need it. Now I'm a criminal for growing in my own home." In a news release, police said they had seized marijuana's valued at $112,000. City police estimate each plant brings in about $1,000. But Mcdowell said he had only 48 plants in hydroponic growth and 53 cuttings, bringing the street value to between $10,000 and $15,000. In any case, he doesn't sell marijuana, Mcdowell said. "It wasn't for sale. It was for personal consumption." Mcdowell said he'd rather not break the law, but with arthritis in his knuckles, he smokes for both pain relief and pleasure. He and his wife, Tabetha, figure they shared on average about four joints a day. With two boys in the house, the couple kept their grow operation under wraps in the basement, Mcdowell said. "Ask my kid about marijuana. He won't know what you're talking about," said Mcdowell, also owner of the Plant Doctor, a hydroponics store in London. "I teach classes on hydroponics. I have elderly ladies go home and grow vegetables in their basements." Police and firefighters have recently stepped up efforts to warn the public about massive marijuana grow operations, which can use entire houses and tap illegally into hydro lines. Mcdowell agreed the large-scale trafficking operations can be fire hazards. "The traffickers are the ones who are going to kill somebody." But in his house, he pointed out, breakers, plugs and lights in his basement were all properly wired and surpassed safety standards. He alternated between hydroponics in one room and a soil operation in another to keep a steady supply of marijuana. Each operation used two 1,000-watt, high-intensity sodium light bulbs for 12 hours a day. The hydroponics room appeared state of the art, with silver Mylar on the walls, pull-down shades covered in more Mylar, a carbon air filter, a fan and a track system for lights that allows them to pass over the plants just as the sun would. "I imitate nature as much as I can. Clean air, a breeze," Mcdowell said. The equipment costs about $6,000 and the lighting about $65 in hydro a month, he said. The charges have put him out of growing, Mcdowell said. "I'm out of it. Now I'll have to go to the pharmacy and get man-made medications." Source: London Free Press (CN ON)Author: Randy Richmond, Free Press ReporterPublished: Thursday, May 8, 2003 Copyright: 2003 The London Free Press Contact: letters lfpress.comWebsite: http://www.fyilondon.com/londonfreepress/Related Articles & Web Site:Cannabis News Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCanadian Marijuana Ready for Trialshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16200.shtmlGrower's MJ Canada's First Totally Organic Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16080.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by afterburner on May 08, 2003 at 16:01:57 PT:
Cultivation is Decriminalized for Medical Cannabis
Why is this medical cannabis patient being persecuted? No wonder the courts are angry. They are tired of the waste of time and money expended by law enforcement to bring false charges against legitimate growers, thereby, adding more waste with court costs and court time wasted. If this were California, the US Federal DEA would invade with storm-troopers and confiscate the crop. Oh, wait, that is almost what happened, the only difference it happened in London, Ontario, by local police, who should know better in a province where medical possession and cultivation of cannabis is unconstitutional, and de facto decriminalized.Mr. Mike Mcdowell, you have the right to sue for return of your medicine and any property seized, precedents: Steve and Michelle Kubby of Vancouver and Terry Parker of Ontario. ego transcendence follows ego destruction, and suddenly there is no problem.
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