cannabisnews.com: Increase in Pot Grow Busts a Sign of The Times










  Increase in Pot Grow Busts a Sign of The Times

Posted by CN Staff on June 14, 2008 at 05:59:23 PT
By Robert Salonga, Contra Costa Times 
Source: Contra Costa Times 

California -- The frequency of marijuana grow operations broken up this year in East Contra Costa County reveals two long-building story lines, authorities say.First, the profitability and feasibility of illegal pot cultivation has been generally immune to swings in the economy, with growers exhibiting enough ingenuity to exploit both good and bad housing markets.
The second is that as grow operations have made their way from rural areas to the suburbs, fed-up residents have become a key law enforcement resource in finding them.The movement of grow operations to upscale housing developments had its genesis in part from the passage of Proposition 215 in 1996, which made limited marijuana cultivation permissible under a doctor's orders or in the capacity of a primary caregiver. To an extent, law enforcement officials argue, it normalized marijuana use in California."The old lady with glaucoma is not your average marijuana grower," said Antioch police Lt. Leonard Orman.Some high-volume illegal marijuana grows seized this year include 160 plants in Discovery Bay in February; 250 plants in Antioch in March; and a $1.3 million 1,200-plant operation found during a May raid in Brentwood.Many of these operations were indoors, thriving inside homes gutted to make room for plants and the array of heating equipment needed to grow them. That these grows were being housed in new housing developments is a byproduct of two divergent economic trends.The housing boom of the first half of the decade was a boon for many. For home buyers, it meant purchasing a home with 100 percent financing, requiring no money down and low payments in the beginning. Once payments ballooned, they could capitalize on their increased home value to refinance the mortgage.For large-scale marijuana growers, it meant getting a home for a grow operation with little initial investment, and skipping town before the mortgage defaulted. Even those who decided to stick around saw relatively manageable mortgage payments even after they ballooned, considering that one marijuana plant can be cultivated up to three times a year, yielding a maximum of $9,000 on the street."With a 100 plants, that's $900,000 a year, tax free," said Norm Wielsch, commander of the state-run Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team.Then, when the housing market tanked and homeowners found themselves stuck in homes they could no longer afford, growers swooped in again, snatching up foreclosed homes on the cheap or taking up space in vacant homes that sat for months without a buyer. Homes for rent were also viable targets for these schemes.These homes took on even more value when Proposition 215 opened the floodgates for profit-driven growers operating under the guise of medical marijuana cultivation, said Michael Chapman, assistant special agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency's San Francisco field division."The proliferation of indoor grows really exploded," Chapman said. "And they were often claiming medicinal use."But in the 12 years since the legislation was passed and large grows started popping up in suburbia, residents began taking notice. A grow house, besides containing marijuana that has skyrocketed in street value, also holds cash and weapons, the latter to ward off robbers. It's an element that neighbors are trying to purge from their communities."It's starting to resonate with society," Chapman said.Jose Marin, the county's supervising deputy district attorney for drug prosecution, said he's seen other deleterious effects of grow operations in the midst of a residential neighborhood. A grow operation inflicts considerable damage on a home, from torn-down walls to severe mold. Outside the home, growers who reroute electricity for power cause serious infrastructure damage and a significant fire hazard for everyone nearby.After a drug seizure, it can take tens of thousands of dollars to repair a home and make it saleable again. Marin said it's all the more reason for residents who want to preserve the integrity of their neighborhoods to blow the whistle on such activity."We would like to see more of this, since (residents) have more eyes and ears than law enforcement," Marin said. Complete Title: Increase in Pot Grow Busts a Sign of The Times, Authorities SaySource: Contra Costa Times (CA)Author: Robert Salonga, Contra Costa TimesPublished: June 13, 2008Copyright: 2008 Knight RidderContact: letters cctimes.comWebsite: http://www.contracostatimes.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml

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Comment #53 posted by Had Enough on June 22, 2008 at 11:43:10 PT
Hey Toker
All is cool…We all reach a saturation point at one time or another…It’s how we deal with it…is what makes the difference…Time is here for you to take a rest, regroup, sharpen the spear, and get back at it…Been there - done that - got the T-shirt…:)************go here, keep an eye on this thread…http://cannabisnews.com/news/23/thread23277.shtml************The Beatles - With a little help from my friendshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poUoCggQZd0
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Comment #52 posted by Toker00 on June 21, 2008 at 19:59:28 PT
Museman, Had enough
Thanks for the kind words. I have finally turned around from the front line and looked back to see what all this Truth warrioring has accomplished. I am overwhelmed...The point of my Spear is dull. I must rest and sharpen it. I'm so tired...my sword once agile in my hand now drags the ground as I walk...stumbling into my lare for a long awaited rest...the Truth needs to be defended no more...did it ever?Toke. 
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Comment #51 posted by FoM on June 21, 2008 at 07:36:35 PT
afterburner and museman
When my time is up there will be nothing done. No notice. Nothing. Poof! Bye Bye! LOL!
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Comment #50 posted by afterburner on June 21, 2008 at 07:07:16 PT
museman #47
"Honoring the dead is done by living their dreams, not by bringing flowers to their funeral."I so agree. Since my (partial) 'enlightenment,' I have made the above sentiment a guiding force in my life. I remember going to the funeral for a young girl who had been murdered. It was a time of great sadness for her parents. As an acquaintance of the family, I too experienced a time of great sadness for they were good people. Then, on my way back home from the gravesite, I saw a friend or family member smiling and waving from the back window of the family's car. I pondered this inconsistency, knowing that at least one of the family was a practicing Buddhist. I thought of the saying, "Released from suffering."I used to get very sad about roadkill animals. I told my Dad and he said, "Pray for the living."btw, the Rastas speak of 'Guidance,' a powerful sense of connection with Jah.
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Comment #49 posted by FoM on June 20, 2008 at 11:25:09 PT

museman
Let me try to explain why Tim Russert's funeral was special to me. I don't look at the natural but the spiritual in a moment like his Memorial Service. I believe when good abides so does God abide. That is what was so moving about the Service. Glory isn't for the man but for the moment in time. It would be similar to a Rainbow Gathering in my mind. When people join together in a sense of unity and awe of the good you understand what happens.
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Comment #48 posted by FoM on June 20, 2008 at 10:11:00 PT

museman
What was special about Tim Russert was his zeal for life. He always was deeply concerned with others and that is why I think he was special. I have only watched Meet The Press since Obama started to run. I liked what Tim Russert said and he seemed fair. We need fair minded people in the middle of Washington and he did a good job.
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Comment #47 posted by museman on June 20, 2008 at 10:01:49 PT

#44
"WOW there is a God after all."I'm sure that Tim was a good man, his smile was a give away. I just never watched him that much.I don't want to disparage anyone's sympathies or mourning for the loss of this man, I'm sure he is deserving of them, but personally I do feel somewhat irked by the pomp and and circumstance, and the attention given to one dead man (or actually, it was his funeral that gave the opportunity for more photo ops,) just because he was well known in High Society.Now I'd be impressed if all those same 'important' people who showed up, not to mourn, but just to make a show of being there, took their time, money, and interest to a funeral of one of the many victims of natures uprising in the midwest, or to the many unattended burials of children in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa.Honoring the dead is done by living their dreams, not by bringing flowers to their funeral.In the words of Yashua; "Let the dead bury the dead."
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Comment #46 posted by FoM on June 19, 2008 at 10:14:28 PT

fight_4_freedom 
I'm glad you liked it. It's dark and dreary here today too but now and then the sun comes out in all it's glory. Having a positive outlook doesn't come from things going right for us but just for having another day to try. The lady that has rented our one house for the last 17 years won't be coming home so we will be starting renovations this coming month. We don't have anyone to rent the house now but I know we will in time. Life changes, our challenges change but the way we deal with it is all that matters in the end.
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Comment #45 posted by fight_4_freedom on June 19, 2008 at 09:57:02 PT:

That's how we should all look at things FoM
We need to try to find the good in everything. And spread nothing but love and joy to each and every person we meet.That was a beautiful video. Seeing that rainbow truly brought a smile to my face. I needed that on this dark and cloudy day up here. Thank you.ONE LOVE
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Comment #44 posted by FoM on June 19, 2008 at 08:33:17 PT

fight_4_freedom 
Someone put together the song and pictures from the Memorial Service yesterday and the Rainbow is in this video.http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=wBddo1RGiJU&
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on June 19, 2008 at 08:20:49 PT

fight_4_freedom 
That's right. Do we embrace what is good and beautiful or do we look for the dark side of life? I see the beauty. Do we look for miracles every day? When my husband called last night I told him about the song and the rainbow and it wowed him too. It's up to us if we want to see the world as good or bad. I have avoided negative people most of my life because they bring us down to where they are living and then it spreads to those we love. 
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Comment #42 posted by fight_4_freedom on June 19, 2008 at 08:10:15 PT:

There are signs all around us
You just have to be aware and try to notice them. That rainbow coming out after that song was played was certainly one of them.God is Love and Love is all around us.
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Comment #41 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 19:19:58 PT

fight_4_freedom 
You just did show me. Thank you. It is a beautiful song. Keith Olbermann just mentioned the rainbow outside the Memorial Service after the song was sung. Tim Russert's Memorial Service was the most moving service I have ever seen and I have seen a few. Bruce Springsteen came over the satellite (touring Europe) and sang a song for Tim.
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Comment #40 posted by fight_4_freedom on June 18, 2008 at 19:08:18 PT:

That is cool FoM
I love that song so much. At the end of my sister's wedding DVD theres like a recap of the whole wedding and reception with that song in the background. All while showing clips of the mountains, beaches, and ocean of Hawaii which is where the wedding was. An extremely fitting song for the DVD.I wish I could show you guys.
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Comment #39 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 18:32:15 PT

One More Thing 
I was watching Larry King and he said when they played Somewhere Over The Rainbow at the end of the Memorial Service a rainbow appeared outside the Kennedy Center. How cool is that? I'm done being a mush now.Somewhere Over the Rainbowhttp://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=2A2Jt4WOxN8
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Comment #38 posted by museman on June 18, 2008 at 17:14:25 PT

Bgreen
"Everybody against the cannabis plant is trying to destroy one of the major creativity enhancers in the music field, and I don't think they even possess the right to listen to music created under the influence of cannabis. That would exclude a large majority of music created in the last 100 years."Man can I relate to that.
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 14:45:08 PT

I'm Just a Mush
I have never seen a Memorial Service that touched me like the one for Tim Russert. There is good in the world because I just saw it.
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Comment #36 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 13:32:00 PT

BGreen
It really is something. I am watching the Memorial Service on MSNBC and I am touched by the good will this man left behind. I hope that journalists use him as a role model. I want more like him. His son is an amazing young man.
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Comment #35 posted by BGreen on June 18, 2008 at 13:19:34 PT

What was being smoked?
What plant substance was being smoked when Free Bird was written, recorded and performed live (band and audience?)Everybody against the cannabis plant is trying to destroy one of the major creativity enhancers in the music field, and I don't think they even possess the right to listen to music created under the influence of cannabis. That would exclude a large majority of music created in the last 100 years.If only we could truly be "free as a bird" without having to give up our cannabis or our lives.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 13:02:44 PT

museman
They were playing this song at Tim Russert's funeral. He was so special.FreeBird - Lynyrd Skynyrdhttp://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=O1mCQKuvzCM
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 11:36:33 PT

museman
I also love this song of Leonard Cohen. He is an amazing musician. If he tours in our state we want to go see him. I like him because his music is so broad. Music with a purpose is what I like. Also CSNY Deja Vu is coming out soon. Here's the trailer. 'CSNY DEJA VU' Official UK Trailerhttp://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=GBxrCY980f4Leonard Cohen: Hallelujahhttp://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=rf36v0epfmI
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 11:16:35 PT

museman
I just got in from doing a little mowing and I was listening to Leonard Cohen. This song relates to what you and I are thinking I believe. I believe to be prepared for the worst but live like there is no tomorrow. The sky was beautiful. Dark storm clouds are rolling in but then I would see a gorgeous clear spot in the sky and my eyes are drawn to that and not the dark and dismal. I hope you understand what I mean.Leonard Cohen - The Futurehttp://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=_drEFOaPaK8
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Comment #31 posted by museman on June 18, 2008 at 11:05:38 PT

Had Enough
Looking forward to the DVD. There are a couple of local places that would like to do some public showings. Having the DVD will make that easier.But...you better give me a return address, even if it isn't yours, because I have a need to exchange energies, even though I appreciate, and honor the gift.
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Comment #30 posted by museman on June 18, 2008 at 11:02:14 PT

Important Correction to last post
"..with out Faith, Hope, Belief," should be "with OUR Faith, Hope, and Belief" Sorry, I just miss those little details sometimes
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Comment #29 posted by museman on June 18, 2008 at 10:56:04 PT

FoM
I too spent most of my life studying prophecies, -every one I could find-. I had an apocalyptic vision at the age of 14 that made me a different person than most of my peers.The predictions are all quite dire, except a vague general expectation of resolution in all the catastrophe, but in all of them I found one specific commonality; that is the intention of the prophecies in the first place.Then intention of prophecy, contrary most ecclesiastical doctrine, is not to deliver a set of inevitablities, but a warning to the wise, as an effort to soften the blow, to make the transition to resolution as painless as possible.All the way up to Y2K, one of my most noted characteristics was the 'prophet of doom.' I had some experience with one of the worlds least known but most meticulate and thorough studies of prophecy with a man whose life was dedicated to 'revealing' prophecy. What I discovered was taught to me by an 11 month old child, who reiterated in her innocense the fact that there is more to life than worrying about the future, and in fact the feelings of an innocent heart are so much more important than all the studies, all the books, all the 'scriptures and prophecies' ever written.I've witnessed most of the events of my own prophetic vision (very similar to the revelations of John -before I'd had the chance to read them) come to pass. Up until Y2K I was living in sure knowlege of the inevitability, but the expectation created throughout an entire lifetime of believing in the inevitability of cataclysm and disaster in literal biblical proportion did not hold up to the momentary emotional needs of a little child. For a few years, it was like I'd been spiritually blinded, I'd been living with a clear vision of the future for so long, to be suddenly bereft of that vision was very hard to take.My first reaction when I realized I'd literally been wasting my time on ancient fuzzy views of the now that I was living in, was to throw the entire idea out my proverbial window. Ah, liberation from carrying the weight.When my mind and heart was sufficiently purged of a life time of backwards focus (thinking it was forward) my spiritual vision began to come back, but in a new and exicitng way.I can still see 'prophecy' but what I see is the parts that aren't written down or discussed in the old world view of things. What I see is the parts that could not be seen unitl now, because as I said prophecy is a warning.It is not only a warning to people, but to the demonic beings who think to maintain their power and control into the next millennium. I guarantee that the powers that be have paid close attention to prophecy, and they do not take the warnings lightly -even though they may publicly ridicule them-. There is even a large effort on their part to kind of fulfil those prophecies, but to their own design and end.In the Revelations of John there is a passage that states 
"... unless they (mankind) repent, these things will surely come to pass."What happens if 'we' repent?Of course, actual 'repentance' in the original intent and meaning has very little to do with what christian doctrine has made of it, but this line "Unless you as are a little child, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" demonstrates what real repentance actually is; a return to the open innocense and wonder of a childlike outlook and perspective, rather than the stiff-necked "I know what God wants because the preachers and the bible inflexibly state it (over and over)."However, definitions aside, the opportunity to divert disaster is as simple a personal choice to "not go there." The idea that we can all just continue to court disaster without care, because 'Jesus will save us' is just the kind of thing that allows the worst case scenarios to play out, and empowers the charlatans who profit in many kinds of ways by feeding fear and calling it 'faith.'In the past, I thought I had a vision of the future, when actually all it was was a well crafted portrait from the past. Thinking that that backward-looking was actually forward looking has confused many, including me. But I have arrived in the now. More and more of my consciousness is becoming part of the movement of the flow of creation -the momentary (yet somehow eternal) now, and the old tendencies to fall back on antiquated knowlege and dead-worded-thinking are becoming more and more extinct in my daily life.As far as the rest of humanity is concerned, it's always been my belief and philosophy, that "If I can do it, so can you." So if I can see the fact of the arrival of a True New Age in Consciousness, it isn't hidden from anyone, and anyone can also see it if they look in the right place.Therefore, as dire as the events and potentials that are confronting us seem to be- and are- we have to stop feeding the fires of destruction with our fears, and begin to water the garden of creation with out Faith, Hope, Belief, and unwavering conviction that that is the desired inevitability, rather than the doom that the bankers would (are) profit so much from.

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Comment #28 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 09:30:13 PT

museman
I'm getting ready to go mow but I wanted to say this while it's on my mind. I really liked Tim Russert. His funeral is today and something insignificant to many was significant to me. Senator Obama and Senator McCain sat next to each other during the Mass. Tim Russert would smile about that. We need to be more like Tim Russert and the world might be a better place. That's all for now.
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 07:55:25 PT

Had Enough
I find it very hard to believe that parents would allow such a thing but they might. Nothing really surprises me anymore. 
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Comment #26 posted by Had Enough on June 18, 2008 at 07:49:29 PT

and…
U.S. School District to Begin Microchipping Students 
Monday, June 16, 2008http://www.naturalnews.com/023445.html

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Comment #25 posted by FoM on June 18, 2008 at 07:41:32 PT

museman
I spent much of my life studying prophecy and what might be our future isn't pretty. I also know that having hope and believing that we can postpone what could happen is a good thing. I think about the levees that broke and all the hard work from all the volunteers seems like why did they even try. People try because of hope. No hope and we just give up and the world just runs over us. Being angry hurts us but being hopeful can help us and the future generation. The choice is ours to make.
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Comment #24 posted by Had Enough on June 18, 2008 at 06:23:32 PT

RFID Chips
They’re here…http://www.disgrunt.com/blog/2006/10/07/the-rfid-micro-chip-privacy-problem-no-end-in-sight/The RFID: Micro-chip Privacy Problem; No End in SightParents Protest Student Computer ID Tagshttp://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2005/2/9/212544.shtml************Glad your back Toker00!!!museman…still waiting for the movie…shipping problem.

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Comment #23 posted by museman on June 18, 2008 at 00:48:57 PT

Toker
Good to see you.You have accurately identified several of the more visible, 'known' aspects of the nature and plan of world domination and conquest. The current face and essence of Lucifer resides, blatantly these days, within the sham reality known as 'finance, economics, and banking.' The world bank is the culmination of many centuries of attempting to put the genie of liberty and freedom back in the bottle of control and dominion. In terms of 'their' plan, anyone paying attention should be beginning to see the transparency of the situation. I agree that on the surface it appears as if they have it all set up so that we have no choices and will be obligated for survival, comfort, and our childrens futures to fall in line and capitulate to such things as the RealID, and the complete anhilation of any substance whatsoever to our medium of exchange and a basis -which used to be gold- of value, making a good portion of our accepted reality directly linked and bound to a virtual economy under THEIR complete control.It is true that these setups; the rollercoaster econo-rides that collapse the middle classes have happened before. Nazi Germany is a perfect example. The fact that all the 'science' and new techniques for psycho-manipulating populaces gleened by the Nazis in their short devastating romp through the soul of man, was just transferred directly to offices in the US - is just one of many clues.The orchestration of crisis after crisis, as well as the exploitation of the natural upheaval and planetary birthing going on right now, seems to be all pervasive, and beyond our abilities to do anything other than observe.The power of the controlling factions seems to be unapproachable.The orchestra appears to be playing a well rehearsed tune. In fact, its so well rehearsed its almost like watching reruns of the Wizard of Oz. You've seen it so many times you know it by heart, are bored to tears with watching, but just can't avoid it because its the only channel you can get, or its on every channel, like state Tv.The picture looks dire and grim,... on that one area and surrounding pixels, and anyone in or near that area, like some parts of the midwest this year, or even worse...I admit that the reality and force of the bullet hitting the bone, or forced encagement, or threat of starvation and other related human suffering is a good persuader of most people to give up and give in, and all of us have had to compromise in ways onorous to our spirits, but surely you must see that if the one side of the coin is true, meaning that all you have said, and much more even is truly the horror of some kind of future "Brave New World" or 1984 delayed a couple of decades, then the odds are, if not proven in mathematical relativity, that the other side of the coin is the very aspect and promise of our dearest dreams. Depending on where you are standing as that 'coin' is turning in the toss, you may perceive one side or the other. It is harder to find hope when your house is floating away, or your children suffer, yet that hope, in those situations is the strongest of all, and it is the foundation of freedom. The freedom to be human.Upon that foundation another plan has been forming, on a level beyond surveilance cameras, and data access. Call it 'Gods Plan' or YHWHs plan, or the Great Celestial Cosmic Plan of The Ages, or 'evolution.' It doesn't matter what you call it, or what perspective you are currently viewing it from (other than to get your bearings), what matters is that THAT plan is not a carefully orchestrated movement, involving precise, limited, EXLUSIVE PARTICIPATION and instrumentation, but an incredible harmonic resolution of spontaneity from the whole of all of creation.There is more than hope. There is evidence. Evidence that some 'dreams that we dare to dream really do come true.'It's only a matter of how you look through the looking glass that determines what you will see.The bleakness of the cast and production of the Same OZ, Different man-behind-the-curtain fascist scenario is undeniable. However, after a lifetime of having my visual cortex bombarded by the total futility of it all, I've managed to finally turn my gaze upon other sights, and brother, what I see.What I see is light.And everything is in it.peace
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on June 16, 2008 at 05:39:56 PT

Toker00 
Toker let me try to tell you how I look at life and our future. I don't know if you will understand it or even care but I'll try. I do not put my faith in our government but in the God of my childhood. He has never failed me. He always makes a way for me even if it seems like He is taking way too long. Every super power has fallen so we will too. In the end we will start all over again if that happens. I have hoped and prayed for someone to run for President that would make me feel a little hope and as hard as it is for me to believe it is happening and we have a good man named Barack Hussein Obama. I watched a Dana Carvey special this weekend and he talked about Obama. He said what a name to overcome. He said there could be a worse name like Charles Manson Hitler. I thought that was funny. I trust that I am not the only person to pray about wanting to have a good leader. So we can complain or we can hope. Nothing is perfect in God's perfect plan like Neil Young sang about. I think of how sad I am about losing Tim Russert. He was a good man and very believable. Why did he die at 58? I don't know but God has his reason for taking him home. I do not put my faith in what I see but in what and how my heart guides me. There is a helluva lot more then politics that matter.Neil Young - Live Aid 1985 Nothing is Perfecthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfBHbbyD6A8
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Comment #21 posted by Toker00 on June 16, 2008 at 04:36:34 PT

FoM
Thank you, FoM. Glad you are better and still hopeful for our country. Someone needs to be. My hope gets crushed with every revelation of corruption and demonality that is our Government.There is no gold at Fort Nox. (Most of it was sold to the Bank of England in the thirties for $35.00 an ounce. There was enough kept for a live audit, but even that was ended in, I think, 1951. They haven't allowed a live audit since then.) That is after they stole it from the People for twenty dollars an ounce, at the threat of 10 years in prison and a fine the equivalent today of, $100,000, if they didn't turn in their gold. The gold was only allowed to be purchased by foreign investors afterward, not the People. We could not buy our gold back AT ANY PRICE. The World banks swindled the People out of the largest gold deposit in the world. It gets lots worse, folks.When will it be painfully obvious that we need to abolish the Federal Reserve? The day Saudi dumps it's American Interests on the stock market after the Feds decide to bankrupt them by Oil? The day Iran floods the market with cheap oil? The day we BOMB Iran? Or, the day they implement Rex 84 and all the other Martial Law goodies they have in store for us? If we bomb Iran, Russia will bomb us. Get ready for it. THEY already have this planned. World War Three. The first world war brought about the League of Nations, which failed. The second world war brought about the United Nations, which took. World war three is nothing more than and excuse to emplement the New World Order. We have to make certain that if FAILS. It kills me to see all you wonderful people beat your heads against the wall every day trying to get the DEA to back off. They won't. They are one of the Nazi tentacles of our new world order.Do you see it now? The World Bank and the IMF are going to collapse the world economy, force everyone to use a Debit card at first, then they will go for the Veri-chip. Question is, "Are we going to let them succeed?"I'm like you FoM. I have hope. But it is not in our government nor the Bankers of the world. It is in WE THE PEOPLE of this Constitutional Republic. Where nearly every politician has fallen victim of the Money Changers. We should be creative enough to create our own money like the colonies did, just as soon as we change our government, which we are guaranteed the RIGHT to DO. Let's get busy... But FoM, there is still Hope. We would suffer greatly for a couple of years in this country, but we could make Congress take back the money making power from the Feds and make them print REAL money, like Lincoln did with the Green Backs. Interest free and dept free money! Don't let our Congress be fooled into accepting the Gold standard again either. Why? Who did I just tell you owns ALL the Gold? We can back our money with Silver. There is too much silver for even the Feds to corner the market. We would once again be Independent!Toke. 
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on June 15, 2008 at 08:58:33 PT

Another unnecessary death. How many more?
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/columnists/sfl-flbmayocol0615sbjun15,0,6471138.columnOverzealous drug war claims another casualty
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Comment #19 posted by Hope on June 15, 2008 at 08:25:46 PT

Drug War Cheerleaders
Antioch police Lt. Leonard Orman. Norm Wielsch, commander of the state-run Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team. Michael Chapman, assistant special agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency's San Francisco field division. Jose Marin, the county's supervising deputy district attorney for drug prosecution. Robert Salonga, Contra Costa Times.They tempt people with outrageous promises of ridiculous and easy to get wealth. They instruct them on how to do it. They agitate and rile people up with with fear and hatred. They destroy lives and make money doing it.On one hand they say how horribly dangerous and prolific these grow ops are that they and their prohibition have created... and out of the other side of their mouths they say that no one suspects they exist. Watch your neighbors. Report your neighbors to them. The whole nasty mess and calculated deconstruction of people getting along or, as they would have it, not getting along, is created and cheered on by prohibitionists.They haven't just made mountains out of mole hills. They have made spewing, destructive volcanoes out of mole hills.
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on June 15, 2008 at 07:58:51 PT

Toker00
It's good to see you. I am looking forward to an Obama Administration. Looking beyond that isn't my focus. The complexity of our world can scare us and cause us to lose hope. If everything falls apart we should do our best to be ready. I think we need to hope but be realistic at the same time. Worrying, hating, fretting can only get us sick. I am only recovering now from an ulcer. Stress is the cause so why worry if we want to stay healthy. We sure won't be any good if we all get sick.Leonard Cohen - Democracyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biVUZwBAc9I
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Comment #17 posted by Toker00 on June 15, 2008 at 07:23:44 PT

Don't worry folks, the War on Drugs will be over
soon.When the economies of the world collapse, we will be offered salvation by the World Bank. All financial transactions will be done with a plastic debit card. All financial transactions will be recorded using the already existing Star Wars technology. (You didn't know only 40% of the Star Wars shit is military? The rest is for recording civilian computer entries.) Try buying illegal drugs on a debit card. How can the Black Market operate with no cash to operate with and launder? It can't. The only power that the black market for drugs will have is barter power. Fix my auto and I'll pay you in ozs. of pot...Don't you guys get it yet? Don't you know who THEY are? The Powers That Be? The one's who profit on all the Wars, including the War on Drugs? It's not Bush. It's no one in politics or anyone from any Soveriegn Government. A decision was made decades ago to rule the world using one thing. Oil. Oil is the world's currency. Why are we paying so much at the pump? How does that correlate with Third World countries refusing to pay their depts to the World Bank? How does it relate to US being forced to pay at the pump our own National Dept that our TAXES are supposed to be paying? How are we paying for our own demise? We are being taxed at the pump to pay all the world's dept and to set up a World Communist Government. Who will run this NWO? Not us. No politcian. The same people who have raped the world over and over again throughout our History since 1913 and before we were ever a country. They have financed both sides of every war since...who knows? They tricked third world countries into loans they designed to be impossible to pay back. All these nations who have defaulted on their loans to the World Bank have given up all rights to their natural resources TO the World Bank. When enough of these countries have gone bankrupt, oil will be used to collapse the rest of the world's economies. What you are seeing in the collapse of the housing market was planned. Loans were made to people who they knew would default on their payments. THEY are building up the third world countries economies only to rape them later like they are us right now. THEY are using the money we pay at the pump to make these loans. I always thought it had to be the damn oil companies. After all, they are making record profits. But, THEY make even more profits from oil than the oil companies. It costs the Saudi's five bucks to pull a barrell of oil out of the ground. It now sells for $139.00 a barrell. Do the Saudi's make a profit of $134.00 a barrell? No. While they make a significant profit, and legally I might add, THEY make much more profit for doing nothing but creating money out of thin air. Look what they did to the Saudies in the eighties when oil was 32.00 a barrell. Gold was 800.00 an ounce. THEY encouraged the Saudies to buy Gold and they did, by the boxcar load. Then THEY made their move. THEY decided to drop the price of oil to 11.00 a barrell overnight. Gold sunk to 300.00 an ounce. The Saudies had invested Billions in Gold that was now worth less than half it's value and they had only one place to sell the gold back to. The same people who sold it to them at 800.00 an ounce. Was it the oil companies fault? Was it the Saudies fault? No. Not anymore that it was the Farmers fault that their land went from 3000.00 dollars an acre to 700.00 an acre. THEY had encouaged them to take loans and expand their farms. Then THEY dropped the value of their land to nearly nothing and foreclosed on the Farmers. That is what they are doing all over the world and to everyone. You can't blame the local banks either. Many of them were closed even though they were determined to be solvent.Oh, by the way, do you know why we can't touch the oil in Alaska at Gull island, the largest oil pools on the planet? Because if we do, the oil producing countries will no longer be obligated to use the dollar denominations to buy and sell oil and they will no longer be obligated to put a portion of the billions we pay them for oil into an IMF account to buy OUR national dept. Why are we GOING to bomb Iran? Because when they go online with their nuclear plants, they will flood the world with cheap oil. Why did the WATER POWERED CAR inventer get killed? Because he had invented the death of the oil power in the world. You can go from New York to California in his invention and it would only cost you 22.00 and that is if you bought the water it runs on instead of scooping it out of the ditch as you go. FREE ENERGY. He would not give up his patent, so THEY had him killed. We are and have been controlled by the these same people for quite some time. Kennedy warned us. Eisenhower warned us. Ron Paul is warning us. Alex Jones is warning us. Many others are warning us. Are you listening?Freedom or slavery. That is our choice. America is being Nazified. We the People are the enemy. WE are the Terrorists. The new blonde haired blue eyed terrorists. Because we the People have the authority to END the Federal Reserve by electing those who promise to do so. Will the democrats do it? Hell no. They want us to believe that we live in a DEMOCRACY. So do the REPUBLICANS.I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Democracy...no wait that's not right...to the REPUBLIC for which it stands...In a Democracy you have "We the sheeple." In a Republic you have "We the PEOPLE."That is why they are spreading Democracy throughout the world. That is why they want so badly to destroy our Constitution. When that is done, and it has been on the burner set to high for the entirety of the Bush administration, we will be what they want. A Democracy, not a Constitutional Republic. Makes the NWO much more easy to install. I know some of you are offended that I post here at all, but, for those of you who want to varify this info, read the book "The Oil non-crisis" by Lindsey Williams. He also has an eight video series that explains what I just told you. He also has a video series that explains how THEY control us. Fascinating man. A REAL Truther...The government imports drugs and distributes them through the protective cover of Black Market. The government then busts people for having them to fill their Prison Industrial complex which benefits corporate america with free labor. The bankers are jumping with joy over all the property foreclosers that they now own or profit in the sale of. The Sheeple are fooled into thinking that the government is protecting them from drugs and the people who use/sell them. What a plan. What a trap.We need to arrest the world Bankers and the entire Bilderberg group for Global Treason against Humanity.(Tips hat to FoM)Toke.
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Comment #16 posted by afterburner on June 15, 2008 at 00:51:18 PT

Ditto
FoM #12 & Max Flowers #11I was wondering just yesterday when we would hear from you. It's been a while. Glad you're OK."exxagerations": are those Exxon-style exaggerations? ;)
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Comment #15 posted by potpal on June 14, 2008 at 22:21:39 PT

totally baked
Watch it for free on www.hulu.com. You'll need to register for the movie although you can watch many things without registering like watch the daily show in full! each day. Who needs cable. http://www.hulu.com/watch/22384/totally-bakedPeace.
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Comment #14 posted by runruff on June 14, 2008 at 20:37:05 PT:

                   RE-commet #4
I remember seeing a documentary were people living in Hitler's Germany said you had to be careful what you said and you were expected to turn in your friends, neighbors and school mates if they were Jewish or if they criticized the reichstag. This article is just like that. Divisive. Asking Americans to turn each other in over a purely political issue were people are hauled off to prison and their homes confiscated. This is no different than Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Russia.
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Comment #13 posted by observer on June 14, 2008 at 13:46:24 PT

The DEA's Great Purge
 It's an element that neighbors are trying to purge from their communities. -- Michael Chapman, assistant special agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency's San Francisco field division.Ah yes. The "purge". Totalitarians love their "purges", don't they? I think I know what kind of "purges" professional prohibitionists have in mind. see: http://www.google.com/search?q=stalinist+purges These morally twisted puritans are like Stalin: who continually purged and protected his society. Likewise Hitler sought to purge from his society the impure - those impure in the eyes of the national socialist party. Likewise these good "Christian" folk at the DEA want to "purge" those who use certain plants from their society. They want to "purge" things, like the NKVD purged things. "Purge", indeed. 
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on June 14, 2008 at 11:20:35 PT

Max Flowers 
It's good to see you. I wondered where you have been and if everything was ok.
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Comment #11 posted by Max Flowers on June 14, 2008 at 11:16:05 PT

typo
Exaggerations, I meant.... maybe I shouldn't try to type so fassssssssssst.
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Comment #10 posted by Max Flowers on June 14, 2008 at 11:14:15 PT

Police lies and exxagerations
...considering that one marijuana plant can be cultivated up to three times a year, yielding a maximum of $9,000 on the street."With a 100 plants, that's $900,000 a year, tax free," said Norm Wielsch, commander of the state-run Central Contra Costa County Narcotics Enforcement Team.This is the biggest bunch of crap I've ever read. A single indoor plant that could yield 3 pounds (the $9,000 they mention) would take up nearly a whole bedroom! Therefore, to reach the 100 lbs---in reality and not in cop fantasyland---they would have to run a third of that at a time, let's say 20-25 bedrooms each three months!! The way they inflate these things is beyond absurd.The average indoor grower runs four 1000-watt lights in an average sized 10'x10' or 10'x12' bedroom trying to achieve 4 pounds (a pound per light, which is a well-known benchmark for competence in commercial indoor growing), and just as often as not, they fail to make that yield. It's not nearly as easy as people think.This kind of inflammatory comment is just blatant scaremongering and even more, a blatant attempt to make non-growers feel hate and jealousy for the "millions" in tax-free cash that growers are supposedly raking in. The reality is far different, but cops lie when it suits their agenda.
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Comment #9 posted by Sam Adams on June 14, 2008 at 10:28:49 PT

Father's Day
I apologize is this was already posted here, but it's such a great piece I thought I'd post it againhttp://blog.norml.org/2008/06/12/marijuana-prohibition-and-fatherhood-2008-a-fathers-day-message-from-norml/
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Comment #8 posted by Sam Adams on June 14, 2008 at 09:54:26 PT

check their website
If you click on this paper's website, their is a huge banner ad from the Oakland police - help wanted, starting salary for an Oakland cop is over $70,000 per year! That is like a glimpse into the "man behind the curtain".Most people would have to work for years and go to college and grad school to get $70K per year.There's so much irony and hidden agenda in this article. It's only fair that the conservatives should have to live with growhouses in their neighborhood. Bush/Cheney engineered the housing boom and crisis in 2000-2002 by loose fiscal policy (keeping interest rates artificially low, letting the banking industry turn into the Wild West with no regulation of dangerous & predatory loan practices). They also contributed to the criminalization of the medical MJ industry in California by attacking the dispensary businesses with the DEA. That, in effect, guaranteed that mostly harder criminal types would enter the business. When you offer the combination of huge profits and possible jail time, you are tailoring the situation to entice the criminal element.Let's not forget that peaceful hippies ran the MJ trade in the US, doing mostly outdoor grows on the west coast, until the early 80's when the conservatives took over & racheted up criminal penalties, at which point the peaceful people that don't like guns & violence left the business and Mexican cartels took over.Bottom line: without the massive crime and violence caused by criminal prohibition "drug" laws, we'd have a lot less cops and lower cop salaries, more tax revenue, no growhouses in residential areas, and no guns or robberies. Notice that the two words "Property Tax" NEVER appear in articles about MJ prohibition. The property taxes of the rich conservatives would be lower with the WOD, that's the last thing they want people thinking about. That is where most of the funding for local law enforcement comes from.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on June 14, 2008 at 09:02:10 PT

John Tyler
That's a great song.
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Comment #6 posted by John Tyler on June 14, 2008 at 08:59:14 PT

soundtrack to # 5
I had to toss this in as the soundtrack to comment #5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfOcqlFkQvw

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Comment #5 posted by John Tyler on June 14, 2008 at 08:48:40 PT

end the Drug War
Isn’t is strange that cannabis people are characterized by the prohibitionists as lazy, crazy and stupid, but yet at the same time they are creative, resourceful, and resilient in their efforts to keep their beloved plants and industry thriving. It’s time to make peace in the Drug War. This is now a multibillion-dollar industry that could alleviate some of the financial problems of so many cash strapped states. You political guys, get over your attitude problem, be a statesman. This is what the country needs. This is what the world needs.   
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Comment #4 posted by runruff on June 14, 2008 at 08:43:49 PT:

Und so!
For sake of de Fadderlund if you see or hear about the were abouts of ein juden call der local gestapo office und report the matter! Ve must protect the Fadderlund from dis evil scourge!Sig heil!
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 14, 2008 at 07:57:15 PT

mykeyb420
That was funny! Thanks.
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Comment #2 posted by mykeyb420 on June 14, 2008 at 07:41:36 PT

daily funny
here is something to make you smile,,,esp for those with kids at the driving age
http://www.todaysbigthing.com/2008/06/12
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Comment #1 posted by NikoKun on June 14, 2008 at 07:05:36 PT

All the more reason...
...To legalize it!Seriously, are we incapable of learning from our past, from alcohol prohibition? How much more worse will we let this war get, before we wake up and see that?
(course by we, I should say a small number of drug hating politicians in office... and the ignorant public that supports them.)
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