cannabisnews.com: Sheriff: Bust Sends Message To Growers Sheriff: Bust Sends Message To Growers Posted by FoM on March 10, 2001 at 15:27:29 PT By James Tressler, The Times-Standard Source: Times-Standard Humboldt County Sheriff Dennis Lewis said he hopes Tuesday's major drug bust will have a "profound impression" on indoor marijuana growers. Two days ago, local, state and federal drug agents raided 11 indoor marijuana-growing operations in southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino counties, a turning point in what has been a two-year investigation called Operation Emerald Triangle. Indoor operations have been on the rise the past few years, Lewis said, as a result of federal crackdowns on outdoor growing. Information released by the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration's office in San Francisco estimated that the raids yielded about more than 14,000 plants, $206,000 in cash, as well as several automatic weapons. Of the locations searched, five actually were residences and six were pot-growing facilities disguised to look like houses. "This organization is responsible for operating multi-stage marijuana production and distribution facilities in the Northern California area," said Joycelyn Barnes, a Justice Department spokeswoman, in a press release on Tuesday. The raids began at 6 a.m. following a briefing conducted by the Humboldt County Drug Task Force. More than 100 agents, including the FBI and the California National Guard, were involved. A total of 11 search warrants were served and more came later as agents searched the homes and found information on other operations, Lewis said. A Redway couple, Zachary and Bria Stone, were arrested on suspicion of weapons charges and were later released on bail. Zachary Stone, a convicted felon, could face a minimum of 10 years if convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Lewis said agents searched their home and found that the couple also owns an old building in Salmon Creek. Agents later found approximately 1,700 marijuana plants at this location. It is believed the couple were part of a larger operation, the sheriff said. Lewis said this case will be sent to the Humboldt County District Attorney's office. The Stone couple could face state and federal charges, in particular tax evasion, conspiracy, cultivation of marijuana. Two other residences were searched in Humboldt County, including a house right behind the Stone residence as well as a home in Benbow. It is not known what, if anything, was seized in these two houses. Lewis said no arrest warrants have been issued at this time, but more people are being investigated. Capt. Kevin Broin at the Mendocino County Sheriff's Department said he agrees with Lewis that a strong message needed to be sent. Both counties have the same problem of being known as "marijuana capitals," and have a lot of spill-over traffic, Broin said. Moreover, sophisticated indoor operations have greatly increased the output of growers. Unlike outdoor operations, which yield one crop per year, Broin said indoor operations are designed to operate year round. He said he's convinced Proposition 215, which allows licensed people to grow a minimal amount of marijuana for medicinal purposes, "had nothing to do" with the facilities the agents searched. "These people are commercial growers looking to get rich," he said. Source: Times-Standard (CA)Author: James Tressler, The Times-StandardPublished: March 8, 2001Copyright: 2001 The Times-StandardAddress: 930 Sixth St. Eureka, CA 95501Fax: 707-441-0501Contact: letters times-standard.comWebsite: http://www.times-standard.com/Feedback: http://www.times-standard.com/AngEuk_feedback.asp?Related Articles:Busted Indoor Marijuana Grows May Be Organizationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8959.shtmlRaids Reveal Fake Homes Filled with Marijuana Farmhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8919.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #11 posted by CorvallisEric on March 10, 2001 at 23:45:55 PT Hooked... The History Channel show (comment #8) will be on again at 2:00 AM Sunday Eastern and Pacific - 1:00 Central - Midnight Mountain time [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 10, 2001 at 22:34:41 PT HA HA They make me laugh, hey, that's my message for tonight, a chuckle.Fear has never won the war on drugs, nothing will change. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by dddd on March 10, 2001 at 20:09:53 PT money,politics,power I think that it's a combination of these factors.A show of force before pot trials,A political statement for the mediaA show from law enforcement to justify the obscene amounts of funding.Can you imagine the cost of a "two year investigation",,,, and then considerthe percentage of pot growers they busted?,,,maybe 1 percent....dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 10, 2001 at 18:57:32 PT Thanks Again Tim Thanks again Tim. I did undestood what you meant. Right now the History Channel is repeating Hooked on Drugs. It's good. I hope others are watching it. Hooked On Drugs -The History Channel - 10PM ET 10:00PM - 11:00PM Hooked: Illegal Drugs and How They Got That Way Marijuana Take a far-out trip as we trace the history of marijuana and synthetic amphetamines usage. Marijuana, from the Indian hemp plant, has been used worldwide as a source of rope, cloth, and paper; its medicinal qualities were first documented 4,000 years ago in China. But it's best-known as the drug of choice of the 1960s. WWII U.S. troops were given an estimated 200 million amphetamines to fight drowsiness and battle fatigue and they're still used to fight depression. TV PG http://www.historychannel.com/ontv/index.html FreedomToExhale [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Tim Stone on March 10, 2001 at 18:15:58 PT Well, actually, FoM... I guess that point I was trying to make is that the raid may be mostly about power struggles among the competing Prohibitionist agencies. The local cop wants to protect his turf, and is unlikely to instigate a raid like this, since it means state and fed cops get to boss him around on his own turf. So the raid was probably authorized at either the state or fed level. And if it was authorized at the state level, the same question arises. Why would the state cops want to allow the feds on their turf and boss them around? This argument would point more toward a fed instigation. But the point I was trying to make in my earlier post was that the Prohibitionists at all levels are by no means monolithic about such a raid as this. Of course there will be asset forfeiture bucks all around from the raid, a powerful incentive for multi-level cooperation. But in general, there are ferocious rivalries within the multi-level drug war cop establishment about who gets to declare that a particular raid will take place, and who will boss the raid. So perhaps my point is that it's more about power among rival Prohibition agencies, than about money. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on March 10, 2001 at 17:37:35 PT Thanks Tim Thanks Tim,It's all about money. I really hope that the courts rule in our favor this month. They should know by now that we won't stop until we see changes. I think they are listening but how closely I'm not sure. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Tim Stone on March 10, 2001 at 16:57:10 PT FoM's Question Hard to say, obviously, FoM. But cannabis persecution is and always has been 98% political, so it's likely that there were major political considerations in doing such a raid as this, in such a place as this, at such a time as this. My two-cent opinion would be that Higher-Ups at the state or, more probably, Fed level, cold-bloodedly decided to do this thing. The reasons may have to do with the new administration in D.C. It may have to do with power struggles between factions at the state level. It may have to do with the Prohibition baboon, at whatever level, just wanting to swell up his muscles and roar because he feels threatened and wants to scare everybody into pretending that he's still the Dominant Male in the troop. You can learn a lot about Prohibition motivation by watching behavior in the primate house at your local zoo. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on March 10, 2001 at 16:51:26 PT Large Volumes! Hi fivepounder,The volume of plants in these busts are so large I can't even figure out how people would do that and think they won't get caught. I don't often post articles about busts unless I know the person or persons want it public but this one is so big I thought I should. I wonder where the trail will lead? I guess we'll be finding out in time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by fivepounder on March 10, 2001 at 15:48:28 PT All the little piggies have another reason to be. They just love when they find an operation this big. There really is no other way to describe this than greed. AND THEREFORE they can use this to justify just about anything they want to. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 10, 2001 at 15:48:04 PT Question I guess I have a strange way of thinking but is this a show of force because of the Medical Marijuana Case coming up the end of the month? That's over simplified but does it come into the picture? My Activist's Links [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on March 10, 2001 at 15:35:53 PT: Game Over! The Feds have gone over the top now. They should declare victory in the War on Drugs, take their ball, and go home. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: