Lots of factors to keep safe:
1. Be a good citizen. Pay your bills. Don't break the law (other than growing of course
) If you deposit your cash in your bank account, be sure to file for taxes on that money and have a reason for earning it such as a legit cash business or "sold some junk on craigslist." Good cash businesses include pretty much all forms of blue collar contracting like being a handyman, hauling junk away, doing yardwork. Pick something you know how to do and just say you do it. You don't have to keep records of who paid you, just say you're cash only because you're tired of hot checks and collecting on bad debts. If you need to buy a business license in your locality, make sure that you have one! Just have enough stuff around to back up your story if you get audited and make sure your taxes are paid on that!
2. Don't get greedy, keep your day job and know your limitations. It's pretty easy to make an extra $5000 a month without drawing any attention. With this philosophy you'll keep your electricity bill reasonable, keep your buyers happy with heavy bags (a happy buyer is less likely to rat) and generally have a legitimate job and reason for income. Live a modest lifestyle. People are going to wonder where you got the money for a new boat, big screen and XBox in the last month when they know you're a garbage man.
3. Distance yourself from the end user. The cheaper you sell, the less buyers you have to have, the further you get from the end user and the safer you are from prosecution. You don't want to stretch yourself so thin that you're peddling 8ths and trying to run a grow op! Street dealing is for suckers. Growing and wholesaling is the smart move.
4. Know your buyers personally. These are the people you've grown up with and smoke with. If you EVER expand your market, make sure people
you trust can vouch for them. By vouch, I mean attest that they've known them and smoked with them for a long time, and that they trust them. Most sellers get busted selling to somebody that's merely an acquaintance of a friend that turned out to be a snitch or a narc. Keep the number of buyers to an absolute minimum and try to keep your distance from them in case they start getting investigated.
5. Don't leave a trail. Use Tor when researching or posting online. Don't order stuff to your address. Have a close friend receive suspicious goods for you and hook him up with some product for their troubles. Find non-suspicious ways of doing things. Example: Instead of buying hash making bags online, buy some silk screens from an art supplier and make your own.
6. Be discrete when getting supplies at the grow store. Don't dress like a stoner. Dress neat and casual, keep your hair in check and look like an average Joe. Leave your piercings at home. Don't show off your tattoos. Look like a nerd who likes to grow organic stuff. You can bitch about being your own individual, but on supply runs your "individuality" is just a uniform that says "I'm growing pot, please note my license plate number and investigate my property by going through my trash, peering in my windows and monitoring my activity." Make
small trips to the grow shop during a time of the day when it's busy. Cops won't care what you look like if you're filling a van with $2000 worth of lights, filters, etc. A grow shop that's near a busy district in town is perfect because you can park far away, buy what you need with cash to restock and disappear into the crowd even when the shop is being monitored by police. Police can't do dick with a photo.
7. Your social life
will suffer. Relationships are going to be trickier now. Best to be single when doing this. Every relationship is different, but the only safe way to have your significant other know is if you start the operation with them. At that point, they're an accessory and are just as culpable as you even if all they did was know about it and not report it. Even then, a jilted ex can be disastrous. You just have to weigh the situation and do your best, because you could date someone and they find out you were lying the whole time. That could be just as disastrous.
8. Have an exit strategy. What are you going to do if the cops try to pressure you into a front door confession? If you are lucky enough to get them to go away with "I don't consent to a search, you'll have to get a warrant" then how will you destroy and get rid of the evidence? It's not always game over if this happens. Have the means to shred your crop and dispose of it. If you have to spend all night shredding plants and flushing them down the toilet, be prepared to do so. If they find equipment with no product, there's not much they can arrest you for.
9. Be a model neighbor, and blend in. Neighbors will resent you for being different. Political bumper stickers are a bad idea. No yard signs for politicians either. They'll think to themselves "Look at that stupid <stereotype> with his stupid <stereotype> friends." Never invite people over to smoke. No loud parties. Don't blast your music. One whiff of pot from a nosey neighbor walking by your window or a noise complaint is enough for a cop to come by. You can keep to yourself, but don't be rude if a neighbor wants to borrow a chainsaw or something. It's fine to get to know your neighbors, but keep them as far from your grow as possible.
10. Never stop worrying. The second you think, "I've got this down, they'll never catch me.", that's when you're vulnerable. You don't check to make sure someone is following you from the grow store, or you decide to show one of your friends your pride and joy and all of a sudden you're busted and destroying a crop in haste.
One other tip that has nothing to do with getting busted, but something I wish I'd learned early:
Don't over-invest. Great weed can come from a Miracle Grow soil grow with CFLS and a ten dollar timer. You'll waste a shitload of money on failed materials applications and fertilizer getting mediocre results for your first several grows. Learn what works and slowly build on that. You'll be better off for it.
Good luck
.
