A warning!!!

[sconezeta]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site and thought I would pass along something that just happened to me recently. First about me, I am single again mid-forties guy with a nice home in an average neighborhood with no criminal record at all. I work all the time at a job I've been at for the last ten years and rarely have guests over to my house. I might go to the bar once or twice a month but I'm really a boring lol person now just trying to save money after starting again (divorce). I don't use any illegal drugs (not worth the trouble work/law ect.) but have absolutely nothing bad to say about them or the people who do. Alcohol and nicotine are the worst legal and I use those lol. This war on drugs and the taxpayer money spent on this stupid crusade makes me angry. Why am I here then? Well one of my hobbies is cooking and I'm looking into gardening produce/herbs for the increased wonderful taste they provide over grocery store products. I've yet to set up any indoor or outdoor garden other than tomatoes and peppers on my deck in planters. Hence I've been cruising around all garden grow sites and surprisingly found Marijuana growers very helpful as well.

Ok sorry to go on but I thought the background would make the story even more shocking. Around July I purchased a portable air conditioner unit (not window type) for a room my central air did not keep cool. It's my office so I spend 50% of my time at home there and I needed it cool. Anyway the unit was used and didn't have the window adapter for the unit's vent so I drilled a hole and installed a dryer type vent. It all looked very good and clean from the outside like it was there all the time. About six weeks ago I heard a knock on the door and when I opened it found myself starring at six police officers in plain clothes with badges/guns on their hips. Stunned I asked what's up and before I knew it they had pushed past me into the entry of the house. Then they explained they had an anonymous tip from a neighbor (don't' know the ones on the side of house where vent is) I was growing weed and had to investigate. "Can we do a search?" they kept repeating and I explained that was ridiculous and I didn't want them doing so. One officer noticed three five gallon pails in the corner of the entry (I work for a company that uses these for their products) and said that reasonable suspicion had just gone to probable cause and they could search as these chemicals could be used in drug manufacturing lol. After this four of them went running all over my house while two stayed with the dangerous suspect acting like they were my friend. I thought it was rather funny how these new "friends" kept trying to talk me up about drug usage, how it wasn't a big deal, and how they were so understanding of the culture. After forty-five minutes nothing was found and they said "ok you are fine now, sorry we had to check this out" hahaha wtf! I know I was fine before but now I'm so pissed off I can hardly talk. As they were leaving I noticed they had a manila folder and inside was a xerox copy of my drivers license among other papers I couldn't read. What those papers were I'll never know but it wasn't a consent form to search. They never asked me to sign a consent form for search.

I respect your wishes to grow what you want but beware of the story above and what can happen. Apparently any tip from anyone the police receive about an individual has to be followed up on. After my experience I will never again open the door for the police... period! Once the door is open they can say anything is probable cause it appears. If they have a warrant they will kick the door down regardless and without notice I would assume. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! I know it may appear odd or embarrassing to the neighbors if they keep banging or walking around the yard but it's better than having your rights violated like I did. My naive thoughts of police sure have changed after they violated my rights. Police will stop at nothing to "get their man" including breaking the law themselves to get their recognition. I should have remembered a story from long ago about a friend from HS who ended up a police officer in a suburb. I hadn't seen him in ten years or so and ran into him at a store. We started talking hunting, how I wanted a pistol for target practice fun up at the shack, and he mentioned a gun he had for sale. I went to the police station to buy it and he was just coming back in from making a bust on some kids drinking in a park or something. It was like some football locker room after winning the big game ... high fives and blah blah. At the time I had remembered doing the same when kids with this guy and was totally turned off by it. I never tried to contact or see him again but it didn't really register. I just chalked it up to "that guy sure has changed" and has no compassion left at all for those poor kids. Hopefully I'm smarter now and will voice my thoughts against civil servants who abuse the law or have no compassion for those who while breaking the law are generally good non-violent persons.

Best of luck and I hope to get some good information on hydroponics here!

 

[charface]

Long story short.

 

[justanotherbozo]

when the cops come to your front door, go out your back door and walk around the house and then ask them, 'can i help you?', ...they can't push their way in if you don't open the door.

peace, bozo

 

[Ringsixty]

Sounds like your a low key kind of guy trying to get through life.. Keep it that way and you should be fine.
Relax and have a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday.

 

[bde0001]

wow...but why would the neighbors say you were growing if you werent? I would think that maybe police using FLIR noticed the heat coming out of your house(ac exhaust). Do you hear helicopters over your house much?

 

[Total Head]

that's fucked up and illegal. it would be hard for them to take you down after a "search" like that but it would still drain your bank account and waste a lot of your time.

i can't stress enough the importance of home surveillance cameras. record them and set them up over the net so you can check your house when you're away. if you can afford it, have the footage stored remotely instead of just on a local dvr. this prevents douchecunts from destroying the footage and claiming nothing happened.

with cameras, you can tell if anyone is paying any special attention to your place, prove what happens if the cops come on your property, and possibly identify people who may want to rob or vandalize your property. they are a pretty decent deterrent, also, once people determine that they're real.

i paid 500 bucks for a 4 camera system with night vision HD cameras (wired) and a 1TB hard drive that will record a month of 24/7 footage at the highest resolution. it comes in handy in ways i didn't even think about. check your local laws and protect yourself. don't let the police turn you into a toilet.

 

[Robfather]

I'm glad all I have to worry about is a moose or bear breaking my door down when I'm not home. That is just too crazy. I would file a complaint, then I would piss on my neighbors welcome mat

 

[echlectica]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site and thought I would pass along something that just happened to me recently. First about me, I am single again mid-forties guy with a nice home in an average neighborhood with no criminal record at all. I work all the time at a job I've been at for the last ten years and rarely have guests over to my house. I might go to the bar once or twice a month but I'm really a boring lol person now just trying to save money after starting again (divorce). I don't use any illegal drugs (not worth the trouble work/law ect.) but have absolutely nothing bad to say about them or the people who do. Alcohol and nicotine are the worst legal and I use those lol. This war on drugs and the taxpayer money spent on this stupid crusade makes me angry. Why am I here then? Well one of my hobbies is cooking and I'm looking into gardening produce/herbs for the increased wonderful taste they provide over grocery store products. I've yet to set up any indoor or outdoor garden other than tomatoes and peppers on my deck in planters. Hence I've been cruising around all garden grow sites and surprisingly found Marijuana growers very helpful as well.

Ok sorry to go on but I thought the background would make the story even more shocking. Around July I purchased a portable air conditioner unit (not window type) for a room my central air did not keep cool. It's my office so I spend 50% of my time at home there and I needed it cool. Anyway the unit was used and didn't have the window adapter for the unit's vent so I drilled a hole and installed a dryer type vent. It all looked very good and clean from the outside like it was there all the time. About six weeks ago I heard a knock on the door and when I opened it found myself starring at six police officers in plain clothes with badges/guns on their hips. Stunned I asked what's up and before I knew it they had pushed past me into the entry of the house. Then they explained they had an anonymous tip from a neighbor (don't' know the ones on the side of house where vent is) I was growing weed and had to investigate. "Can we do a search?" they kept repeating and I explained that was ridiculous and I didn't want them doing so. One officer noticed three five gallon pails in the corner of the entry (I work for a company that uses these for their products) and said that reasonable suspicion had just gone to probable cause and they could search as these chemicals could be used in drug manufacturing lol. After this four of them went running all over my house while two stayed with the dangerous suspect acting like they were my friend. I thought it was rather funny how these new "friends" kept trying to talk me up about drug usage, how it wasn't a big deal, and how they were so understanding of the culture. After forty-five minutes nothing was found and they said "ok you are fine now, sorry we had to check this out" hahaha wtf! I know I was fine before but now I'm so pissed off I can hardly talk. As they were leaving I noticed they had a manila folder and inside was a xerox copy of my drivers license among other papers I couldn't read. What those papers were I'll never know but it wasn't a consent form to search. They never asked me to sign a consent form for search.

I respect your wishes to grow what you want but beware of the story above and what can happen. Apparently any tip from anyone the police receive about an individual has to be followed up on. After my experience I will never again open the door for the police... period! Once the door is open they can say anything is probable cause it appears. If they have a warrant they will kick the door down regardless and without notice I would assume. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! I know it may appear odd or embarrassing to the neighbors if they keep banging or walking around the yard but it's better than having your rights violated like I did. My naive thoughts of police sure have changed after they violated my rights. Police will stop at nothing to "get their man" including breaking the law themselves to get their recognition. I should have remembered a story from long ago about a friend from HS who ended up a police officer in a suburb. I hadn't seen him in ten years or so and ran into him at a store. We started talking hunting, how I wanted a pistol for target practice fun up at the shack, and he mentioned a gun he had for sale. I went to the police station to buy it and he was just coming back in from making a bust on some kids drinking in a park or something. It was like some football locker room after winning the big game ... high fives and blah blah. At the time I had remembered doing the same when kids with this guy and was totally turned off by it. I never tried to contact or see him again but it didn't really register. I just chalked it up to "that guy sure has changed" and has no compassion left at all for those poor kids. Hopefully I'm smarter now and will voice my thoughts against civil servants who abuse the law or have no compassion for those who while breaking the law are generally good non-violent persons.

Best of luck and I hope to get some good information on hydroponics here!

If your in the United States of America then that was illegal. Actually it sounds to me like they weren't even cops its ounds like they were rippers posing as cops.

 

[gonzoman]

If your in the United States of America then that was illegal. Actually it sounds to me like they weren't even cops its ounds like they were rippers posing as cops.

From what I've understood from Barry Cooper's video, it might be illegal but they can just pretend the invasion didn't happen unless they leave physical evidence that they had to kick and destroy the door (hence Barry says : never ever open the door, even lock it). After the search without consent, if they find something, _then_ they'll try to manipulate the victim into signing the search consent form by making him believe that it won't be a big deal _if_ he signs it (they'll also tell him that the charges will be terrible if he doesn't sign it of course). If they get his signature, they'll have all the cards in hand to pass the warrantless and non-consensual raid as a consensual search. In the worst case scenario for the cops after they found marijuana, the victim still doesn't sign it and the cops can just get away and pretend that nothing unconstitutional happened. So basically, if you open the door, they have nothing to lose by forcing their way in even if it's not approved by the constitution.

 

[Dr. Greenhorn]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site and thought I would pass along something that just happened to me recently. First about me, I am single again mid-forties guy with a nice home in an average neighborhood with no criminal record at all. I work all the time at a job I've been at for the last ten years and rarely have guests over to my house. I might go to the bar once or twice a month but I'm really a boring lol person now just trying to save money after starting again (divorce). I don't use any illegal drugs (not worth the trouble work/law ect.) but have absolutely nothing bad to say about them or the people who do. Alcohol and nicotine are the worst legal and I use those lol. This war on drugs and the taxpayer money spent on this stupid crusade makes me angry. Why am I here then? Well one of my hobbies is cooking and I'm looking into gardening produce/herbs for the increased wonderful taste they provide over grocery store products. I've yet to set up any indoor or outdoor garden other than tomatoes and peppers on my deck in planters. Hence I've been cruising around all garden grow sites and surprisingly found Marijuana growers very helpful as well.

Ok sorry to go on but I thought the background would make the story even more shocking. Around July I purchased a portable air conditioner unit (not window type) for a room my central air did not keep cool. It's my office so I spend 50% of my time at home there and I needed it cool. Anyway the unit was used and didn't have the window adapter for the unit's vent so I drilled a hole and installed a dryer type vent. It all looked very good and clean from the outside like it was there all the time. About six weeks ago I heard a knock on the door and when I opened it found myself starring at six police officers in plain clothes with badges/guns on their hips. Stunned I asked what's up and before I knew it they had pushed past me into the entry of the house. Then they explained they had an anonymous tip from a neighbor (don't' know the ones on the side of house where vent is) I was growing weed and had to investigate. "Can we do a search?" they kept repeating and I explained that was ridiculous and I didn't want them doing so. One officer noticed three five gallon pails in the corner of the entry (I work for a company that uses these for their products) and said that reasonable suspicion had just gone to probable cause and they could search as these chemicals could be used in drug manufacturing lol. After this four of them went running all over my house while two stayed with the dangerous suspect acting like they were my friend. I thought it was rather funny how these new "friends" kept trying to talk me up about drug usage, how it wasn't a big deal, and how they were so understanding of the culture. After forty-five minutes nothing was found and they said "ok you are fine now, sorry we had to check this out" hahaha wtf! I know I was fine before but now I'm so pissed off I can hardly talk. As they were leaving I noticed they had a manila folder and inside was a xerox copy of my drivers license among other papers I couldn't read. What those papers were I'll never know but it wasn't a consent form to search. They never asked me to sign a consent form for search.

I respect your wishes to grow what you want but beware of the story above and what can happen. Apparently any tip from anyone the police receive about an individual has to be followed up on. After my experience I will never again open the door for the police... period! Once the door is open they can say anything is probable cause it appears. If they have a warrant they will kick the door down regardless and without notice I would assume. DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! I know it may appear odd or embarrassing to the neighbors if they keep banging or walking around the yard but it's better than having your rights violated like I did. My naive thoughts of police sure have changed after they violated my rights. Police will stop at nothing to "get their man" including breaking the law themselves to get their recognition. I should have remembered a story from long ago about a friend from HS who ended up a police officer in a suburb. I hadn't seen him in ten years or so and ran into him at a store. We started talking hunting, how I wanted a pistol for target practice fun up at the shack, and he mentioned a gun he had for sale. I went to the police station to buy it and he was just coming back in from making a bust on some kids drinking in a park or something. It was like some football locker room after winning the big game ... high fives and blah blah. At the time I had remembered doing the same when kids with this guy and was totally turned off by it. I never tried to contact or see him again but it didn't really register. I just chalked it up to "that guy sure has changed" and has no compassion left at all for those poor kids. Hopefully I'm smarter now and will voice my thoughts against civil servants who abuse the law or have no compassion for those who while breaking the law are generally good non-violent persons.

Best of luck and I hope to get some good information on hydroponics here!

they didn't have a search warrant? can't you press charges against them?

 

[mindphuk]

This just supports my contention that I made in one of the FLIR threads. Cops are lying pricks and the drug war has eroded our 4th Amendment. The cops most likely lied about the neighbor and attempted to (and did) illegally search your house because of a hit they got on their FLIR, in spite of the Supreme Court ruling that says it is insufficient to warrant a search. You did not consent to a search yet they attempted to use an object in plain sight as an (bullshit) excuse to barge their way in.

Yes, your story is absolutely helpful to those that believe cannabis laws are unjust and breaking them is not morally wrong. Your story is an excellent illustration of how the police put themselves above the laws they are supposed to be enforcing and violate the fundamental rights of citizens in order to control a plant. I only wish you had a camera to video the event to take to the local news stations.

 

[Corso312]

What state do you live in? And get an Atty n Sue these fucks...the judge should be held accountable for signing that garbage...if no warrant or sign the cops will be held accountable...you will win...they will have to pay for Atty fees...n a settlement ...n they will never come back.

 

[Robfather]

I love my southern neighbors but fuck am I glad I live in Canada sometimes. (Unless I want to ride a roller coaster, eat a decent meal at a restaurant, or shoot off fireworks any time of year)

 

[ThE sAtIvA hIgH]

kind of reminds me of something i started watching the other day , about a guy who purposely sets up grow houses , but only grows tomatoes , he acts suspiciously and waits for the cops to show up , they allways turn up guns a blazzin expecting a big grow op bust , and the guy films there disapointment when they realise its just a tomatoe plant , you should see the tricks and lies they use to get into the houses.
wouldnt it be geat if literaly everybody started doing this , the police wouldnt know what the fuck to do.

 

[dbkick]

if you were using a single hose portable then the exhaust would have an odor, this is why most people get busted. as soon as they catch an odor that's all they need to get into ANY info on you they want. and based on that info (mainly power bill) they get a warrant.they'll be in your tax info too. ANY info they want that will aid them.

 

[mindphuk]

if you were using a single hose portable then the exhaust would have an odor, this is why most people get busted. as soon as they catch an odor that's all they need to get into ANY info on you they want. and based on that info (mainly power bill) they get a warrant.they'll be in your tax info too. ANY info they want that will aid them.

Cops don't give a fuck if there's an odor. They see a hotspot and immediately think grow op. a vast majority of the time they are right but the problem is that the heat signature alone is not sufficient for a search because the OP points out there are legitimate legal reasons for a similar heat signature. This was the ruling by the SCOTUS. The problem is that when the cops make a mistake, there are no negative consequences for them, they just apologize and go on their way, but when they are right, they can easily lie about additional investigation, as in smelling an odor whether there was one or not. It becomes up to the grower, now defendant to prove the cops didn't smell anything or they didn't receive an anonymous tip, an impossible task.

There was a similar situation I remember reading where the cops busted in and found some guy had a bedroom setup as a server room for online gaming or something. The room was exceptionally warm d/t all of the computer hardware and it lit up on FLIR and looked like a grow room. The cops get away with a little embarrassing story in the news but no real punishment for violating someone's 4th Amendment rights.

 

[Total Head]

kind of reminds me of something i started watching the other day , about a guy who purposely sets up grow houses , but only grows tomatoes , he acts suspiciously and waits for the cops to show up , they allways turn up guns a blazzin expecting a big grow op bust , and the guy films there disapointment when they realise its just a tomatoe plant , you should see the tricks and lies they use to get into the houses.
wouldnt it be geat if literaly everybody started doing this , the police wouldnt know what the fuck to do.

if i hit a number this will be my first order of business. tomatoes and peppers. and nanny cams with sound. it delights me to think what the public outcry might be like if there was an epidemic of phoney busts all over the news.

i can see the protest signs:

"my child's school cut art to fight the evil of tomato gardens"

"we don't need vegetable police, we need math books"

"the police hate healthy food"

 

[dbkick]

Cops don't give a fuck if there's an odor. They see a hotspot and immediately think grow op. a vast majority of the time they are right but the problem is that the heat signature alone is not sufficient for a search because the OP points out there are legitimate legal reasons for a similar heat signature. This was the ruling by the SCOTUS. The problem is that when the cops make a mistake, there are no negative consequences for them, they just apologize and go on their way, but when they are right, they can easily lie about additional investigation, as in smelling an odor whether there was one or not. It becomes up to the grower, now defendant to prove the cops didn't smell anything or they didn't receive an anonymous tip, an impossible task.

There was a similar situation I remember reading where the cops busted in and found some guy had a bedroom setup as a server room for online gaming or something. The room was exceptionally warm d/t all of the computer hardware and it lit up on FLIR and looked like a grow room. The cops get away with a little embarrassing story in the news but no real punishment for violating someone's 4th Amendment rights.

really? try pumping your unfiltered exhaust out to the street and see how fast shit happens.

 

[mindphuk]

really? try pumping your unfiltered exhaust out to the street and see how fast shit happens.

You missed the context of this thread. I am not claiming odor won't get you busted, I'm saying that if you happen to get lit up on a random FLIR flyover or drive-by, they will lie about smelling odor or use another tactic that can't be disproved in court such as an anonymous tip. Of course actual odor of growing cannabis is probable cause.

 

[dbkick]

thanks for the clarification, I had to go back and read the original post. no mention of flir there but now that I read it again no mention of growing weed so there wouldn't be an odor of weed from the ac exhaust.