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Ganja Grannies, 65 and 72, Busted With 800 Plants

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on May 4, 2011 Culture, Growing, News

Virginia Pon, 65 (left) and Aleen Lam, 72, were arrested after police found more than 800 plants growing in their San Bruno, California home.

Two elderly women are in a California jail after neighbors called the police to report a burglary at their San Bruno residence. When police arrived, they saw, through the broken front door, nearly 800 marijuana plants inside the home.

Aleen Lam, 72, and Virginia Chan Pon, 65, were arrested Friday afternoon, reports Erin Sherbert at the S.F. Weekly. Police, searching the unoccupied home, found $3,000 in cash as well as an electrical bypass that allowed the grannies to steal electricity from Pacific Gas & Electric.

Tomato Grower Caught Up In Marijuana Roundup

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 21, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: KMBC

Big props to the brave police officers of Independence, Missouri, for being alert to these dangerous tomato plants.

‘The Last Time I Checked, It Wasn’t Illegal To Grow A Tomato Plant,’ Man Says

Hundreds of marijuana plants were seized by police officers in Independence, Missouri on 4/20, a day celebrated by pot smokers. But when the cops came busting in at one man’s door looking for cannabis, they found a tomato growing operation instead.

“What I saw today was not protection,” the man told KMBC‘s Cliff Judy. “That was harassment, all because of where I made a purchase.”

See, it turns out the Missouri Highway Patrol “monitors” stores that sell hydroponic growing equipment — and they use those sales to track down illegal marijuana growing operations. That information — couple with the asinine assumption that any customer at a hydroponics store must be involved in cannabis — led them to the tomato farmer’s door.

Study Says Indoor Pot Farms Use Up 1% Of Electricity In U.S.

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 11, 2011 Growing, News

Indoor cannabis cultivation may be trendy, but it’s also costly. Marijuana grown inside accounts for one percent of the annual electricity use in the United States, according to a new study.

That’s $5 billion worth of energy, equivalent to the energy use of two million homes for a year, reports Ariel Schwartz at Fast Company. The news comes from a report by Evan Mills, a veteran energy analyst at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, who said the problem can be traced back to the high-intensity lighting, dehumidification, air conditioning, irrigation, heating, and ventilation systems used in modern indoor grows.

Ballsy Robbers Steal Pot-Growing Trailer From Cannabis Cup

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 6, 2011 Growing, News, Products

Photo: William Breathes/Westword

Robbers drove the 28-foot Growbot trailer away in full view of security guards.

A big pot-growing trailer known as the “GrowBot” was stolen from a medical marijuana trade show in Denver over the weekend, and the owner on Tuesday offered a $5,000 reward for its return.

Greg Childre, who builds custom grow trailers for a variety of crops at his manufacturing plant in Georgia, said the trailer was stolen from the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup in Denver late Sunday night, according to Reuters.

In a fucked-up but ballsy move, the 28-foot GrowBot trailer was just driven out of the trade show parking lot — according to Childre, in full view of security guards.

Medical Marijuana Growers Have Access To University Advice

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 4, 2011 Growing, Medical

Photo: Holland Sentinel

Licensed medical marijuana growers in Michigan can call upon Michigan State University Extension personnel for advice

Inquiries on how to cultivate marijuana have slightly increased in the past few years, according to Michigan State University Extension plant experts. MSU-E, mainly involved in more mainstream agricultural pursuits, is a resource for some medical cannabis suppliers looking for good information.

Having received about seven calls since medical marijuana became legal in Michigan, MSU-E senior educator Thomas Dudek said he tries to relay basic information on plant physiology to novice growers, reports Sara Qamar of Capital News Service.

Emerald Triangle: Is A Hard Rain Gonna Fall?

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 1, 2011 Culture, Growing

Photo: ganj a farmer’s emerald triangle news

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The people who live up here in the redwoods are notoriously known for being incredibly tight-lipped as a community. That’s what happens when generations of farmers are forced to live for decades under the radar. You learn not to talk.

You don’t ask what Tyler’s dad does for a living. If two women in the produce aisle at the market are chatting about some kind of lights and how much square footage they’re reaching, you keep walking, keeping your thoughts to yourself. There’s a shell of new greenhouse that’s being built off of Indian Bend Road but no one’s going to mention it until someone else does first.

That’s the way it is in the Emerald Triangle. It is just like the Number One law of the streets. You keep your mouth closed at all costs. Loose lips sinks your mouther-effing grow faster than drawing the DEA a map. You never know who might be around listening. Who might be smart enough to put a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together?

Illinois House Kills Industrial Hemp Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on April 1, 2011 Growing, Legislation

Photo: The Sustainability Ninja

Industrial hemp is a variety of cannabis with almost zero THC. Its fibers are useful for clothing, paper, cosmetics, and fuel.

A bill that would have allowed Illinois farmers to grow industrial hemp was badly defeated Thursday in the state House.

House Bill 1383, sponsored by Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago), would have allowed farmers to get permits to grow hemp, a low-THC varietal of the cannabis plant. Hemp fiber can be used in clothing, paper, cosmetics, and ethanol, reports Andy Brownfield at the Springfield State Journal-Register.

“This is part of the new green movement across the nation,” Dunkin said. “This will put Illinois ahead of most states.”

Federal Agents Raid San Fernando Valley Marijuana Grow Ops

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 31, 2011 Growing, News

Photo: LA Weekly

More than 5,000 plants were reportedly seized from hydroponic grow operations in the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday.

Federal agents reportedly raided several medical marijuana operations in the San Fernando Valley on Wednesday. Agents from multiple federal agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, assisted by the Los Angeles Police Department, uncovered pot growing warehouses, according to spokesperson Laura Eimiller.

“Multiple search warrants were executed,” Eimiller said. “It involved multiple agencies including the FBI, DEA, LAPD and the ATF and ICE.”

One law enforcement source told Dennis Romero at LA Weekly that more than 5,000 plants were seized, along with “luxury cars” and at least $200,000 in cash. The raided locations were said to all be indoor hydroponic growing operations.

Arizona’s Medical Marijuana Rules Include Cultivation Protocol

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 29, 2011 Growing, Medical

Photo: The Huffington Post

Medical marijuana application forms went online Monday in Arizona. State law requires that qualified applicants receive their cards within 10 days.

First Patients Should Be Getting Cards In 10 Days

Arizona patients who act quickly can be among the first to qualify to buy, possess, and use marijuana, which state voters last November legalized for medical use.

Medical marijuana application forms went online Monday in Arizona. State law requires that qualified patients receive their cards within 10 days of applying. All patients are authorized to grow until dispensaries start up later this year.

Department of Health Services officials on Monday made forms available on the agency’s website that a doctor must fill out to get a patient authorized to use cannabis, reports Howard Fischer at Capitol Media Services. DHS Director Will Humble said that while applications won’t be accepted until April 14, those who think they qualify can jump-start the process right now.

And if everything is in order, state law requires the medical marijuana cards to be sent out within 10 days, if patients pay the $150 application fee by credit card.

Medical Marijuana Patients To Start 5-Year Prison Term

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 25, 2011 Growing, Medical

Photo: Sharon Letts

Dr. Mollie Fry, pictured above, is about to begin a five-year federal prison term for medical marijuana. So is her husband, attorney Dale Schafer.

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

It’s a glaring misuse of our legal system against Dr. Marion “Mollie” Fry and her husband, civil attorney Dale Schafer. After more than half a decade of litigation and three years of appeals, the couple have been given until May 2 to turn themselves in to authorities to serve five years in a federal prison.

It started when the police raided their Sacramento home in 2001, finding 34 plants. Well below the 90-plant limit established by the local city ordinance for cardholders such as themselves, the couple thought they were on safe legal ground.

Dr. Fry, having gone through a radical mastectomy, decided to grow her own cannabis to offset the many complications she was experiencing from chemotherapy. Schafer suffers from hemophilia and a wrenched back, and is under constant care. He has also chosen to treat himself with medical marijuana.

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Browsing: Growing

​‘The Last Time I Checked, It Wasn’t Illegal To Grow A Tomato Plant,’ Man Says

‘The Last Time I Checked, It Wasn’t Illegal To Grow A Tomato Plant,’ Man Says