Alright, whose pot farm leaked?

apollonia666

Newsday: Water leak leads to pot bust
Rocco Parascandola
Staff Writer
February 27, 2006

A call about a water leak at a Prospect Heights building Sunday turned into a major narcotics investigation when firefighters found a hydroponic marijuana operation inside an apartment, police sources and fire officials said.

The man and woman who rent the fifth-floor Brooklyn apartment were still being sought Sunday night, police sources said.

The smell of the marijuana was unmistakable in the hallway of 699 Classon Ave., police sources said, yet it did not appear anyone had called to complain about the odor.

Shortly before 8:30 a.m. Sunday, however, a fourth-floor resident called 911 about a water leak.

Responding firefighters went to the apartment directly above the resident, but no one answered their knocks. Once they entered the apartment they found a full-scale hydroponic marijuana operation, with plants and equipment in the two bedrooms.

Hydroponic marijuana is a high-grade plant that is grown without soil.

It wasn't immediately clear how much marijuana was in the apartment or how long the operation was in place.

Police were taking steps late Sunday to get a warrant that would allow them to search the entire apartment.

Authorities in December broke up an alleged drug ring that during the preceding six years delivered hydroponic marijuana to the doorsteps of regular customers in Manhattan and on Long Island.

Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

candicissima

Well they probably won't be here posting about it. They're on the lam!

quijibo

aw man.
that's just so sad
all that lovely sativa, just thrown away

the police should concentrate on busting crack and meth operations
so many of my neighbors are crackheads, and they can buy that shit as easy as buying a pack of lucky's

pot should be legalized + taxed :x

there! i said it. i'll get down from my soapbox now...

sweet tea

that explains it!

i do wish one of the firefolks i talked to last night had said something to the effect that my apartment was not, say, about to burst into flames.

but, you know, it's good that we clarified our escape-with-cats plan, right? and a little anxiety never hurt anybody. except for cardiac patients.

captain m

who calls 911 about a leak! WTF?!

jamesondean

quijibo wrote: aw man.
that's just so sad
all that lovely sativa, just thrown away

the police should concentrate on busting crack and meth operations
so many of my neighbors are crackheads, and they can buy that shit as easy as buying a pack of lucky's

pot should be legalized + taxed :x

there! i said it. i'll get down from my soapbox now...

Wrong, wrong, wrong. The stereotype of the benevolent hippie pot dealer belies the real violence that can happen nowadays. Witness the alleged revenge arson this past week that killed four people. It's one thing to say pot is harmless, but arguing that the cops should ignore it moves an ideological debate into the realm of naivete.

I'm with you on the legalization/taxation front, but the reality is that there are pot dealers who are every bit as violent as those dealing other drugs.

quijibo

JamesOnDean wrote: Wrong, wrong, wrong. The stereotype of the benevolent hippie pot dealer belies the real violence that can happen nowadays. Witness the alleged revenge arson this past week that killed four people. It's one thing to say pot is harmless, but arguing that the cops should ignore it moves an ideological debate into the realm of naivete.

I'm with you on the legalization/taxation front, but the reality is that there are pot dealers who are every bit as violent as those dealing other drugs.

i agree.
i'm not saying that pot dealers are benevolent little fuzzballs that should be ignored
i'm saying that we should take the profit motive away from dealing pot,
and allow the police to devote limited resources to more serious crimes

classony

this is my favorite part:

"The smell of the marijuana was unmistakable in the hallway of 699 Classon Ave., police sources said, yet it did not appear anyone had called to complain about the odor. "

The smell of marijuana is frequently unmistakable in our hallway and I don't even live on the pot farm floor. Can you imagine if someone called 911 every time there caught a weed wiff.

Who knew there were over 200 plants though? Our aloe is struggling. Too bad the 5th floor botanists won't be around to give tips.

emily

Captain M wrote: who calls 911 about a leak! WTF?!

People who have run out of patience and want their neighbors to get nailed for having a pot farm?

carnivore

EmilyM wrote: [quote=Captain M]who calls 911 about a leak! WTF?!

People who have run out of patience and want their neighbors to get nailed for having a pot farm?
I don't think they can accurately be called "neighbors." According to an article on these operations from the NYT Magazine a few years ago, they typically operate remotely as much as possible (often computer-controlled), with a physical presence limited to planting and harvesting. That's probably why the leak continued without being addressed. If they'd actually been there, I'm sure they would have taken care of the leak ASAP so as not to draw attention to themselves.

pete_c

Hydroponic, schmydroponic. Real NY growers do it *outside* tucked in among the other crops.

On a related note: annual spring garden party tentatively scheduled for April at my backyard..

qtrain

Carnivore wrote: According to an article on these operations from the NYT Magazine a few years ago, they typically operate remotely as much as possible (often computer-controlled)

Classon avenue is overrun by cannabis tending robots that receive instructions through the Internet?
LOCK YOU PORTS

alafairnadia

qtrain wrote: [quote=Carnivore]According to an article on these operations from the NYT Magazine a few years ago, they typically operate remotely as much as possible (often computer-controlled)

Classon avenue is overrun by cannabis tending robots that receive instructions through the Internet?
LOCK YOU PORTS

HAHAHAHAH

hilarious!

kevin_on_putnam

qtrain wrote: [quote=Carnivore]According to an article on these operations from the NYT Magazine a few years ago, they typically operate remotely as much as possible (often computer-controlled)

Classon avenue is overrun by cannabis tending robots that receive instructions through the Internet?
LOCK YOU PORTS

I think you're getting Classon Avenue confused with Congress....

escap

quijibo wrote: aw man.
that's just so sad
all that lovely sativa, just thrown away

the police should concentrate on busting crack and meth operations
so many of my neighbors are crackheads, and they can buy that shit as easy as buying a pack of lucky's

pot should be legalized + taxed :x

there! i said it. i'll get down from my soapbox now...

crack and meth should be legalized too....

qtrain

escap wrote: crack and meth should be legalized too....

Do you see a role in distribution for the government? I'm assuming your position is that legal drugs would be cheap, and unappealing to organized crime. Or is it on libertarian grounds?

escap

qtrain wrote: [quote=escap]crack and meth should be legalized too....

Do you see a role in distribution for the government? I'm assuming your position is that legal drugs would be cheap, and unappealing to organized crime. Or is it on libertarian grounds?

errr, i guess you could call it libertarian grounds, although i'm not sure what that means exactly. crime/gangs is definitely a big reason. i know it's radical.

alafairnadia

escap wrote: [quote=qtrain][quote=escap]crack and meth should be legalized too....

Do you see a role in distribution for the government? I'm assuming your position is that legal drugs would be cheap, and unappealing to organized crime. Or is it on libertarian grounds?

errr, i guess you could call it libertarian grounds, although i'm noy sure what that means exactly. crime/gangs is definitely a big reason. i know it's radical.

what's radical? ending this stupid war on drugs via legalization? a good 50% of new york jurors will swear in open court that they believe in legalization. of course, they're doing it to get off of jury duty, but still. even if only half of them believe it, I don't think 25% = radical.

qtrain

alafairnadia wrote: what's radical? ending this stupid war on drugs via legalization? a good 50% of new york jurors will swear in open court that they believe in legalization.

Legalization of hard drugs is still pretty radical.

I'm on the fence. Cheap and legal would probably mean more people getting addicted, but it would definitely making managing addiction easier.

sweet tea

It does seem like decriminalization, rather than out-and-out legalization, might be a good start. At least of pot, which has the benefit of not turning many people into violent lunatics. (At least not violent lunatics who can resist snack food.)