Is it just me...?

earthpig · Jan 6, 2012

Let me start by saying I am a non-commercial, OMMP compliant grower that has no desire to stray from the guidelines.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have noticed that establishments that cater to medical marijuana participants want to totally avoid the medical issues and questions. Why? Is it just me?
If a store is going to sell products designed for specific use, why is it wrong to ask questions? I love going into a indoor garden center and having to be vague about my questions, like my medication makes me criminal so I should not ask questions?
Any one else encounter this or is it just me???

El Cerebro · Jan 8, 2012

Many of the shops are just trained from back in the day when they had to do this or get shut down. Non-legal states are still this way across the board. Dig around and you'll probably find a few who are more comfortable discussing ommp openly, especially once you get to know them and they know you're legal.

Legallyflying · Jan 9, 2012

check out home grown hydropponics on stark street.,

crossouttheiis · Jan 12, 2012

Legallyflying said:
check out home grown hydropponics on stark street.,

they took down their signs and stopped talking about stuff like that and I have since stopped going there even though I have spent a grip of money there too.

earthpig · Jan 15, 2012

Ace Hardware on Woodstock has a nice indoor garden section that I stumbled across and found most of the folks are helpful.....
the Evergreen on Powel is where people were rude about my questions and to me in regards to use of a nutrient for the purpose of sexing a plant...

sky high · Jan 16, 2012

If they buy wholesale from Hydrofarm, Sunlight, BWGS, etc.... they may have had to sign an agreement stating that they agree to not sell to pot growers "knowingly"....or else they could lose their right to buy wholesale from these suppliers.

That's the way it used to work when I had my store and I doubt it has changed much, if any. (if Stuart is still running HF...no way it is different) They LOVE your $$$ in that industry but they do not want to hear or know that you are growing weed.

The stores on the retail front are just covering their ass/trying to protect their investment and really aren't there to teach you or advise you on growing pot.

dat's what the Farm is for!

dankworth · Jan 16, 2012

Liability reasons. Their livelihood is at stake. You are a Fed informant that will entrap them by speaking openly.

That is their concern.

But if you can talk around the subject without using the wrong language, Northern Light & Garden in Beavertron has been treating me right for years now. Hands down best service and peeps of all stores in Ptown area I have been to. I drive across the state to shop there because they don't suck. Ask up front if they can match some discounted prices you see on the net.

And good luck. Just remember that particular phrasing is everything.

Joe Blow · Jan 20, 2012

Selling equipment to somebody that you know is going to grow schedule 1 narcotics with is against federal law...that's why the wholesalers have you sign that contract. Stupid, but that's the way it will remain until we change things at a federal level.

earthpig · Jan 23, 2012

It boiled down to a question as to whether a "force bloom" product like Open Sesame or Kool Bloom could be used in the sexing of fruits and vegetables.... simple enough question i thought.....
sales associate gets all bent out of shape, "Why do you need to sex your vegetables?" and followed with "I can't help you."
and so you all know, worked great to sex my seeds....Kool Bloom did any how.

vRikuu · Feb 25, 2012

earthpig said:
Let me start by saying I am a non-commercial, OMMP compliant grower that has no desire to stray from the guidelines.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have noticed that establishments that cater to medical marijuana participants want to totally avoid the medical issues and questions. Why? Is it just me?
If a store is going to sell products designed for specific use, why is it wrong to ask questions? I love going into a indoor garden center and having to be vague about my questions, like my medication makes me criminal so I should not ask questions?
Any one else encounter this or is it just me???

You have to keep the two separate > Equipment at the stores and Info at
THC Farmer & Youtube.:cool0019:

El Cerebro · Feb 25, 2012

FYI, mj is no longer sched 1 in OR (unique fact that doesn't change much of anything for this conversation).

Seriously, there are good shops around OR and WA who cater to helping new patients figure out some basics, but aside from that they're grooming you to buy expensive media, bulbs, gadgets, and most importantly lots of stuff in jugs. This industry seems to fool a ton of talented growers too, eh?

Graywolf · Feb 26, 2012

Not too long ago, the feds confiscated the records of a well known Portland grow shop, and staked out their parking lot to follow customers.

Even though no charges were filed against the store, they put the store through the ringer, cost them a lot of money, and they don't wish to go through it again.

The feds also use the IRS as a foil, as well as having the FDIC refuse to insure banks deposits, at banks that has customers who are in violation of federal laws, and through landlords, by threatening to seize the property.

I'm predicting that they will continue to do so, until we change the laws that we are paying them to inforce.

Smoking Gun · Feb 26, 2012

Just talk about hot peppers in the hydro stores. The process of growing hot peppers is not all that dissimilar to growing cannabis. So talk about your habanero or cayenne peppers instead of herb, this will keep everyone safe and happy and you will be able to talk about your plants relatively openly. Just don't slip up with your wording.

As for dispensaries not offering advice on your meds, that can be for many reasons. In my shop I used to offer the best advice I could give on matching meds to ailments, but the best I could do was make suggestions. Everyone will have different reactions to cannabis, so what may work for your ailment may not work for someone with the same ailment. This can make offering suggestions a bit difficult. Also the people working in dispensaries are not doctors, they cannot offer any medical advice even if they are offering opinions on what meds you should use. I also think it would surprise most people to find out how many patients go into a dispensary, ask for advice and then totally ignore that advice.

On top of all of this, while states have approved medical use marijuana is still federally illegal. So getting answers to questions about medical marijuana will remain difficult until things change at a federal level. So if you want MMJ answers come here fist.

greenjoe · Feb 26, 2012

ok i am just saying......
you guys down south should do what we do here in the north.....If you get approved...it is done by the feds
I believe it makes things much easier.....
But a permit is better than no permit i guess....
Even so i live in a fairly large city.....and there is only 1 dispensary.....when a few open up...the province closes them down..its bizarre in a way because you guys are state approved and the feds are the ones busting your legal operations(state)
I am federally approved but the provincial law makers shut down dispensary here

sorry just ranting away......must be the great white shark.....:)

Fresh Starts · Feb 25, 2014

Graywolf said:
Not too long ago, the feds confiscated the records of a well known Portland grow shop, and staked out their parking lot to follow customers.

Even though no charges were filed against the store, they put the store through the ringer, cost them a lot of money, and they don't wish to go through it again.

The feds also use the IRS as a foil, as well as having the FDIC refuse to insure banks deposits, at banks that has customers who are in violation of federal laws, and through landlords, by threatening to seize the property.

I'm predicting that they will continue to do so, until we change the laws that we are paying them to inforce.

What store was this?

Oregon Grown · Apr 21, 2014

Fresh Starts said:
What store was this?

They did that at most of them but that was in the early 90s before medical. As for northern lights and garden, it's the most expensive shop I've been to even after the discounts.

KiLoEleMeNt · May 12, 2014

I am very sorry to hear that you are having any trouble with your local hydro shops. This is a seemingly stupid thing but as said be0fore these shops are just trained to feel like it is not to be spoken of or they will be hurt/shut down. Personally I feel hydro shops and gardening stores who don't feel free to speak about it in their shop may not be doing everything legit however this most likely is not true or the case but there are those few its just the feeling you get when you receive treatment like this its either them or you doing something illegal there so I hope with the openness of our shop we can change this image and feeling and get our customers the help and answers they need and a comfortable place to buy their products. I call it the Lets make hydro shops fun again project lol! so if anyone is in this area with a ommp card please feel free to stop by with card an id to get %10 off your first purchase

KiLoEleMeNt · May 12, 2014

sky high said:
If they buy wholesale from Hydrofarm, Sunlight, BWGS, etc.... they may have had to sign an agreement stating that they agree to not sell to pot growers "knowingly"....or else they could lose their right to buy wholesale from these suppliers.

That's the way it used to work when I had my store and I doubt it has changed much, if any. (if Stuart is still running HF...no way it is different) They LOVE your $$$ in that industry but they do not want to hear or know that you are growing weed.

The stores on the retail front are just covering their ass/trying to protect their investment and really aren't there to teach you or advise you on growing pot.

dat's what the Farm is for!

I currently run a hydro shop it has changed a lil bit we now can sell to medical growers knowingly but cannot cater to pot or advertise their products as being used for such thing but it in no way claims you can not sell to medical growers or talk openly about medical plants/use in MY store it only refers to how we can advertise their products. So in saying we do not cater to the pot community but proven/current medical growers are another story they are doing nothing more than the tomato farmer is

KiLoEleMeNt · May 13, 2014

DEA Raided This Woman's House After She Shopped At A Garden Store Angela Kirking never thought shopping for garden supplies would lead to agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration waking her up with guns drawn, but that's what happened last October.

"I bought a bottle of organic fertilizer, a 16-ounce bottle," said Kirking, a 46-year-old face-paint artist. "Three weeks later I was raided by DEA."

The DEA is refusing to answer questions about the law enforcement operation targeting an Illinois garden store that has netted Kirking and at least 10 other people. But Kirking and her lawyer contend it's a case of misplaced priorities and federal overreach. They're asking why the DEA is treating ordinary customers of a garden store selling hydroponic equipment as if they were major drug dealers.

The Oct. 11, 2013, raid on Kirking's house, first reported by Patch, involved four DEA agents and five Shorewood, Ill., police officers, according to a police report. Its alleged yield from Kirking's art room, whose entrance is guarded by beads: 9.3 grams of marijuana, or less than one-third of an ounce.

Now Kirking's defense lawyer, former Will County (Ill.) prosecutor Jeff Tomczak, is trying to have the search warrant and the two misdemeanor charges it produced thrown out.

Kirking's visit to the garden store, Midwest Hydroganics, was the predicate for the whole investigation of her, according to Tomczak. "100 percent nothing else," he said, calling that far too thin a thread on which to base a search warrant.

In the search warrant application, a Braidwood, Ill., police officer assigned to the DEA, Donn Kaminski, wrote that he had observed Kirking exit the garden store "carrying a green plastic bag containing unknown items." Kaminski stated he had "previously conducted numerous investigations that involved the surveillance of Midwest Hydroganics and persons purchasing items at Midwest Hydroganics, which has led to the arrest of suspects for production of cannabis sativa plants and production of cannabis."

A man answering the phone at the Midwest Hydroganics store declined to comment on the DEA operation.

Kaminski wrote that he then sifted through Kirking's household trash, detecting "a strong odor of green cannabis" in one plastic trash bag, and compared her home's electrical bill to that of her neighbors, finding that it was higher. Another officer conducted a field test on a green plant stem, which allegedly tested positive for marijuana. That was enough for a judge to sign a warrant.

An application for a search warrant for a different Midwest Hydroganics customer, Tomczak noted, stated that police had found no evidence of marijuana plant residue in the trash -- and suggested that was evidence a suspect was covering up his marijuana grow.

The result in Kirking's case was an early morning raid on her home.

"They were in full attack mode, came at me guns raised, flashlights. Just like you see in the movies," Kirking said. "I had to ask them for a warrant. I said, 'Who are you,' when they came in the bedroom. Somebody said, 'DEA.'"

A spokesman for the Will County State's Attorney described Kirking's case as just one among many resulting from surveillance of the store.

"There are 11 total cases based upon search warrants that were written and charged based upon this type of surveillance in Will County by the DEA," said Charles Pelkie, director of public affairs for the state's attorney's office. "Eleven of those cases are charged, eight have been prosecuted in Will County."

Kirking's alleged marijuana stash was paltry. But Pelkie said other searches have produced more serious amounts. The largest of these in Will County, he said, yielded 120 marijuana plants, 290,510 grams of cannabis and 178 Ecstasy pills. That raid has resulted in one person pleading guilty to a felony.

Pelkie said the Will County State's Attorney makes its decisions on charges when the DEA presents its evidence. He refused to comment on whether targeting a garden store was the best use of the agency's resources.

"With regard to how the DEA conducts its investigations, you really have to refer to them," said Pelkie.

But on that count the federal agency is not being helpful. Special Agent Owen Putman, spokesman for the DEA's Chicago Division, declined via email to comment on the operation targeting Midwest Hydroganics.

The Illinois law enforcement operation seems to follow the same pattern as a two-state operation out of Kansas City, Mo., that also involved the DEA. The effort dubbed "Operation Constant Gardener," led by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, also staked out hydroponic garden stores and eventually arrested 14 people. To maximize publicity, those raids happened on April 20 of 2011 and 2012 -- 4/20, also known as "Weed Day."

After the initial favorable headlines, however, the other side of Operation Constant Gardener came into focus: Innocent gardeners had been harassed, and garden stores saw diminished business.

In the Kansas City suburb of Leawood, Kan., law enforcement agents clad in bulletproof vests and carrying assault rifles raided the home of a couple and their two children. The parents turned out to be former CIA employees. Even after no marijuana was found, police allegedly suggested to Adlynn and Robert Harte that perhaps their 13-year-old son used marijuana.

"These folks have never used drugs at all. They have the cleanest backgrounds ever," said the couple's lawyer, Cheryl Pilate. "They used a SWAT team -- or a bunch of deputies dressed up like SWAT officers using SWAT tactics -- which was totally inappropriate."

Pilate said the couple's ordeal started after the husband went to the hydroponic garden store to buy supplies for an educational indoor vegetable garden he planted with his son. The Hartes are now suing for damages.

In many cases, Pilate argues, the police rely on inaccurate and unreliable field tests like those used to identify alleged traces of marijuana in suspects' trash. Her clients contend in their lawsuit that the supposed "marijuana" found in their trash was actually discarded tea leaves.

Pilate said police departments are quick to put out press releases when such raids turn up drugs or marijuana plants.

"What you hear about are the people who are charged. You generally don't hear about the people who aren't," said Pilate.

In Illinois, the Will County State's Attorney has so far not answered HuffPost's request for statistics on how many search warrants were executed as part of the Midwest Hydroganics investigation that did not result in prosecutions.

Kirking, the face-paint artist who faces two misdemeanor charges for the small amount of marijuana found in her home, is hopeful the judge in her case will throw out the warrant. She thinks the garden store operation should stop.

"You feel very violated. I mean extremely violated. My husband and I were in shock for days afterwards -- how did this happen?" she said. "It's sad that they are resorting to this method

KiLoEleMeNt · May 13, 2014

This is the cause of all the shhhh and you cant say thats

Is it just me...?

Is it just me...?

earthpig

El Cerebro

Legallyflying

crossouttheiis

earthpig

sky high

dankworth

Joe Blow

earthpig

vRikuu

El Cerebro

Graywolf

Smoking Gun

greenjoe

Fresh Starts

Oregon Grown

KiLoEleMeNt

KiLoEleMeNt

KiLoEleMeNt

KiLoEleMeNt

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