Laws and Important things to Know when contacted For grow by Police

[norm]

seamaiden got this one right, go see a local attorney. make a list of questions you have and dont take IDK for an answer.
law is all interpretation, how its interpreted is based on your county and the judges in it. Most growers find someway to justify to themselves that what they are doing poses little risk, for some thats true, and you may not face a stiff penalty in some med areas. but in the USA there is no 100% way to protect yourself from your garden confiscated and killed, or federal persecution. You can tell yourself whatever you need to sleep at night, but this hobby/profession is risky on many levels no matter what.

That said, NEVER ANSWER THE DOOR. its pointless

 

[Texas Kid]

When they came and hit me last year in northern Colrado, it was harvest time, I mean mid stream, we had roto trimmers goin, 30 or so 8' foot stringers full of trimmed nug hangin...it was knarley..we were takin a break at another house I had down the street, eatin lunch and smokin out for a minute, Knock on the door, its a plain clothes county narcotics task force and a uniform sheriff, the plain clothes asked if I had a grow and was ready to rock, I said i was medical and his whole demeaner changed and he chilled out and asked if he could see my paperwork, I yelled inside to my buddy that I was about to let these guys in and show them my paperwork...they came in and started lookin at all my recs and cards, takin notes, taken pics of my binder material...I swear i almost past out, for real, I started seein the white light and had to hang on to my counter to keep from fallin down, took a minute for me to get my shit together..they looked at all the paper work and asked if they could see my grow..so in this house I had a 12 site under current and 12k burnin in flower and then a clone room with a 3x3 full of youngins, I was about 10 days into flower so i said verytihing was veggin, nothing in flower, they counted everything, plants and clones 38 total, they wanted a sample so i cut off a branch and gave it to him...we go back upstairs and they say everything looks good, and for a fraction of a second i thought i was all good ready to chill, and then he says Now lets go down the street to your farm ....fuck me!! they loaded me up and hauled me down there and we started all over..I had 25 plants in the ground, all 2.5-3lbs and another 13 or 14 in 15 gallon pots scattered all around the outdoor plot for like a total of 38 or 39 plants in full on flower ready to come down, with two or three already trimmed and hangin inside..We had oil goin, material bagged, trash bags of frozen trim ready to make bubble and qwiso out of, I mean shit was everywhere..they sat at my kitchen table for hours askin questions and takin notes, wanted to know how we made oil, how we made candy, suckers, brownies, whatever, they wanted to know, the whole process took about 5 hours and it was exhausting, he called the ADA and they said they were lookin for aggregous violations and they weren't sure if mine rose to that or not..they would call me in 7-10 days and let me know if any charges would be filed...the plain clothes called me in a week and said they were not goin any further, no harm no foul.....paperwork held up nice and the officers seem to have alot of descresion as well as the DA.

Second time exactly a year later in a southern county of Colorado, didn't go that way at all, thats all I can say on that one for now..

Tex

 

[Seamaiden]

It's all about the real estate in that regard, or in other words LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION.

I have to say that I'm still surprised and impressed with how our local law enforcement was when I was robbed. They haven't called to say they have anyone in jail yet, but they've been helpful, kind, clearly concerned, and reassuring that they really want to get the people who did it. I truly didn't expect that kind of reaction from them, pleasantly surprised, though honestly I think I could have done without being robbed to learn this.

But my sister's problems when she was living in Oakland? The OPD are just all kinds of fucked up, and I think that if the city council hadn't directed them to spend no effort on pot crimes they'd be going after dime bag dealers and beating the shit out of them.

I have had it go both ways...one time cooperated, no harm no foul and another time cooperated no harm, big foul both times the scale was about the same...the thing that is different IMO when you demand a warrant they perform their search of property and premises in way different mode, rabid dog mode more like. They secure you and the property anyways while they are waitin for the warrant so for the most part there is no way to effect the outcome of the search or what they find. So you might want to opt for the less distructive and possibley less problems due to a complete top to bottom search. When you request the warrant you are really only doin so in the hope that your attorney came get the acual search warrant thown out and exclude any evIdence found, etc...but thats about thier only card as far as that goes.....if they are knockin at your door, they will get a warrant, no problem, so its not like they just go away when you demand a warrant.

At the end of the day if you ask for a warrant, you will definately need an attorney and if you cooperate there is a chance that the descresion on the officer in the field lets you walk no harm no foul, no attorney..cost analsys more or less..the other side is $10,000 pre-trial and another $10,000 at trial so get ready for court

Tex

Dave and I have a friend who's still growing, been growing for decades now. His advice? Don't give the cops grief and they'll go easier on you. Demand a warrant and you'll get it, in spades. Based on his advice and that of our attorney, when I was presented with a visit and the 'option' to demand a warrant, I decided, with my husband's encouragement, to cooperate. I didn't answer many questions, though. I asked a lot of questions, especially about how to be in compliance. I just wanna be in compliance!


Your costs for fighting a charge are about right IME. You need at least $10,000 to retain a good attorney, and they'll go through that and rack up another $10,000 no problem. This is why I advise folks, based on this friend's advice and my experience with other family members, to let the public defender start the case and at least get as far as discovery. It makes no sense to pay an attorney to get to discovery when a PD will do it for free.

 

[smokey79]

the rich make them laws n ploliticians pass em, middle incomes/class obey in general and enforce the lower class is the law breakers and thats kinda way it go with money, but the simple fact is if they know you got it put up a fight they know they only got a shot n time they get to door they got y, if your indoor growin what the fuck you goin do with all that they got you, then if you underestimated you get that lil 2up they jus come after you with teeth, best you can do is passifi em hope you got understanding officers lol - there out there- an from there in it in black n white it needs sorted might be fiction but it on paper in court it problems!-courts are on the day if judge got it/hell might be femed an pmt-you jus dnt ....save cash n know the basics coz it a $£$£$£ money game lawers are money grabbin legalised crims-hell they make money that never gets found ie great rain robbry the proceeds went to defence, as many examples show they win vote n legalise it it not hard to vote why are we so fearful to rise up, essentially cannabis is socially accepable now them law enforcers are lookin more more hypocritical enforcing, when thier own smoke, use it medically or have used it themself. tex is right all you can do is go with it n coperate but dont make friends they are tryin to fuck you, your future life etc, n that weed you was growin bn smellin, that nice set up....watch em fling it out the window, on tv, the media, that fuel thier propoganda. best way to be is off radar jus doin as everyone else do n tell no one, one tells one like dominos till slow r fast t gets back and knocks you down....legalise it....ssh dam good shit..................

 

[reeldrag]

every sitituation is different if you are in within your numbers go with it best you can be polite and let them in but I know for a fact cuz I was there when it went down if you are just blowing it up like trying to over grow the world style dont let them in!! no warrant in hand he had to stay on the road cuz the gate was locked and a very big pit chained to front door and local rumors of my buddy being trigger happy crazy man did give us enough time to remove enough plants that it ended up being a class a misdameanor but with that being said when they came( at first was only one cop later there was at least 10) in like full on storm troopers of death flash bangs going off shotguns shields the whole 9 yards and while we managed to save ourselves a visit to the local pen we did have our fair share of accident kicks to the heads ( I was pepper sprayed twice pretty sure the second time was just for the fuck of it cuz I was already in cuffs with a knee pressing in the back of my neck but i was running my mouth and my buddy DID have an accidental fall down a small flight of steps while resisting as the officers stated even thou he had been very mellow from the onset and was in cuffs. you just gotta kinda go with it best you can but if they are knocking on your door you have problems period. FYI the biggest garbage disposal you can get your hands on can come in very handy you be suprised how many plants you can dispose of in about 30 min. total cost of event 250 fine lots of bumps and bruises house totally hammered 10 hoods lights ballast smashed flood tables smashed and some how about 3 grand in cash dissappeared.

 

[swisscheese]

Reeldrag keeping it real over here!

 

[420Gator]

I havent read all the comments but heres my take. Cops break the law way more than we do the only difference is they dont get in trouble for breaking it

like if one were to get arrested illegally and its later proven so in court no ones gonna get in trouble. you may have had to sit in jail for months because some asshole arrested you just to make a few extra bucks that month but he aint gonna get in trouble for it

I hate to admit this but I should have been a cop, its the perfect profession for a criminal. although Id probly get fired for never arresting non violent offenders

 

[Seamaiden]

Jesus Christ... I don't need flashbangs going off in my nice house, nor do I need to be kicked in the head.

I just read an article about the types of jobs that attract a higher percentage of psychopaths than what one would expect given the national average (about 1% of the population can be Dx'd as 'psychopath'). I've gotta dig that back up and post it, because POLICE was one of the professions. So was LAWYER, and SALESPERSON. Ayup! Just found it, gonna start a thread for it cuz I think it's thread-worthy and hasn't a thing to do with this thread.

 

[smokey79]

lol yep play cards u got n know what you needs to

 

[Sailfishdan]

stay compliant and harvest, trim, and cure at a secondary location where seizures would be far less appealing...my lawyers 2cents

 

[Capulator]

I *fortunately* have only been arrested once. . .FOR AN UNPAID FUCKING SPEEDING TICKET. THEY CAME TO MY FUCKING HOUSE.

I was in the middle of doing some work in the garden when the doorbell rang and my dogs started going nuts (only strangers ring my doorbell). Opened my front door to find 2 pigs stinking up my front porch. They didn't come in or try to come in, but they asked me who I was, and when I said who I was, they told me I was under arrest. I was talking to them through my screen door. I had no wallet or keys in my pocket, and they told me that since I was under arrest they would have to come with me if I had to go back in the house. I told them that they could not enter my home, and they cuffed me and hauled me off. 6 hours later in a co-ed waiting room with cable TV and couches, I was released on bail. My roomate had come home and found the tent wide open and me gone and was pretty freaked out. Luckily I was able to get word out to some friends and all was OK. THAT SUCKED!

outwest

hahahah I bet you were shitting bricks!

 

[Capulator]

stay compliant and harvest, trim, and cure at a secondary location where seizures would be far less appealing...my lawyers 2cents

you mean harvest and bring it to a second location?!?! what is considered "a secondary location where seizures are far less appealing"?

 

[outwest]

hahahah I bet you were shitting bricks!

Actually, I was pretty calm cool and collected on that particular occasion. I've been in much more compromising situations. Kicked out of hotel rooms at 6am by state cops with 40 of my closest friends. . .rooms in my name. That'll make ya sweat for a minute.

outwest

 

[Sailfishdan]

you mean harvest and bring it to a second location?!?! what is considered "a secondary location where seizures are far less appealing"?

Yes exactly....Depends on your setup but the short version would go like this in the event of an encounter it is much easier to establish compliance if meds of any sort arent in the equation being usable, not usable, and the amounts etc are all areas that would fall under officers discretion, whereas a simple count and check of paperwork I can feel a lot more comfortable with....

 

[Sailfishdan]

less appealing for seizures meaning nothing of value at said location....perferably won you dont own, a trap house per say....