Outdoor Grow Is Entrapment

[motoguzzi13]

I live in the UP Michigan> I have been growing my medicine for a few years and when they  made it legal for out door grow , I was happy to get out from under the electric costs as I am on disability and my plan was to grow a years supply. I have to admit I didn't fully understand the law. I thought  that 2.5 was just on person amount. so I had 24 huge beautiful plants growing (12 were my girlfriends). my house is 45 miles from a traffic light and I had a locking gate at the end of the driveway. I also have a 6 ft wood fence that was locked and I have a guard dog. well one day I hear the dog barking look outside and three cops are walking around my gate in the driveway and left their vehicles on the road. the told me they spotted my grow from a helicopter and wanted too see my card,so I showed them and then they asked about my girlfriend which was gone with her son for the day and she didn't have a cell phone. they started telling me my operation wasn't secure enough and that I should have something to prove her plants. they then told me I needed to build 2 cages around each set of 12 and that she would have a key for her side and I would have a key for my side and that they would give me a month to come into compliance especially when I told them I had no money to build this till the 3rd of the month. They wanted her to call them the next day with her numbers. Well I went in the house and looked up the 2.5 law and realized the minute my plants flowered id be subject to arrest. so what I think happened is that they were not sure by the way it went down was legitimate arrest and they had to run it by the prosecutor. the way they entered and my place was secured enough. So I burned everything because what they were doing is setting me up for a higher crime because they knew dam well at harvest time I would have probably had 10 pounds. they were going to have a disabled cancer patient think he was ok and spend money on building this cage. I told my girlfriend don't call and he called today and I told him she wasn't there and that I had destroyed everything he sounded pissed and said : why did you do that?" now im sitting here waiting for the raid the only thing im wondering  is there any kind of case they can pull against me for their first observation? does she have to come forward? she would rather stay out of it and has gone to stay with her mother

[garyfisher]

I think you are worrying too much.  It sounds like they were decent people.  I mean, they could have arrested you on the spot.  You are clearly in violation of too many plants unless you are your girlfriends caregiver.

 

I think if you destroyed all the plants, you are fine.  If they had them in their possession, you would have a battle.

[Kingdiamond]

If they were going to charge you they would have already it sounds like you overreacted  they were trying to work with you on getting the outside grow to the point where it would be considered a legal medical grow to be honest its good to hear your story on that fact alone nice to hear of LEO giving patients the benefit of the doubt. 

[t-pain]

in the law they want each set of 12 plants in a seperate locked cage.

and the cages must have a top.

 

we havent seen many cases about having big bushy plants over the 2.5 oz limit yet.

also we havent seen a supreme court case on dried usable marijuana vs wet marijuana.

 

so , you may have done yourself a solid by toasting your grow.

although they could still stick it to you for having 'posession' of 24 plants.

like they did with bob redden.

or , if there was a case, they may charge you with destroying evidence.

 

visit your represenative and tell them the police are harassing you?

spying on you from a helocopter. etc.

 

no idea man. good luck. let us know what happens.

some people get the 'knock and talk' others get the 'no knock raid'...

[Celliach]

You could have at least kept a few of the plants up.

[semicaregiver]

On the 24 plant thing, it may have been possible to solve that without the added fence.  From your post it sounds like you are each patients.  If one of you becomes the other's caregiver, then the 24 can be together. 

[Chauncy Gardner]

You may have been alright if you kept 12 plants and threw some chicken wire over the enclosure, but having seen the courts in action over this law, the really safe bet was to do what you did. Better safe than sorry.

[greenleaf]

They were trying to be reasonable with you.

 

If the grow was as legitimate as it sounds, why would she "stay out of it".

[greenleaf]

Just because you can have 100 lbs. growing until the point of harvest, does that mean you need that much?  Did you really think you could smoke through 24 outdoor plants?

 

I think the more responsible and self censoring people are about themselves, the less law enforcement needs to be.

 

With the right Blue Dream, Texada Timewarp, etc. you both could be flush with herb for an entire year from one (1) plant in a 100 gallon container.

 

Technically you can do it, but hey, most people with a 24 plant greenhouse are growing commercially.  Not all, but most.

 

Hope it doesn't sound like I'm beating up on you too much.  I think everyone should grow in greenhouses and not go to jail.

[bobandtorey]

in the law they want each set of 12 plants in a seperate locked cage.

and the cages must have a top.

 

we havent seen many cases about having big bushy plants over the 2.5 oz limit yet.

also we havent seen a supreme court case on dried usable marijuana vs wet marijuana.

 

so , you may have done yourself a solid by toasting your grow.

although they could still stick it to you for having 'posession' of 24 plants.

like they did with bob redden.

or , if there was a case, they may charge you with destroying evidence.

 

visit your represenative and tell them the police are harassing you?

spying on you from a helocopter. etc.

 

no idea man. good luck. let us know what happens.

some people get the 'knock and talk' others get the 'no knock raid'...

I know of some that where raided over 3 years ago and our just now be charged you wont even know if their will be a warrant out for you until you get pulled over

[greenleaf]

I know of some that where raided over 3 years ago and our just now be charged you wont even know if their will be a warrant out for you until you get pulled over

Scary.  I think the statute gives them 3 years, so that's pretty wild.

[Chauncy Gardner]

I know of some that where raided over 3 years ago and our just now be charged you wont even know if their will be a warrant out for you until you get pulled over

 

 

It appears that there is no longer any evidence of a crime in this case. Don't the police need evidence? I sincerely hope that just their word isn't sufficient to charge anyone with a crime.

[wkinne]

Some of the information here seems to be based on laws before April 1, 2013

 

You do not have to separate plants in rooms of 12, that never was part of the law.

You only need a roof if a neighbor can see your plants from the highest point on his land, like on top of his roof. If you grow in a remote part of the UP and have no neighbors for miles, and as long as it can not be seen from a public road, you do not need a fence roof over your garden.

 

Last year my garden was visited, 60 plants, most over 9' tall, the officer in charge was very friendly and complimented me on having the nicest garden he had seen. These guys showed up in a helicopter in SWAT like outfits, they are they local 5 county Narcotics Enforcement Team, they never came back to check and see how much usable pot 60 plants, most over 9' tall, produced.

 

 

In my opinion this guy over reacted, I know a guy on the Chippewa River in Midland County, not a pot friendly county at all, he had 6 plants by the river, zero fence. He was given 24 hours to fence it in. He did so and had no problems after.

 

Of course we have cards to cover our plants.

Edited August 22, 2013 by wkinne

[bobandtorey]

It appears that there is no longer any evidence of a crime in this case. Don't the police need evidence? I sincerely hope that just their word isn't sufficient to charge anyone with a crime.

They may have it IMHO pictures are all thats needed

[bobandtorey]

Scary.  I think the statute gives them 3 years, so that's pretty wild.

That may be true 

but the point i was trying to make is if they(Leo) puts out an arrest warrant and you don't know of it they can wait until you get pulled over then that could be years down the road

[sho]

Which county was this in? Some counties are better than others up here. I'm guessing it was a Sheriff's Dept?

[donjuan785]

Got a call from my caregiver this morning in the UP. She said she was visited yesterday by 2 State Police Officers, and 3 ATF agents. Wanted to see the plants and cards. After a tour of the 3 greenhouses and reviewing the cards for her patients. They said everything looked good and appeared to be in compliance. They had SUVs with blacked out windows, and a black helicopter in the area. They also warned her to keep the enclosures locked at all times. Is there actually some progress being made? It almost sounds like it for those who are very careful about compliance. In a way we all feel better that they do know. Still not sure how they got on to the location.

[garyfisher]

which UP counties are best for MMJ?

[motoguzzi13]

My girlfriend has a card but she doesn't live here physically and has a house a few mile away and is afraid of a raid and harassment on her after all the horror stories we hear and read so right now im hoping they are done. but if I get arrested and we go to trial it can be proven at that time. but I think they were hoping to find mature plants . If you have plants and they are more than 2.5 in weight you are going down and that's the point im making. so they "worked with me"  he called and I told him I destroyed them and that I didn't want to talk about it anymore. the police play that game of we are cool and your friend and they are not. their job is to get arrests period. If you think you can grow 12 mature plants legally you can't no way in hell are you going to be under the 2.5 law at a point unless you grow at different stages. people need to realize this because when that matures and your drying it is when they will come or even in some cases when the buds on the plant they  may be considered "usable" I am marked now and if I can legally keep my girlfriend from being marked I will. paranoid maybe, but im not in jail and a lot of  "smart" people are. one rule is never get on a friendly basis because everything you say will be held against you and any lawyer will tell you this. It is never in your interest to talk with the police. The idea of the secure facility is a bait and switch it could be up to their standards but in reality are you going to be under 2.5 when the buds come in that's the issue

[pic book]

I know of some that where raided over 3 years ago and our just now be charged you wont even know if their will be a warrant out for you until you get pulled over

Bob, isn't there a statue of limitations in michigan law?

[motoguzzi13]

o and on the subject of why I was trying to grow so much. I wanted a years supply from the summer so I didn't have to pay for lights, electricity as I said in my opening I was not aware that you could not store. I thought that's why they let you have 12 plants and that the 2.5 applied to if you were caught out in public. so why are you allowed 12 plants? obviously for different stage growth duh!  but  not in a out door grow , only maybe in a heated green house in Michigan we get 30 below zero here and if that the case the price of all that is probably more than indoor grow. so like I said it was my fault for not understanding the law , it seems like a lot of people don't either

[sho]

motoguzzi... I haven't heard of a single arrest of cops coming in post-harvest to check dry weight. Under what grounds would the warrant be written? "The property at XXX Lane had very large marijuana plants in August, and since it's past October and harvest season, it's reasonable to assume the weight of each plant exceeds 2.5oz" ... I don't think any attorney would have a problem getting that warrant thrown out.

 

 

You can rely on a Sec 8 defense that the amount you have is not unreasonable to last yourself and/or your patient for 12 months until next harvest. You will have to provide expert testimony stating daily dosages, multiply by 365 and you have an approximate amount that you would have to have in reserve to last a year. You would also have to bring in outdoor growing experts to prove that the greenhouses could not operate in the wintertime without heat, etc. and that it's not unreasonable to have 5lbs on hand to ensure a consistent, uninterrupted supply.

 

3g daily x 365 = approx. 2.5lbs for one patient, per year. More if the ailment requires it, see where this is going?

 

You way over-reacted, and should have just whacked the 12 smallest girls you had. It would have brought you into compliance.

 

 

The 2.5oz law only covers processed material. If the material is not dry, cured, and processed... ie: wet plants drying, still in the ground, there's nothing to worry about because of Sec 4.

 

 

And if you're really worried, take M-35 to the bridge. You'll pass multiple 30x72 greenhouses along the way, right on the highway. They were featured in High Times last year.

[motoguzzi13]

I read about that and it would be a "test case" does anyone know of section 8 defense and the precedent?  Im  pretty sure I don't want to be the guy being tried the first time for that defense. I wonder why  the police see huge grows and don't come back at harvest??, if I was a cop I would especially with a outdoor grow and 12 plants. I don't need the stress so I did what I did  because I would have more than 2.5 with a 12 plant grow anybody who has  grown before knows this and if I harvested it and was over the limit legally I better make it to the burn pit before they come screaming in the driveway. I don't trust police and I own my house and property outright , I don't need to lose everything its bad enough that I have cancer

[sho]

I HIGHLY doubt a Jury would convict if Sec 8 was allowed to be presented at trial, under the circumstances we're discussing.

[imiubu]

imo, you may have over reacted BUT I know that a lil paranoia has saved my azz more than once.

 

I would rather err on the side of caution than to take the chance that officer (appearing to be) friendly, is my friend. 

 

You did what you felt was best for you and yours.

 

You don't need any one here or any where to validate or invalidate your actions.

None of us were there... follow your gut instincts, is my motto.

 

I also KNOW leo's are not our friends and will never believe they are... they work for the PROSECUTION

 

jic anyone has forgotten that