They showed up here last summer saying they got an anonymous tip I was growing MJ in my yard. LOL!
They asked if they could come in and see if I had some 4' plants growing inside. "Come on back to the grow area" I said. Their eyes gaping walked back to my grow area and quickly the Detective said "I don't see anything here". "Well thank you Mr H. and we wont be back to bother you again".
I have some vitex trees out front that do resemble MJ but the trained eye can see they aren't right away. The real reason they were here is because the lights can be seen from the road in both directions during the day. I don't blame them either but they could have been truthful. Or could they?
What would have happened if I had said "no"? Would they have tackled and hurt me? I have to wonder!

How did they know what you purchased online? Seems very strange.

I would have made them get a warrant, which they probably could not have.

I had shrooms growing in some containers that they missed.

Welcome to the new America - guilty until proven innocent.

You have every right to demand a search warrant. Doing so does not assume guilt, or at least it should not. If you are guilty then you deserve to get whatever they throw at you. If you are innocent, then get a good attorney and have fun. If they are feds you stand a decent chance of cashing in but they will try to delay it until you die of old age. If they are local cops your local government will quickly settle and you win. Get yourself some of that stimulus money before it is all gone.

But then again the cops would probably plant something in your home anyway to avoid any trouble against them.

I've talked with people who demanded a search warrant. The cops came back, but in the middle of the night and trashed the place. A couple of guys said they fought back and "won" but lost when it came to what it cost them in attorney fees.

The bottom line is the cops got a tip that I was a large pot grower with 50 or more plants when all I was really growing was tomatoes, peppers, peas, broccoli and such.

Mike

Demanding a warrant just pisses them off besides you know they have warrants that are already signed and just need filling out for probable cause issues and probable cause can mean just about anything. The officer could say to the other one, "Do you smell that?" Draw guns, "on the ground" and thrash the place and if you're unruly then they'll tazer you and take you in for resisting. I've seen it happen, you can't win against multiple cops calaberating the same story. If you do resist then expect them to plant something just to cover their backs.

I would like to fast forward this 5 years and get some intake from all of you. I am beginning the process of starting over 15,000 tree seedlings in order to get a 2 to 3 month jump on our growing season here in PA Zone 5. I have ordered grow lights, seed starters, fertilizers, heating pads, etc. in order to setup in my basement and start a wide variety of tree seeds, but mostly Japanese Maples, red and green. I have already purchased the seeds for everything too; all of it online.

I have a PA Nursery Dealer Certificate up-to-date. I have about 100 mature trees in containers in my fenced in back yard, along with piles of mulch, compost, and potting soil back there as well. The lights will be on for 24/7 in my basement which has two small windows.

Do you think that I should take some preventative action and inform the local authorities as to my intentions? The top lieutenant in the City Police Force lives right across the street from me. He just moved in and I do not know him that well yet.

What would you folks do if you were in my shoes? I don't want to wake up to what wordwiz and taz went through.

Thanks!!

Weird thread to dredge up. I think there's a lot of fear mongering above.

While it's absolutely true that online purchases are recorded, probably never deleted, and shared with and available to an increasing audience as time passes, it's unlikely they are the primary motivation for the DEA to raid anyone's house. Who knows what exact circumstances led to above incidents, undoubtedly there are some factors not recounted/included above.

I wouldn't worry one bit.

It certainly can't hurt to befriend your new neighbor, but I'd say the same thing even if you had no grow lights.

However, above story is about the DEA and not even local law enforcement - and OP claimed to be friends with all the locals - didn't matter.

It IS a pretty weird thread, isn't it, rooftop? I'll bet wordwiz and taz thought it was pretty freakin' weird too, when it was happening to them. In fact, the last 7 years have been the weirdest stretch of years in my entire life.

Thanks for your input rooftop.

I don't frequent this forum but I spotted this thread. It's definitely something to be aware of. I'm glad my garage has enough windows that hopefully, any law enforcement spotting the HID glow from the road can look in and determine, no, these rhododendrons and camellias look nothing like pot. (never mind the yard being full of rare plants - but some people just aren't very observant once their mind gets "one-tracked".) Also, even though there could be some benefit to keeping it on longer, I only set my timer to roughly match daylight hours, so it wouldn't be very noticeable to someone driving by at night.

OTOH, the market for this stuff (indoor grow lights) is absolutely gigantic compared to when I bought my lamp around 2002. Back then there were only a few brands of small HID lamps sold at a handful of vendors across the country. Now shops selling such gear can now be found in all states, all over, and it seems millions of LED grow lights must be flooding in from China every year. Clearly, hundreds of thousands of hipsters haven't suddenly taken up growing orchids or tomatoes indoors ;-). And It seems implausible they are hassling everyone who buys a grow light, or those shops would eventually go out of business. Maybe if you buy 10 grow lights, you would have more to worry about. I've personally shopped somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic for stuff like real Promix (unlike the diffusion line sold at HD) and both the people running the shop and the other clientele I spotted positively screamed pot user to me. But it's been there for years.

Not entirely related but food for thought:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Kurtz

http://www.roanoke.com/news/columns_and_blogs/columns/dan_casey/casey-not-pot-leaf-gets-th-grader-in-big-trouble/article_67dc2868-0f0a-53c0-96ad-595a88391aa3.html

"Do you think that I should take some preventative action and inform the local authorities as to my intentions?"

No, I don't see why you would do that. I would completely cover the small basement window openings - to prevent heat escaping. (light is always a form of heat) If they for some reason want to search your house, you can either let them search or ask for a warrant. Show them your nursery license if you need to.

Hi David, and thanks for not asserting that I "dredged" up a weird thread. I too think that it is even more pertinent today than it was in 2011. Thanks for the links and the wise advice, my friend!

P.S.

Excellent links, David.