In the case of this clean-up, they are picking up potential targets--bottles and cans, while (maybe) presenting themselves as targets for the local growers, maybe. It's a shame the f*#kers think pot is so worth the risk they'd shoot someone's kids for it. But they would and they will.
Are there instances of kids getting blasted by pot farmers? It seems likely.
As some of you may know, I'm very active with a trail maintenance group....but we also have a division that works on restoring pot farms, after the weed has been removed by LEO's.
We take out all the stuff that has been taken into the backcountry, usually in huge cargo nets under helicopters. For a typical grow site, there are miles of irrigation tubing, and literally TONS of trash.
I am frequently astonished by the volume of stuff that has been dragged in by hand to locations that you need to be a mountain goat to access.
At times, we have needed to wear full Hazmat suits to safely operate. A lot of chemicals.
I believe we've cleaned up over 500 sites in the last 8 years.
These grows exist because someone sees it as a viable way to make money.
Since the product in question is illegal, legalization would theoretically go towards diminishing these illegal grows.
I'm not entirely convinced, however, that full legalization and regulation will, in fact, eliminate these grows. As long as there is a monetary benefit to the grow - then it will happen.
I think of marijuana along the same lines as tomatoes. People grow them in home & community gardens but also purchase the fruit from stores.
I feel that in order to stop these illegal grows, the drug must be made legal but it must also be made cheap.
If there's little money in growing it.......it will become less of a commodity.
Malaysian legislation provides for a mandatory death penalty for convicted drug traffickers. Individuals arrested in possession of 15 grams (1/2 ounce) of heroin or 200 grams (seven ounces) of marijuana are presumed by law to be trafficking in drugs.--Wiki
The near analogy for illegal grow-ops seems to be tobacco. A few people grow and cure their own, most just buy it. Somewhat different history and culture for those who grow marijuana, but I suspect that if there's reasonable regulation as to quality and production, over time most will be grown on farms, and most will just buy the stuff at the store.
Ken M, we need some people like you to go down below the Underworld area in Castle Rock SP and cart back up all the growing materials and irrigation conduit left down there by the growers beneath the Green Monster formation. The stuff has been left down there for at least 5 years and, as far as I know, no one has done anything about it so far. Correct me if I'm wrong I hope.
"Ken M, we need some people like you to go down below the Underworld area in Castle Rock SP and cart back up all the growing materials and irrigation conduit left down there by the growers beneath the Green Monster formation. "
Hey, why do "SOME PEOPLE" need to clean up this mess?
Why not YOU (Bruce Morris) be the organizer. Why not SUPERTOPEANS (specifically those who most likely would use Castle Rock/Green Monster) be the organizers?
Reminds me of the old story entitled "Whose Job Is It" and it's about somebody, nobody and everybody:
It goes like this:
"This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody,
Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and
Everybody was asked to do it. Everybody was sure Somebody would
do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody
got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody
thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody
wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when
Here is an interesting film called "Breaking the Taboo" which discusses the tragedy and failure of the war on drugs.
"Narrated by Morgan Freeman and Gael Garcia Bernal, this groundbreaking new documentary uncovers the UN sanctioned war on drugs, charting its origins and its devastating impact on countries like the USA, Colombia and Russia. Featuring prominent statesmen including Presidents Clinton and Carter, the film follows The Global Commission on Drug Policy on a mission to break the political taboo and expose the biggest failure of global policy in the last 50 years."
"Don't blame the pot growers. Put the blame where it really belongs - on the pot smokers."
this sounds rather simplistic and parroted talking point rather than well thought out to me - by the same logic : so car drivers are responsible for oil spills ?
The same LATimes also ran an article a few days later NOW stating that the Mexican Cartel Connection might be a wee bit overblown. The gist of the article suggests that what we really have in the woods are a bunch of out-of-work former Construction Framers and Field Workers looking to make a few bucks.
In other words - the big bad drug boogie man turns out to mostly be unemployed guys named Gonzalez from Fresno.
While the connection to major Mexican drug cartels may be mostly SWAT Team wet dreams, the fact remains that these dirtbags are trashing the woods in a big way. That has to stop.
Also to be asked is who is doing the buying of this garbage?
In state, a lot of this blood weed goes to the marginal low rent dispensaries in LA, with a fair amount also being picked up by so-called Brokers who ship it to the East Coast where yokels will buy anything that even looks like weed.
The reputable dispensaries generally buy from known growers with well-documented nurseries and methods of cultivation. When I was donating to a couple of local centers - I had to be inspected before acceptance as a grower/patient and always had my produce tested for contaminants prior to release for users.
This problem with guerrillas will not go away until the demand for their cheap crap stops. Either grow your own (expensive and not easy with today's finicky strains)or shop with a reputable collective.
I have tried it on more than one occasion, did inhale, but would not recommend smoking it to anyone. zBrownies should be evaluated, but here I have no recommendation.
Let us know!