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http://www.chron.com/houston/article/The-other-side-of-multi-million-dollar-marijuana-5731164.php
The news of high-profile busts of large marijuana-growing operations has been a constant in the headlines this summer and have also been eye-popping successes, according to officials, but suspects have been scarce.
Benigno Ramirez of Michoacan, Mexico is currently wanted by the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office after authorities allegedly found a cellphone containing a "selfie" of him at the site of the $10 million pot farm located just north of Sugar Land Regional Airport. That remote grow was only accessible by boat and helicopter.
Lt. Josh Dale, commander of the Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force, said Wednesday that his department is still working the case in the hopes that Ramirez turns up.
A large marijuana plantation discovered in early August in Polk County may be linked to an even larger farm found in July worth $175 million, a record haul for Texas law enforcement, according to officials. On Tuesday yet another growing operation was discovered in Polk County, with officials announcing the confiscation of some 9,600 plants.
Dean Becker, a Houston-based author and expert on the drug war, has followed the recent news reports of multimillion-dollar marijuana busts in and around Houston these past few months and has his own questions.
Becker has watched the recent round of marijuana busts in Fort Bend, Polk and Harris counties with some derision. He is of the mind that the recent numbers and shocking photos of man-sized marijuana plants are all for theater, trumped-up to look better for media outlets.
They like to exaggerate the street values to make themselves and their work seem to be making a difference, Becker said.
Thats not the case, Dale says.
We really go off the potential street value that a plant may have once it is cultivated, so we assume that two pounds of marijuana could yield "X" amount of dollars, say, on the open market, Dale says.
Texas doesnt have a cultivation statute, but they do have statutes regarding possession and weight of marijuana seized. Contrary to popular belief, the levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in seized plants is not taken into account when sizing up an announced street value and assessing criminal charges.
Dale says his agency sets a rate of about $500 a pound for outdoor-grown marijuana and $3,600 to $4,000 for indoor-grown hydroponic product, which is more sought-after for its potency.
In plain terms, according to Dale, law enforcement doesnt differentiate between the most powerful marijuana and the most lowly, reggie dirt weed out there. Its the weight they care about.
Street value has nothing to do with the actual charge itself, we just go off pure weight, which is actually what we base charges on, Dale says.
The public can get a better picture of what is being done if they have a street value they can understand, Dale says.
Law enforcement cares more about extreme drug traffickers and possible cartel involvement and the violence that comes with it, says Dale.
Marijuana is of course big business for traffickers who have learned that its easier to grow inside the United States on remote land that is not theirs for a period of time rather than chance growing in Mexico and smuggling it over the border.
Sophisticated indoor operations are troublesome for officials like Dale. He says that indoor grows can cause a myriad of issues for the people who live next door or in the immediate area. Unregulated electrical work, curious neighbors, and the risk of violence effecting innocent bystanders are big problems.
Right now his agency is tracking numerous indoor operations in their county.
The THC levels are also usually much higher with product grown indoors compared to that which grows outdoors. With outdoor operations, you really dont know what pesticides are being used either. Dale says that since there is no regulation its hard to tell what is being sprayed on the plants.
Becker accuses law enforcement of monitoring grows until they can make a big splash with a bust.
Some of these grow sites have been 'on the radar' of cops for weeks and months and they waited until the plants were a few feet taller so that the exaggeration could be expanded, Becker says.
According to Dale its not for theatricality.
We try to target a grow, monitor it, let them grow it, and then execute a bust. We really want to watch it long enough so we can see people coming and going and possibly make arrests, Dale says.
The fact that the plants grow in size during that time doesnt seem to come into account, he says.
In Beckers mind these multimillion-dollar announcements play into the bad guys plans.
The black market needs these busts to justify their high prices for a weed that if it were truly legal would sell for $10 to 20 a pound, Becker says.
Massive, acres-strong outdoor grows are dangerous since it mostly entails that the growers trespass on someone else's property. This can lead to volatile confrontations between an unsuspecting land owner and someone charged with guarding a crop, especially when the growers are heavily-armed. Numerous semi-automatic weapons and pistols have been found at the site of abandoned operations.
He says that law enforcement has pushed for state legislation that would put the emphasis on cultivation of marijuana and not just weight.
The street value would then be able to make a difference in our charges, he says.
He sees laws in Texas one day evolving to make big-time growers the traffickers the real, main offenders and maybe not the guy growing marijuana in his backyard for recreational use.
Someone who is cultivating it to make money and to traffick it worries us, but its still against the law in any case and we still must prosecute anyone caught with it, Dale says.
The pictures and descriptions I see regarding these busts strike me as continuing the "reefer madness" idea, Becker says.
In the wake of these busts many have asked how the seized plants are disposed of. Dale laughs off talk these giant hauls being burned to the ground with a free contact high for all in the air. Once representative samples are taken from the marijuana confiscated the rest goes to an incinerator.
We have an outdoor incinerator with two chambers so that no smoke escapes, Dale says.
The other side of multimillion-dollar marijuana busts
The news of high-profile busts of large marijuana-growing operations has been a constant in the headlines this summer and have also been eye-popping successes, according to officials, but suspects have been scarce.
Benigno Ramirez of Michoacan, Mexico is currently wanted by the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office after authorities allegedly found a cellphone containing a "selfie" of him at the site of the $10 million pot farm located just north of Sugar Land Regional Airport. That remote grow was only accessible by boat and helicopter.
Lt. Josh Dale, commander of the Fort Bend County Narcotics Task Force, said Wednesday that his department is still working the case in the hopes that Ramirez turns up.
A large marijuana plantation discovered in early August in Polk County may be linked to an even larger farm found in July worth $175 million, a record haul for Texas law enforcement, according to officials. On Tuesday yet another growing operation was discovered in Polk County, with officials announcing the confiscation of some 9,600 plants.
Dean Becker, a Houston-based author and expert on the drug war, has followed the recent news reports of multimillion-dollar marijuana busts in and around Houston these past few months and has his own questions.
Becker has watched the recent round of marijuana busts in Fort Bend, Polk and Harris counties with some derision. He is of the mind that the recent numbers and shocking photos of man-sized marijuana plants are all for theater, trumped-up to look better for media outlets.
They like to exaggerate the street values to make themselves and their work seem to be making a difference, Becker said.
Thats not the case, Dale says.
We really go off the potential street value that a plant may have once it is cultivated, so we assume that two pounds of marijuana could yield "X" amount of dollars, say, on the open market, Dale says.
Texas doesnt have a cultivation statute, but they do have statutes regarding possession and weight of marijuana seized. Contrary to popular belief, the levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, in seized plants is not taken into account when sizing up an announced street value and assessing criminal charges.
Dale says his agency sets a rate of about $500 a pound for outdoor-grown marijuana and $3,600 to $4,000 for indoor-grown hydroponic product, which is more sought-after for its potency.
In plain terms, according to Dale, law enforcement doesnt differentiate between the most powerful marijuana and the most lowly, reggie dirt weed out there. Its the weight they care about.
Street value has nothing to do with the actual charge itself, we just go off pure weight, which is actually what we base charges on, Dale says.
The public can get a better picture of what is being done if they have a street value they can understand, Dale says.
Law enforcement cares more about extreme drug traffickers and possible cartel involvement and the violence that comes with it, says Dale.
Marijuana is of course big business for traffickers who have learned that its easier to grow inside the United States on remote land that is not theirs for a period of time rather than chance growing in Mexico and smuggling it over the border.
Sophisticated indoor operations are troublesome for officials like Dale. He says that indoor grows can cause a myriad of issues for the people who live next door or in the immediate area. Unregulated electrical work, curious neighbors, and the risk of violence effecting innocent bystanders are big problems.
Right now his agency is tracking numerous indoor operations in their county.
The THC levels are also usually much higher with product grown indoors compared to that which grows outdoors. With outdoor operations, you really dont know what pesticides are being used either. Dale says that since there is no regulation its hard to tell what is being sprayed on the plants.
Becker accuses law enforcement of monitoring grows until they can make a big splash with a bust.
Some of these grow sites have been 'on the radar' of cops for weeks and months and they waited until the plants were a few feet taller so that the exaggeration could be expanded, Becker says.
According to Dale its not for theatricality.
We try to target a grow, monitor it, let them grow it, and then execute a bust. We really want to watch it long enough so we can see people coming and going and possibly make arrests, Dale says.
The fact that the plants grow in size during that time doesnt seem to come into account, he says.
In Beckers mind these multimillion-dollar announcements play into the bad guys plans.
The black market needs these busts to justify their high prices for a weed that if it were truly legal would sell for $10 to 20 a pound, Becker says.
Massive, acres-strong outdoor grows are dangerous since it mostly entails that the growers trespass on someone else's property. This can lead to volatile confrontations between an unsuspecting land owner and someone charged with guarding a crop, especially when the growers are heavily-armed. Numerous semi-automatic weapons and pistols have been found at the site of abandoned operations.
He says that law enforcement has pushed for state legislation that would put the emphasis on cultivation of marijuana and not just weight.
The street value would then be able to make a difference in our charges, he says.
He sees laws in Texas one day evolving to make big-time growers the traffickers the real, main offenders and maybe not the guy growing marijuana in his backyard for recreational use.
Someone who is cultivating it to make money and to traffick it worries us, but its still against the law in any case and we still must prosecute anyone caught with it, Dale says.
The pictures and descriptions I see regarding these busts strike me as continuing the "reefer madness" idea, Becker says.
In the wake of these busts many have asked how the seized plants are disposed of. Dale laughs off talk these giant hauls being burned to the ground with a free contact high for all in the air. Once representative samples are taken from the marijuana confiscated the rest goes to an incinerator.
We have an outdoor incinerator with two chambers so that no smoke escapes, Dale says.
