triprey
Concerned Medical Patient
- Joined
- Jul 20, 2007
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C&P from NORMAL.org web site
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Daily News [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]POT WEEDED OUT
by LARRY CELONA, (Source:New York Post)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]24 Sep 2007
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]New York
[/FONT]-------
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$6m In Plants Seized In Apple, Yonkers Raids
Looks like they've been watching "Weeds."
Since March, the Drug Enforcement Administration has busted a slew of hydroponic marijuana-growing houses in the Big Apple and Yonkers, seizing 2,500 plants that could have yielded pot with a street value of $6 million.
The DEA carried out seven takedowns. The NYPD did an eighth.
To anyone who has watched "Weeds," the hit Showtime series, growing marijuana hydroponically - in houses with water and high-intensity lights - is an old story.
But the DEA says that until recently, the houses were found in rural areas.
"Now, they're being seen in more urban areas like New York City," said John Gilbride, head of the drug agency's New York office.
"Drug-trafficking organizations see the huge profits in marijuana so that's why they've resorted to these grow houses," he said.
Gilbride said hydroponic growers usually rent a warehouse or apartment and gut it.
Then, they fill it with buckets to hold the plants, high-intensity lights to make them grow and a watering system.
The plants take three or four months to mature.
The DEA honcho said the grow houses represent a safety hazard because the growers often tap into someone else's electricity and dump large amounts of fertilizer in the sewer system.
Of the seven DEA takedowns, six took place in the Apple and one in Yonkers.
The first - and one of the biggest - took place March 27, when 700 plants representing a street value of $2 million were seized at a first-floor apartment at 895 Amsterdam Ave. at West 79th Street.
The last bust, Sept. 17 at 4118 39th St. in Long Island City, resulted in the seizure of 777 plants also with a street value of $2 million.
The NYPD's hydroponic bust occurred April 11 in the basement of a building at 312 Manhattan Ave. at West 113th Street. Forty-three plants were seized. Their value was not specified.
Gilbride said marijuana remains the No. 1 abused drug in the United States and its potency has more than doubled in recent decades.
In the 1980s, the level of THC, marijuana's psychoactive chemical, was 3 percent. Today, it's 8.5 percent.
"Marijuana is a lot more powerful today than it was 20 years ago," Gilbride said.
Bridget Brennan, the city's special narcotics prosecutor, said that since the 1970s, penalties for pot have decreased while THC content and profits have increased.
"That's a bad combination for law enforcement," she said.
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Regional News[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]US NY: Pot Weeded Out
US NY: Drug-Sniffing Dogs At School
US NY: Former Officer's Message Riles Some
US NY: Review: Creatures Of Habit
US NY: Telltale Isotopes in Marijuana Are Nature's Tracking Devices
US NY: Police Arrest Three on Drug Charges
US NY: Group Pushes Medical Use of Marijuana
US NY: Marijuana Group Says N.Y. Support Is Gaining
US NY: OHS Prepares To Test For Alcohol, Drugs
US NY: OPED: Slamming the Sick, Stiffing the States[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[SIZE=-1]MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart
[/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=-1]Pubdate: Mon, 24 Sep 2007
Source: New York Post (NY)
Copyright: 2007 N.Y.P. Holdings, Inc.
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.nypost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/296
Author: LARRY CELONA
[/SIZE]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Daily News [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]POT WEEDED OUT
by LARRY CELONA, (Source:New York Post)[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]24 Sep 2007
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]New York
[/FONT]-------
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]$6m In Plants Seized In Apple, Yonkers Raids
Looks like they've been watching "Weeds."
Since March, the Drug Enforcement Administration has busted a slew of hydroponic marijuana-growing houses in the Big Apple and Yonkers, seizing 2,500 plants that could have yielded pot with a street value of $6 million.
The DEA carried out seven takedowns. The NYPD did an eighth.
To anyone who has watched "Weeds," the hit Showtime series, growing marijuana hydroponically - in houses with water and high-intensity lights - is an old story.
But the DEA says that until recently, the houses were found in rural areas.
"Now, they're being seen in more urban areas like New York City," said John Gilbride, head of the drug agency's New York office.
"Drug-trafficking organizations see the huge profits in marijuana so that's why they've resorted to these grow houses," he said.
Gilbride said hydroponic growers usually rent a warehouse or apartment and gut it.
Then, they fill it with buckets to hold the plants, high-intensity lights to make them grow and a watering system.
The plants take three or four months to mature.
The DEA honcho said the grow houses represent a safety hazard because the growers often tap into someone else's electricity and dump large amounts of fertilizer in the sewer system.
Of the seven DEA takedowns, six took place in the Apple and one in Yonkers.
The first - and one of the biggest - took place March 27, when 700 plants representing a street value of $2 million were seized at a first-floor apartment at 895 Amsterdam Ave. at West 79th Street.
The last bust, Sept. 17 at 4118 39th St. in Long Island City, resulted in the seizure of 777 plants also with a street value of $2 million.
The NYPD's hydroponic bust occurred April 11 in the basement of a building at 312 Manhattan Ave. at West 113th Street. Forty-three plants were seized. Their value was not specified.
Gilbride said marijuana remains the No. 1 abused drug in the United States and its potency has more than doubled in recent decades.
In the 1980s, the level of THC, marijuana's psychoactive chemical, was 3 percent. Today, it's 8.5 percent.
"Marijuana is a lot more powerful today than it was 20 years ago," Gilbride said.
Bridget Brennan, the city's special narcotics prosecutor, said that since the 1970s, penalties for pot have decreased while THC content and profits have increased.
"That's a bad combination for law enforcement," she said.
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Regional News[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]US NY: Pot Weeded Out
US NY: Drug-Sniffing Dogs At School
US NY: Former Officer's Message Riles Some
US NY: Review: Creatures Of Habit
US NY: Telltale Isotopes in Marijuana Are Nature's Tracking Devices
US NY: Police Arrest Three on Drug Charges
US NY: Group Pushes Medical Use of Marijuana
US NY: Marijuana Group Says N.Y. Support Is Gaining
US NY: OHS Prepares To Test For Alcohol, Drugs
US NY: OPED: Slamming the Sick, Stiffing the States[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[SIZE=-1]MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart[/SIZE][/FONT][SIZE=-1]Pubdate: Mon, 24 Sep 2007
Source: New York Post (NY)
Copyright: 2007 N.Y.P. Holdings, Inc.
Contact: [email protected]
Website: http://www.nypost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/296
Author: LARRY CELONA
[/SIZE]
