New Haven Independent

Posted by: Ned | October 30, 2009 11:30 AM

Legalize and tax it.

Posted by: Mike | October 30, 2009 12:05 PM

Decriminalize it!

Posted by: nfjanette | October 30, 2009 12:59 PM

In raids like these, the first step is to take video of the premises, explained Sgt. Rob Criscuolo of the TNU. Police wrapped up the videotaping, then began what was expected to be an afternoon-long process of removing items, photographing each one along the way. Then police will take another final video of the premises.

And then, a long "check out of the evidence" meeting at headquarters after the shift is over? I'm with Ned on this one: I see city taxes going down if we could get a piece of that action. Right across from Yale Bowl? Perfect: zero carbon footprint to carry the product across the street for vending to wealthy Ivy Leaguers who will pay for premium (taxable) quality. We're talking serious sin tax revenue, folks. I'd even support a mid-block crosswalk for safe passage.

Posted by: jawbone | October 30, 2009 1:55 PM

...don't criticize it.

Posted by: DingDong | October 30, 2009 2:34 PM

You know, New Haven PD doesn't have to go after pot-growers. You don't need a change of law. They can use their discretion as law enforcement officers not to go after people who simply grow and distribute pot without committing other crimes.

Posted by: Ned | October 30, 2009 3:31 PM

Connecticut Goes Dry: The Experience of the Temperance and Prohibition Movements in Connecticut, 1850-1933

Why aren't farmers who grow grains, that are used in the distillation of alcohol, charged with operating "drug factories"?

Currently illegal drugs can't even be kept out of prisons, that should be an indication as to what kind of country we'd be living in if the current "war on [some] drugs" were ever won...

California Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2010)

Just for the record, I neither drink nor smoke.

Posted by: streever | October 30, 2009 9:49 PM

Good work NHPD.

I say make the bust. Screw legalization.

Posted by: Lifer | October 30, 2009 10:07 PM

I drove by a bunch of these guys with the police sweatshirts standing out on Chapel near the park around 11 AM today and I wondered what was going on. Amazing something of this scale was going on undetected by the neighbors.

Posted by: Jonesin' | October 30, 2009 11:10 PM

A growing operation that large and they decide to steal electricity? Not very smart.

But seriously folks, it's long overdue for marijuana to be decriminalized.

Posted by: Chris Gray | October 31, 2009 1:07 AM

Well, things have changed. I can remember when people were complaining about significant police resources being expended with results netting a joint or two - on these pages. Was that before or after the Billy White affair?

Now, we have serious results. Not only these two busts mentioned above (and as someone once denied the Green Party nomination for Mayoral candidacy due to false rumors that I "bought 'drugs' from kids", I agree: legalize and tax it!) but now we are actually tracking down some illicit guns and their sources.

Now, who were those guns allegedly coming from? And do we recall anyone actively campaigning on these pages for just such a tracking?

I always said that I'd actually prefer being the police commissioner (yeah, I know we have more than one) to being Mayor. I'm more suited for it.

As long as there are laws still on the books about pot, it is hard to ask our force to look the other way when a major felony falls in their laps, but as an MS sufferer, I now have a legal prescription for little round, brown pills marketed as Marinol (Dronabinol) and find it highly amusing that no one even thinks of shutting down their drug factory. Small farmers never have had as effective lobbyists as the huge factory farms.

Posted by: John | October 31, 2009 12:46 PM

the cops werent "going after them", the not-so-brainy growers were trying to steal electricity and started a fire. I believe pot should be legal but it isnt, so when you pair that up with stealing and starting fires there is a good reason for busting them(actually nobody has been caught yet officially).

BTW- if the grower was any good he wouldnt have been using tin foil as light reflectors. strictly amateur.

Posted by: Morris Cove | October 31, 2009 4:43 PM

Dingdong

The police don't have discretion when it comes to felonies, a misdemeanor I could understand. The bottom line is until the law is repealed ( which it won't ), it's a felony to grow pot and sell it.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | November 1, 2009 11:28 AM

How do we know that this was not a setup By the police. I hope not,But we all rember good old Justen Kaspenzyk and His boy Silva.

http://newhavenindependent.org/archives/2008/01/judge_jails_cop_1.php

Like I said I will wait and see on this one.

Posted by: lance | November 1, 2009 11:56 AM

were the accused parties American citizens? If not, any word on their immigration status?

Posted by: DingDong | November 1, 2009 2:55 PM

Morris Cove, I've never heard that police have no discretion as to felonies. Maybe you're right (but please send a source) but in any case police certainly aren't required to investigate any kind of crime if they think it isn't worth their scarce resources. There is no way the police were required, for example, to do their big Dwight Street pot bust last month. Personally, I'd much rather have them getting guns off the street and stopping reckless drivers than busting pot growers...

Posted by: robn | November 1, 2009 5:44 PM

So if you are a law abiding citizen and you suspect your neighbor of doing something like this, what are the signs? What kind of lingo do the dopers use today to describe marijuana besides pot, or the chronic, or ganja, or weed, or A-bomb, or Acapulco gold, or Acapulco red, or Ace, or Afgani indica, or African, or African black, or African bush, or African woodbine, or Airhead, or Airplane, or Alice B. Toklas....

Amp
Amp joint
Angola
Are you anywhere?
Ashes
Assassin of Youth
Astro turf
Atom bomb
Atshitshi
Aunt Mary
B-40
Baby
Baby bhang
Bad seed
Bag
Bale
Bamba
Bambalacha
Bammies
Bammy
Banano
Bar
Bash
Basuco (Spanish)
Bazooka
Beedies
Belyando spruce
Bhang
Bite one's lips
Black
Black bart
Black ganga
Black gold
Black gungi
Black gunion
Black mo/black moat
Black mote
Black rock
Blanket
Blast
Blast a joint
Blast a roach
Blast a stick
Block
Blonde
Blow
Blow a stick
Blow one's roof
Blowing smoke
Blue de hue
Blue sage
Blue sky blond
Blunt
Bo
Bo-bo
Bobo bush
Bogart a joint
Bohd
Bomb
Bomber
Bone
Bong
Boo
Boo boo bama
Boom
Boot the gong
Brick
Broccoli
Brown
Bud
Buda
Buddha
Bullyon
Burn one
Burnie
Bush
Butter
Butter flower
C.S.
Cam trip
Cambodian red/Cam red
Can
Canade
Canadian black
Canamo
Canappa
Cancelled stick
Candy blunt
Cannabis tea
Carmabis
Cartucho (Spanish)
Catnip
Caviar
Cavite all star
Cest
Champagne
Charas
Charge
Chase
Cheeba
Cheeo
Chiba chiba
Chicago black
Chicago green
Chips
Chira
Chocolate
Christmas tree
Chronic
Chunky
Churus
Citrol
Clicker
Clickums
Climb
Cochornis
Cocktail
Cocoa puff
Coli
Coliflor tostao (Spanish)
Colombian
Colorado cocktail
Columbus black
Cosa (Spanish)
Crack back
Crazy weed
Cripple
Crying weed
Cryppie
Cryptonie
Cubes
Culican
Dagga
Dank
Dawamesk
Dew
Diablito (Spanish)
Diambista
Dimba
Ding
Dinkie dow
Dirt grass
Dirty joints
Ditch
Ditch weed
Djamba
Do a joint
Domestic
Don jem
Don Juan
Dona Juana (Spanish)
Dona Juanita (Spanish)
Donk
Doob
Doobee
Doobie/dubbe/duby
Dope
Dope smoke
Doradilla
Draf
Draf weed
Drag weed
Dry high
Dube
Duby
Durong
Duros (Spanish)
Dust
Dust blunt
Dusting
Earth
El diablito (Spanish)
El diablo (Spanish)
Elephant
Endo
Esra
Fallbrook redhair
Fatty
Feed bag
Feeling
Fiend
Fine stuff
Finger
Finger lid
Fir
Fire it up
Flower
Flower tops
Fly Mexican airlines
Fraho/frajo
Frios (Spanish)
Fry
Fry daddy
Fry sticks
Fu
Fuel
Fuma D'Angola (Portugese)
Gage/gauge
Gange
Gangster
Ganja
Garbage
Gash
Gasper
Gasper stick
Gauge butt
Geek
Geek-joints
Get a gage up
Get high
Get the wind
Ghana
Giggle smoke
Giggle weed
Gimmie
Go loco
Goblet of jam
Gold
Gold star
Golden
Golden leaf
Gong
Gonj
Good butt
Good giggles
Good stuff
Goody-goody
Goof butt
Grass
Grass brownies
Grasshopper
Grata
Green
Green buds
Green goddess
Greeter
Gremmies
Greta
Griefo
Griefs
Grifa (Spanish)
Griff
Griffa
Griffo
Gunga
Gungeon
Gungun
Gunja
Gyve
Haircut
Hanhich
Happy cigarette
Harsh
Has
Hawaiian
Hawaiian Black
Hawaiian homegrown hay
Hay
Hay butt
Hemp
Herb
Herb and Al
Herba
Hit
Hit the hay
Hocus
Homegrown
Honey blunts
Hooch
Hooter
Hot stick
Hydro
Indian boy
Indian hay
Indian hemp
Indica
Indo
Indonesian bud
Instaga
Instagu
J.
Jamaican gold
Jane
Jay
Jay smoke
Jefferson airplane
Jim Jones
Jive
Jive stick
Joint
Jolly green
Joy smoke
Joy stick
Ju-ju
Juan Valdez (Spanish)
Juanita (Spanish)
Juice joint
Juja
Jumbos
Kalakit
Kali
Kansas Grass
Kate bush
Kaya
Kee
Kentucky blue
Key
KGB (killer green bud)
Ki
Kick stick
Kiff
Killer
Killer green bud
Killer weed (1980's)
Kilter
Kind
King bud
Kumba
L.L.
Lace
Lakbay diva
Laughing grass
Laughing weed
Leaf
Leak
Leno (Spanish)
Lid
Light stuff
Lima
Liprimo
Little smoke
Llesca
Loaf
Lobo
Loco (Spanish)
Loco Weed (Spanish)
Locoweed
Log
Love boat
Love leaf
Love weed
Lovelies
Lubage
M.J.
M.O.
M.U.
Machinery
Macon
Maconha
Mafu (Spanish)
Magic smoke
Manhattan silver
Mari
Marimba (Spanish)
Mary
Mary and Johnny
Mary Ann
Mary Jane
Mary Jonas
Mary Warner
Mary Weaver
Matchbox
Maui wauie
Maui-wowie
Meg
Megg
Meggie
Messorole
Mexican brown
Mexican green
Mexican locoweed
Mexican red
Mighty mezz
Mo
Modams
Mohasky
Mohasty
Monte
Mooca/moocah
Mooster
Moota/mutah
Mooters
Mootie
Mootos
Mor a grifa
Mota/moto (Spanish)
Mother
Mow the grass
Mu
Muggie
Muggle
Muggles
Muta
Mutha
Nail
Nigra
Number
O.J.
Oolies
Ozone
P.R.
Pack
Pack a bowl
Pack of rocks
Pakalolo
Pakistani black
Panama cut
Panama gold
Panama red
Panatella
Paper blunts
Parsley
Pasto (Spanish)
Pat
Pin
Pipe
Pocket rocket
Pod
Poke
Pot
Potlikker
Potten bush
Prescription
Pretendica
Pretendo
Primo
Primo square
Puff the dragon
Queen Ann's lace
Ragweed
Railroad weed
Rainy day woman
Rangood
Rasta weed
Red bud
Red cross
Red dirt
Reefer
Reefers
Righteous bush
Rip
Roach
Roach clip
Roacha
Roasting
Rockets
Rompums
Root
Rope
Rose marie
Rough stuff
Rubia (Spanish)
Ruderalis
Salt and pepper
Sandwich bag
Santa Marta (Spanish)
Sasfras
Sativa
Scissors
Seeds
Sen
Sess
Sezz
Shake
Shotgun
Siddi
Sinse (Spanish)
Sinsemilla
Skunk
Smoke
Smoke a bowl
Smoke Canada
Snop
Spark it up
Speedboat
Spliff
Splim
Splitting
Square mackerel
Squirrel
Stack
Stems
Stick
Stink weed
Stoney weed
Straw
Sugar weed
Super grass
Super pot
Sweet Lucy
Swishers
Taima
Takkouri
Tea
Tea Party
Tex-mex
Texas pot
Texas tea
Thai sticks
Thirteen
Thirty-eight
Thumb
Tin
Toke
Toke up
Torch
Torch up
Torpedo
Tray
Trupence bag
Turbo
Tustin
Twist
Twistum
Unotque
Up against the stem
Vega
Viper
Viper's weed
Wac
Wacky weed
Wake and Bake
Water
Water-water
Weed
Weed tea
Wet
Whack
Whackatabacky
Wheat
White-haired lady
Wicky stick
Wollie
Woolah
Woolas
Woolies
Wooly blunts
Yeh
Yellow submarine
Yen pop
Yeola
Yerba (Spanish)
Yerba mala (Spanish)
Yerhia
Yesca
Yesco
Zacatecas purple
Zambi
Zay
Zig Zag man
Zol
Zooie
Zoom
Yeola
Yerba (Spanish)
Yerba mala (Spanish)
Yerhia
Yesca
Yesco
Zacatecas purple
Zambi
Zay
Zig Zag man
Zol
Zooie
Zoom
Zacatecas purple
Zambi
Zay
Zig Zag man
Zol
Zooie
Zoom

Posted by: streever | November 2, 2009 8:51 AM

Dingdong: me too, but I can't imagine that a drug operation this large doesn't involve other illegal behavior or guns.

Because drugs are illegal--including the very popular amongst NHI readers marijuana--there will be other criminal behavior. An entire first story should not be a drug factory of any kind--I personally don't smoke, but I wouldn't care if someone was growing a little for their friends.

Let's be real here though & look at the scale. There is no way this is going to a couple of people who will use it responsibly--over a hundred pounds later you know it's going into dealing.

Ask yourself who is doing the dealing and what neighborhoods they are doing it in--

I'm really glad the police did make this bust. Drug dealing--marijuana, whatever--is destructive to neighborhoods and communities. Dealers carry weapons because they are dealing with large sums of money. This is not a joint at a party.

Posted by: William Kurtz | November 2, 2009 9:38 AM

Streever's point is one of the major arguments against prohibition: "Because drugs are illegal . . . there will be other criminal behavior." The inverse is likely true as well; if drugs were legalized, the ancillary criminal behavior would probably disappear. When was the last time bootleggers were shooting it out in the streets?

I agree that airing out an electricity-stealing, fire-starting commercial drug farm that takes up the entire first floor of a house in a residential neighborhood is a pretty good use of police department time, but it's also worth acknowledging that if people who wanted to grow a marijuana plant or two so that they could share a joint with some friends at a party were legally allowed to do so, this kind of thing wouldn't be necessary, and the big money and guns associated with the pot trade would probably not be a problem.

For the record, I neither use, nor have any interest in using any currently illegal controlled substances and have mixed feelings on the overall question of drug legalization, but I do think it's high time (get it?) to decriminalize possession of marijuana. Oh, and check out Jacob Weisberg's weekend story from Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2234017/

Posted by: streever | November 2, 2009 10:50 AM

Yea--I honestly don't care if someone grows a few plants in their house! and if decriminalization of some amounts is the way to do this, fine--

I just find it odd that a story which has nothing to do with casual drug use and everything to do with neighborhood destroying drug-dealing is full of slogans about legalization :)

When Obama was first taking office his administration talked about letting people tell them what they thought the priority was.

Despite a failing economy, two wars, health care crisis, routine illegal behavior by FBI/CIA, torture, I believe the number one response was "legalize pot".

I find that depressing ;-)

Posted by: robn | November 2, 2009 11:38 AM

SREEVER,

The only thing I smoke is Texas barbecue...but I'm not going to let demagogue politicians off the hook as they hypocritically demonize a relatively benign drug and ignore the very things that you're pointing out as bigger problems.

Posted by: DingDong | November 2, 2009 6:32 PM

Streever,

One reason everyone is commenting about legalization is that drugs, and certainly pot, would not destroy communities if their sale and production were above ground and legal.

Another, less important, reason is that there is no evidence this operation was destroying a neighborhood.

A third reason is that there is no evidence that I have ever seen that arresting pot-growers leads to a reduction in violent crime. If you want to stop violent crime, go after violent criminals (or even better, take a systemic approach and figure out what causes violent crime and stop that, if you can. Our country has proven incapable of stopping the illegal cultivation of marijuana. Maybe time to try a different approach).

For what it's worth, I also do not use or desire to use marijuana.

Posted by: Keepin' it real | November 2, 2009 7:55 PM

Decriminalize it, don't legalize it. We want to retain the authority to prosecute those who abuse the privilege. I say this for all the reasons expounded upon above. And for the record... I do smoke... but I don't inhale. ;)

Posted by: robn | November 3, 2009 8:19 AM

Actually there was evidence that this operation could have destroyed the neighborhood. They started an eletrical fire and luckily the NHFD and NHPD showed up to take care of it.

Posted by: Ned | November 3, 2009 6:50 PM

Mendocino mid-fall marijuana harvest as documented by photographer Mathieu Young