Indiana state cops find pot plants as big as trees

[EC]

August 18, 2005

STILLWELL, Ind. -- Indiana State Police found 3,000 to 5,000 cultivated marijuana plants -- many as tall as small trees -- growing in a two-acre plot in rural northern Indiana.

State Police said Wednesday that Patricio Bautista, 49, of Chicago was arrested at the scene and now faces federal drug charges.

The plants were discovered Tuesday near Upper Fish Lake about 15 miles southwest of South Bend during a routine aerial survey. When police went to the area, they saw several people tending the plants. Bautista was arrested, but the others got away.

''We already have the evidence that these suspects were armed, in the marijuana plot with 5,000 plants and potentially $10 million worth of marijuana,'' State Police 1st Sgt. Mike Crabtree told South Bend's WNDU-TV. ''There was a potential for violence.''

more > http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-pot18.html

[ohio_liberal]

1. Now that I'd like to see

I've seen them as big as corn stalks, but never as big as a tree :D

[alfredo]

16. I've seen them 8-10' tall.

and in the tropics they get much bigger.

[MadHound]

2. Let me be the first to say it: DUMBASSES!

Don't get me wrong, I think it is stupid to criminalize dope, and yes, at one point in my life I was *quite* the regular toker. I have absolutely no problems with people growing dope.

However, cultivating 3000-5000 plants, outside, in the same place, is just asking to get caught. Hell, back in the day guerilla growing was THE only safe way to grow dope outside, and that was over a decade ago.

I'm sorry, these people deserved to get caught, just for because they were stupid. And the sad thing is that the rest of us will suffer, for all that fine weed is now in the hands of the law. Looks like it's going to be a sparse harvest in Indiana this year.

If you're going to grow outside, be like Johnny Appleseed, take a nice long walk, with a plant here and a plant there. Laying down a patch like you're Old McDonald is just asking to get caught.

[slor]

3. They did not "deserve to get" anything...

but a pat on the back, however, the law that they are supposedly breaking, deserves to be removed from the books, and laughed at for its' puritanical silliness.

[MadHound]

5. Look friend, I agree with you about the law on this issue

However I can't help but shake my head at the stupidity of these people, and yes, this stupidity is going to effect others in the Indiana area. Like I said, it's going to be a sparse harvest this year, due in part to these peoples' foolishness.

And yes, quite frankly anybody who is that stupid does deserve what they get. If I was dumb enough to walk down the street hitting from a bong, I would deserve what I got, for I was exhibiting stupidity of world class order. Growing this amount of pot, out in the open, all together where it is easy to spot is world class stupidity, plain and simple.

I'm sure that the Indiana police were absolutely ecstatic about this. If they're anything like Missouri cops, this is probably one of the largest, if not the largest bust that they've ever found. All due to stupidity. Hell, here in Missouri they've spent many a summer, and many millions of dollars flying around trying to spot pot, and yet it is all in vain since 99% of what they saw was ditch weed. Does that mean that nobody grew dope outside in Missouri? No, I can testify to that, and Missouri has always been one of the leading dope growing states. It just means that we were a hell of a lot smarter than these fools and did guerilla growing around and about, and didn't put 5000 plants in a patch out in the open.

Look, I applaud the spirit and motivation behind the actions of these people, and I don't think that they should be busted at all. But, given that we're living in an age of prohibition, a person should take the law enforcement's capabilities and not underestimate them. Again, these people weren't thinking, they were being world class stupid, and deserve to get popped for being so stupid. The days of the sixties where one could grow acres of dope out in the open in the back country are long gone, yet these fools ignored that basic fact. Hopefully they've learned their lesson and won't be so foolish next time.

[IrateCitizen]

14. I don't think this crew was quite like "old hippies" growing it...

There has been a shift away from the old hippies growing a few plants here and a few plants there toward more criminal elements getting involved in growing weed. I remember reading an article on it some time back -- I just can't remember where.

In addition to the possibility of violence in any kind of encounters with said criminal elements, there is also the issue of environmental degradation. Where hippies would typically grow it in the wild via natural means, pot farms like this one more commonly use heavy amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides -- and then walk away leaving a terrible mess when they're done.

[malaise]

4. hahahahhah - this is good

reminds me of that absolutely classic movie - Saving Grace.

[EC]

13. But she had the whole town backing her

pretending not to know about it...good movie...laughed my ass off..

[malaise]

15. It was one of the funniest movies

I had seen in years and yep the town did back her but for these herb trees to grow this big, there must have been some backing.

[Selatius]

9. It's easier to grow in one spot than many

Guerrilla growing takes too much discipline for too many people, so they resort to the lazy way: Old McDonald. There's always somebody out there that plays to the lowest common denominator.

[EC]

11. I also thought it was pretty stupid doing across

state lines, since they were from Chicago...makes it Federal (or is all drug charges Fed? don't think so, because the local cases are in local courts)

[burythehatchet]

6. must rent Rolling Kansas again tonight

[annabanana]

7. A picture! I want a picture!

damn

[lonestarnot]

8. They found a field about 1 mile spread up north in AZ wilderness.

[Jara sang]

10. You had me at: Pot plants as big as trees

:loveya:

[wli]

12. I've heard about people finding such large plants growing wild

This doesn't sound like such a case since it's so many in a 2-acre plot.