I'll post this here because this is the thread that I am most active in...
So the other night around 7:30 - 8:00 I am getting ready for dinner. I hear a rustling at the back gate (about 15' away from my outdoor garden), thought nothing of it, figured it was just one of the cats. Go to the kitchen and hear a voice call out from behind me and I figure it is the TV... I walked back into the living room and a very commanding voice from behind me called out, "EXCUSE ME". I turned around and saw a County Sheriff at my window dressed in a black uniform, wearing a riot vest on the outside of his uniform and a large pistol (probably a 45 or 9mm) prominently displayed on his hip. YIKESS!!! Big problem, the door to my veg room is open and he has a perfect view right into it from where he is standing.
He asked me, "Do you have a grow license?"
I said, "Yes"
He then went on to inform me that he was here from the parole department and was looking for the previous tenant. (I actually live in a pretty nice neighborhood, but the property that I occupy has quite a reputation...) So I explain that they have been gone for a long time and they are definitely not here. His partner, dressed in similar attire, then walked around the corner from the back of the house and joined him. They then ask me if I would walk over to the door and have a conversation with them there. I agree.
We get to the door and the officer very politely explained to me that they were there looking for a parole violator and nothing else. He also informed me that this person had recently used this address as his residence and as a result he HAD to come inside and verify that the person wasn't here.
These guys were being very cool with me and I did not feel a hostile vibe from them at all. When they said they were only here for the parole violator, I believed them but still felt pretty sketchy about the situation. I figured that if I said no, they would have gone and gotten a warrant thinking that I may have been harboring their fugitive. Also, they had already seen the veg room and knew there was a grow going on here, so there wasn't really anything to hide.
I looked the lead officer in the eye and said, "Your here for parole related issues only, right?"
He replied, "Parole issues only"
So I let them in and gave them the grand tour. They saw it all.. Flower room, veg room and nursery.
They looked around and said, "Okay, no parole violators here. We will mark it off as a bad address."
And they left.
They never asked to see any documentation or anything. I have complete documentation ready for such an event, but they weren't even interested... I run a pretty clean operation and probably appeared to be in compliance enough for them not to care. Plus they were really here on unrelated business.
Talk about a spike for the old Anxiety... I think my encounter is pretty indicative of the legal and political climate here in California. The cops are less and less concerned around here. And apparently if you are running a clean operation that appears to be in compliance, they are pretty much going to leave you alone.
Fingers crossed that I don't have anymore visitors or encounters. Perhaps the next guys wont be so cool.
That's all for now from The Land of the Easily Amused,
Keizer Soze
