do helicopters really fly over and...

bust people for growing? i grow in my back yard and i do get a little paranoid about it, but since this is my third year growing and havent had any issue, i still do it. has anyone had experience with this? any secondhand knowledge of this?

depends where you are of course.

in some parts of the USA they fly unmanned drones ( the same ones used in iraq and afghan) to search for grows, better than any helicopter.

it's best not to live in fear of what might happen. carry on as usual

ghb said:

in some parts of the USA they fly unmanned drones

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Where is this information from? I thought drones were not yet FAA permissable.

As for helicopters, this is common. Their effectiveness varies widely. In my area, which has had few or no outdoor plants found in years past, they do a very quick search...and missed at least 40 scattered plants my neighbor was growing.

Usually they are looking for larger grows. I don't think they are after a guy with a few plants in his backyard. They have bigger fish to fry, imo.

Some cities/counties seem to put more time/money/effort into it than others and do a lot of searching. Others seem to do none.

Some will only target big grows and grows on federal/state property.

I've never seen them do it personally, but I've seen it on tv and heard plenty of stories from other growers. Even here in California where I'm perfectly legal I get a little jumpy when a helicopter flies over.

Sounds like you've been safe so far, but if you're in a non-medical state maybe a greenhouse or carport would be a good idea. You'll be harder to spot from the air, and you'll have the added benefit of protecting your plants from rain, wind, frost, etc.

I've seen drones around where I live. Small town too. But there is military presence. Flying over town and the outskirts.

If you just have a small grow they're not going to fuck with you. It's not cost effective. The money spent isn't worth busting some guy with a handfull of plants. It would be like sending an 18 wheeler across three states to deliver a t.v. set. Whoever made that choice is gonna get fired.

But you should still be smart about it. I know a guy who built a huge hydroponic greenhouse for vegetables and a helicopter was hovering over it taking infared photos. Damn near blew it away too.

Preach the good word Big B!........Carport...Amen!

direwolf71 said:

Usually they are looking for larger grows. I don't think they are after a guy with a few plants in his backyard. They have bigger fish to fry, imo.

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In my state, they will happily grab every single plant they can get, no matter how scraggly or worthless. Plant numbers = federal funds. (not a medical state, FYI)

ya you would need to have a biiig garden to matter to the law.At least here in California.

You KNOW the gov. has at least experimented with using drones to spot grows. They're just waiting for the time it becomes feasible and affordable. Not to mention all the flack they'll catch as soon as the public finds out about it. Using that much tax money just to kill some plants??? Hopefully it will never happen.

Steelheader3430 said:

I've seen drones around where I live. Small town too. But there is military presence. Flying over town and the outskirts.

If you just have a small grow they're not going to fuck with you. It's not cost effective. The money spent isn't worth busting some guy with a handfull of plants. It would be like sending an 18 wheeler across three states to deliver a t.v. set. Whoever made that choice is gonna get fired.

But you should still be smart about it. I know a guy who built a huge hydroponic greenhouse for vegetables and a helicopter was hovering over it taking infared photos. Damn near blew it away too.

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Are these drones large enough to damage mature cannabis plants?. I ask b/c manned choppers routinely use their blades to knock over crops.

snappy209 said:

ya you would need to have a biiig garden to matter to the law.At least here in California.

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I always tell myself this, but I'd rather not get questioned if I can avoid it.

I remember last year the local joint task force rolled into town and decided to put on a show by rolling up at 6am and busting/chopping down about 15 small backyard grows in one neighborhood. They brought their armored cars and swat gear, piled all the plants up in the street, called the local paper and posed for pictures, etc. they claimed it was all illegal grows being run by gang members (and maybe it was) but it all looked like a bunch small time backyard stuff to me.

wow..that's just ridiculous.

Yeah it was pretty silly. They seem to do a few busts each year just to keep us scared and make the soccer moms feel safe. This year it was some guy with 200 plants on his property and a few big indoor warehouse ops.

The newspaper articles almost always read "Joe dumbass got pulled over with a truck full of pounds in [insert Midwest state here] and ratted out all his buddies back in Cali"

bluerock said:

In my state, they will happily grab every single plant they can get, no matter how scraggly or worthless. Plant numbers = federal funds. (not a medical state, FYI)

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I hear on the scanner helicopter every summer. I heard them through half-mile cornfield on ATVs destroy thousands of dollars in corn, for just a single plant. They fly over, miss the most, but they see they will get. I hear on scanner they say they get people's yards 3-4 plants. If it's really close to home, they will in a few hours a search warrant, but if it is far away from home or the owner can not be traced, they just come in and cut it there. They leave little smart ass notes that we got your plants, if you are the owner call the sheriff. Most guerrilla growers here there are dozens of plots, no more than 5-10 plants in an area, so they like to do a bust any size.

LOL there are drones around, In Deer Trail Colorado there are voting on issuing license to shoot drones down like shooting ducks plus a bounty. I myself living where hunting and farming game is a big part of life thinks this is funny as hell. the proof http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/19/us/colorado-town-drone-ordinance/index.html

Man I love living in a country so fucked up, that neither the police nor the army can afford choppers, and the ones that are around since the civil war in 80's are used by cartels to smuggle shit across the border.

Gotta watch out for snitches though.

The FAA clears drones for police use if the file the flight plan I think 3 days out.
The FAA has NOT cleared ANY drones for private use yet.

This guy was looking right at me in my backyard grow.

I get 'em all the time flying overhead, sometimes thirty a day. And they go over low, less than 500 feet.

This was the lowest one yet. Felt the blade wash. Ruined a nice pair of boxers too.

In my county they use satetlite pictures to search for plants and code violations

They catch you growing they can and do steal your land

They find a violation they fine you until it's fixed

All about $$$$$$$