Probable Cause? Ha ha ha....we don't need no probable cause

[C-dub]

While I understand the sentiment let's loo at the facts.

1. They were in a hydroponic equipment supply store.

2. Trash at the curb is not protected by the 4th amendment. (yes I believe it should be but it isn't)

3. The fools put pot in the trash can and it tested positive.

4. They could have simply burned it in a BBQ grill.

While I do not agree with the method the cops used, they are in the business of law enforcement. Even if what they were doing was something I do not agree with. If you're going to set up an illegal business you MUST be smarter than the cops.

Do I think the cops are really doing any good in this effort? No. But was the home owner stupid? You decide.

Sorry Moby.

No pot. It was probably tea leaves.

I didn't get that from the information given. Tea Leaves do not test positive for pot.

You say "probably" tea leaves. Do you know for a fact it was not pot? If it tests positive, probable cause is established.
While I agree cops might be doing something better with their time. But...they are not doing anything illegal or violating any rights.
If the leaves tested positive, it's highly probable is WAS pot.

No need to apologize partner. I'm simply pointing out the homeowner/harvester should be more intelligent if he's going to grow pot for profit.

Yes.

• But a lab test done 10 days after the raid and again four months later in August found that the leafy material was not marijuana.

“It does not look anything like marijuana leaves or stems,” a lab report said.

and
There were a few other mentions of tea in the article.

[RottenApple]

While I understand the sentiment let's loo at the facts.

1. They were in a hydroponic equipment supply store.

2. Trash at the curb is not protected by the 4th amendment. (yes I believe it should be but it isn't)

3. The fools put pot in the trash can and it tested positive.

4. They could have simply burned it in a BBQ grill.

While I do not agree with the method the cops used, they are in the business of law enforcement. Even if what they were doing was something I do not agree with. If you're going to set up an illegal business you MUST be smarter than the cops.

Do I think the cops are really doing any good in this effort? No. But was the home owner stupid? You decide.

Sorry Moby.

No pot. It was probably tea leaves.

I didn't get that from the information given. Tea Leaves do not test positive for pot.

You say "probably" tea leaves. Do you know for a fact it was not pot? If it tests positive, probable cause is established.
While I agree cops might be doing something better with their time. But...they are not doing anything illegal or violating any rights.
If the leaves tested positive, it's highly probable is WAS pot.

No need to apologize partner. I'm simply pointing out the homeowner/harvester should be more intelligent if he's going to grow pot for profit.

Only the field test came back positive. The lab test 10 days later, and another 4 months after that, came back negative. I'm sorry, but that calls into question 1) the accuracy of the field tests, 2) the competency of the officer(s) running the field tests, and/or 3) the honesty of the officers.

Additionally, there was no activity for 8 months after the visit to the hydroponics store.

[JALLEN]

While I understand the sentiment let's loo at the facts.

1. They were in a hydroponic equipment supply store.

2. Trash at the curb is not protected by the 4th amendment. (yes I believe it should be but it isn't)

3. The fools put pot in the trash can and it tested positive.

4. They could have simply burned it in a BBQ grill.

While I do not agree with the method the cops used, they are in the business of law enforcement. Even if what they were doing was something I do not agree with. If you're going to set up an illegal business you MUST be smarter than the cops.

Do I think the cops are really doing any good in this effort? No. But was the home owner stupid? You decide.

The stuff in the trash was something but whatever it was was not pot, or the lab would not say it didn't even look like pot.

How was the homeowner stupid? Growing a hydroponic garden? Tell me now because I intend to do that when I get to Texas.

Putting the vegetation grown in said garden, not being pot or anything else illegal, in the trash, not realizing that some deputy had seen his driver's license in a gardening store and would therefore be searching his trash hoping to hit pay dirt?

As silly as it may seem to some, there are dare I say, hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people out there who have never seen pot, never smelled it, and have no more idea of what pot looks or smells like than whale poop. They ought to be able to go about their ordinary lawful business without interference from these crack... uhhh, pots who see a pot farmer under every bed.

[jmra]

While I understand the sentiment let's loo at the facts.

1. They were in a hydroponic equipment supply store.

2. Trash at the curb is not protected by the 4th amendment. (yes I believe it should be but it isn't)

3. The fools put pot in the trash can and it tested positive.

4. They could have simply burned it in a BBQ grill.

While I do not agree with the method the cops used, they are in the business of law enforcement. Even if what they were doing was something I do not agree with. If you're going to set up an illegal business you MUST be smarter than the cops.

Do I think the cops are really doing any good in this effort? No. But was the home owner stupid? You decide.

The stuff in the trash was something but whatever it was was not pot, or the lab would not say it didn't even look like pot.

How was the homeowner stupid? Growing a hydroponic garden? Tell me now because I intend to do that when I get to Texas.

Putting the vegetation grown in said garden, not being pot or anything else illegal, in the trash, not realizing that some deputy had seen his driver's license in a gardening store and would therefore be searching his trash hoping to hit pay dirt?

As silly as it may seem to some, there are dare I say, hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people out there who have never seen pot, never smelled it, and have no more idea of what pot looks or smells like than whale poop. They ought to be able to go about their ordinary lawful business without interference from these crack... uhhh, pots who see a pot farmer under every bed.

I've seen pics of pot and I've smelled pot (or rather have been told that what I'm smelling is pot). But, I've never touched it or smoked it. I don't know anything about whale poop.

[bagman45]

UH, sorry guys, ALL cops are trained to identify Mary Jane and can do so WITHOUT any kind of "field test". I'm guessing that 90+ % of those on this site could do the same - regardless of where they received their "training" There is something else going on here. Sounds like the homeowner somehow got sideways with a local official who, as these tin pot knuckle heads often do, decided to show the homeowner how powerful he was. Hope this case gets pushed forward so that we get the REAL answer. I'll lay odds that I'm pretty close to right on this.....

[jmra]

I'll lay odds that I'm pretty close to right on this.....

Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

[RoyGBiv]

UH, sorry guys, ALL cops are trained to identify Mary Jane and can do so WITHOUT any kind of "field test". I'm guessing that 90+ % of those on this site could do the same - regardless of where they received their "training" There is something else going on here. Sounds like the homeowner somehow got sideways with a local official who, as these tin pot knuckle heads often do, decided to show the homeowner how powerful he was. Hope this case gets pushed forward so that we get the REAL answer. I'll lay odds that I'm pretty close to right on this.....

That's what I was thinkin'...
Anyone who grows their own hydroponic garden... Gotta be 'sumthin wrong with people like that.

[Ark03]

I'm simply pointing out the homeowner/harvester should be more intelligent if he's going to grow pot for profit.

The two aren't exactly mutually exclusive ...

[DocV]

There seems to be a lot more to this story. Other sources point out both husband and wife are former CIA employees. The wife is a lawyer and a VP for a local financial company. According to http://www.pastrylive.com/wp-content/up ... s/acd.html the couple was, at one time, heavily into Cake Decorating and founded the American Cake Decorating Magazine.

[android]

If the police can follow you home because you bought hydroponics at a gardening store and SOME people use hydroponics to grow pot, that opens a huge can of worms. Ammo is reasonable suspicion of murder? Fertilizer is reasonable suspicion of terrorism? Gasoline is reasonable suspicion of arson? A crowbar is reasonable suspicion of burglary?

This whole thing stinks from the beginning.

There seems to be a lot more to this story. Other sources point out both husband and wife are former CIA employees. The wife is a lawyer and a VP for a local financial company. According to http://www.pastrylive.com/wp-content/up ... s/acd.html the couple was, at one time, heavily into Cake Decorating and founded the American Cake Decorating Magazine.

Based on my training and experience, it was quite obvious they were growing weed to make funny pastries.

[JALLEN]

If the police can follow you home because you bought hydroponics at a gardening store and SOME people use hydroponics to grow pot, that opens a huge can of worms. Ammo is reasonable suspicion of murder? Fertilizer is reasonable suspicion of terrorism? Gasoline is reasonable suspicion of arson? A crowbar is reasonable suspicion of burglary?

This whole thing stinks from the beginning.

If police can observe you carrying a case of beer to your car at HEB (Does HEB sell beer these days? They used to not!), might that be reasonable suspicion that you will drive drunk at some point?

Quite absurd. Those guys must have been trained to recognize pot without testing (!) at the same facility that trained that professional to be the only one to safely handle a handgu BLAM!

[gigag04]

Police can follow you in public for any reason...the very absence of an expectation of privacy is key to the idea of public.

[rotor]

To be a devils advocate, what if the police were watching a suspected meth shop and checking the license plates of every person going in or out? And then checking garbage of those people to see if there were traces of amphetamines or whatever one tests for? Would we be so critical or would that be considered good police work.

[android]

To be a devils advocate, what if the police were watching a suspected meth shop and checking the license plates of every person going in or out? And then checking garbage of those people to see if there were traces of amphetamines or whatever one tests for? Would we be so critical or would that be considered good police work.

Where can you buy meth legally?

It has been ruled over and over that possession of legal objects that have sometimes been used by criminals to commit crimes is NOT reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed or that the possessor intends to commit a crime.

[Jaguar]

To be a devils advocate, what if the police were watching a suspected meth shop and checking the license plates of every person going in or out? And then checking garbage of those people to see if there were traces of amphetamines or whatever one tests for? Would we be so critical or would that be considered good police work.

A more apt correlation would be police watching who buys cold medicine then digs through their trash looking for meth manufacturers. Heaven forbid the cold and sinus sufferer is also diabetic and has needles in their trash.