How marijuana gets into the U.S….

[tomdunn421]

I thought to post this thread after reading a pretty crazy article in this months playboy mag where the reporter gained access (don't know how) to the inner workings of a huge Canadian smuggling operation. The shop brings in about $20 million in profits per year (1 driver was making $100K per month…just sick). They talk about using helicopters to bring in hundreds of pounds at once, which is actually a pretty smart idea (being that the U.S. can’t patrol the entire border.) Any1 else read this yet?

- J

 

[heypete]

I haven't heard of that. Unless they're using Chinooks (Or ****hooks, as we called them in the army), they'll need to make a lot of flights. Marijuana is light but bulky, and requires a fair amount for any decent value.

Also, the FAA gets picky about who flys where. Yes, there's probably no ATC radars up by the border, as the number of air corridors and/or major airports is not very high. Still, there's plenty of old military bases, missile fields, and so forth that probably have good radars.

Why not just bring the dope in by U-Haul truck? No need to stop at weigh-stations, say "Oh, we're moving down here..." and the Border Patrol'll wave you right through, if they stop you at all. Big U-Haul trucks are cheap.

 

[Joe Meyer]

I wouldn't be surprised if the U.S. Border Patrol helps smuggle it into the U.S.

 

[316SS]

Certainly weed is smuggled into this country, but I suspect the vast majority is grown domestically. I understand its straightforward and very profitable to grow it outdoors. All you need is some secluded property.

316

 

[Art Eatman]

Or, outa Mexico, anything from a peon with a backpack to a half-dozen burros with some 150 to 200 pounds each.

Another ploy is to "sacrifice" a peon with some 50 or 60 pounds in a 20-year-old pickup. After he's arrested, the LEOs haul him off to the juzga'o and then a truckload with a ton or two comes on up the empty road. Sorta like sending out the ends and wide receivers and then tossing a pass to the fullback coming out of the backfield...

Some conventional aircraft get used, as well. I was putting the roof on my garage, up on the mountainside some 200 feet above Terlingua creek. I heard an airplane. I kept looking up; it first sounded like a jet and then like a BIG jet. Sure enough, coming down Terlingua Creek valley, headed for Mexico, I saw it: A DC-8--and I was looking DOWN at it. About 100 or 150 feet off the deck, he was boogeying on down to Señoritaland...

They's sneaky lil fellers.

, art

 

[bigjim]

Hey art it would have been cool if you had a stinger huh?

 

[Sindawe]

I would suspect that most of the domestic production is indoors, since from what I've seen on the glass teat, Cannabis sp has a distinct shade of green, and shows up quite well in the Infrared bands. Outdoors its too easy to spot and for the cops to grab.

 

[Biker]

Fact is, most of the pot AND meth comes in from Mexico. Our gubbermint knows this and approves of it, through inaction if nothing else. Incidentally, I would classify meth as a WMD. JMO....
Biker

 

[Pward]

Cock County TN
#1 crop
This county out Produces the the state of Hawaii in the growth of Marijuana.
So I think this plant grows quite well in the states.

 

[DMF]

Marijuana is light but bulky, and requires a fair amount for any decent value.

No, the high concentration of THC stuff (15-20%), like BC Bud, will fetch as much as $8000/lb in the US, but the street value in BC is only about $2000/lb. A pound of MJ is not all that bulky, especially when packed tightly. Growers that produce high potency MJ can make a huge profit.

http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/intel/01001-intellbrief.pdf

 

[Croyance]

Enough is home grown to make it less than cost effective to grow in Canada.
It isn't just the leading crop of Tennessee, but Kentucky as well.
I have known of people growing it on farms alongside their regular crops. I knew of a set up where a person used a pneumatic press to compact the stuff down.

 

[DMF]

Croyance, I know there is a lot of domestic weed being grown, but the reality is there is a very strong demand for BC Bud, and it fetches a high price.

As for how it gets here, if you can think of it, some idiots probably already tried it, or is about to.

 

[publius]

I figured the market pretty much relied on cancer patients out in California. I guess it'll die out now.

 

[beerslurpy]

About 100 or 150 feet off the deck, he was boogeying on down to Señoritaland...

Anyone want to bet that he got that training on uncle sam's dollar originally?

Not making a point since I dont really care about marijuana (except as a federalism and mind your own business issue), but I would bet that a lot of former air force pilots can make solid money in the extra-legal transport business. Flying ultra-low is probably also fun in a way that flying UPS planes isnt.

 

[neoncowboy]

but I would bet that a lot of former air force pilots can make solid money in the extra-legal transport business. Flying ultra-low is probably also fun in a way that flying UPS planes isnt.

Um, let's have a reality check here:

1. If you're a former AF pilot, you can work wherever you want to in aviation. UPS/FedEx are yours for the taking. That's a comfortable career with excellent job security in an increasingly volatile and unstable industry.

2. If you get caught doing what was described, you lose your certificates. POOF - no more flying career for you.

I would like to think that men with the discipline and work ethic to make it as AF aviation officers would not be the type to scud-run to mexico for a reefer run in a beat to hell old airplane with the DEA taking satelite photos of the whole thing.

 

[Art Eatman]

neoncowboy, I dunno about nowadays, but at one time a heckuva lot of the smuggler pilots were ex-Vietnam era USAF or Army. The civilian world was just too boring. Not enough adrenalin rush.

A lot of the fighter pilots and chopper pilots just weren't wired up to enjoy being bus drivers.

Art

 

[beerslurpy]

I would think the kind of think-on-your-feet mentality that serves one well in combat wouldnt necessarily be a great match with FAA rules and regs, but would be a great match with flying smuggling craft.

 

[Birukun]

Lets not forget what is produced here domestically by folks from Mexico....

CCW in a National Park (not allowed) or in a National Forest (allowed, I think) is necessary, especially if you are hiking remote areas of California.

http://www.dpeg.org/drugs_illegal/marijuana/Sequoia_park_pot.htm

Bill in SD

 

[hifi]

Was there any mention of C-130's in Florida flying out loaded with guns and flying back in loaded with cocaine?

 

[stevelyn]

Our own Alaska grown Matanuska Thunderf**k is in the 28-31% THC range and is worth $35k/lb as an export crop. The buds have so much resin that they'll stick when you throw them against a wall and the fingers on latex gloves stick together from handling it.

 

[O.F.Fascist]

DMF

Croyance, I know there is a lot of domestic weed being grown, but the reality is there is a very strong demand for BC Bud, and it fetches a high price.

Thanks to the bull???? war on drugs American famers are loosing out to Canadians.

If it were legalized we could have the full force of our agribusiness to grow the best damn marijuana in the world.

???? the war on drugs.

 

[Sindawe]

If it were legalized we could have the full force of our agribusiness to grow the best damn marijuana in the world.

Yep. Americans have proven themselves to the most innovative, productive and foward looking agriculturalists in history. But for the bunch of racists, blue-noses and revenuers looking at having to get a real job nearly a century ago, we'd count Hemp and its uses among our triumphs. Instead we spend the lives and treasure of our nation in a futile effort to stamp out a common weed. :banghead:

 

[Ivy Mike]

Fact is, most of the pot AND meth comes in from Mexico. Our gubbermint knows this and approves of it, through inaction if nothing else. Incidentally, I would classify meth as a WMD. JMO....
Biker

Actually, over 50% of the pot consumed in the USA is grown in the country. Kinda hard to blame terrorism on imported drugs when most of the most popular drug in the USA is grown locally.

-Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser.
Such a great book that gives a fantastic, unbiased point of view on some of the idiotic policies we currently live under.

 

[Biker]

To be more accurate, I was referring to the meth as the wmd. I really see no problem with pot. My point is, our Govt. is supposadly waging an all out war on drugs and terror and they leave the door wide open to dealers and terrorists.
But hey, bread and cicuses and all that, hmmmm?
Biker

 

[dfaugh]

Read an article a while back...

about how MJ is grown indoors...Growers rent house/apartment, set up indoor "grow lights" etc, visit only occasionally, so if place gets found, no arrests, etc. Use high-tech growing methods like hydroponics, good fertilization Anyway, here was the stunning statistic (not sure how they figured it, nor how accurate)...They said that a small room full of plants, could generate $30,000/month worth of pot! Made me wonder why there was still so much smuggling going on.