About 20 years ago in the San Louis Obispo area there was a gang of marijuana thieves that would raid marijuana farmers looking and sounding like the police. This went on for some time before one of the raiders shot and killed one of his partners.
They, of course, were committing a number of crimes including armed robbery and impersonating the police. In the incident that finally exposed them they also committed a murder as a death occurred during the commotion of a crime (armed robbery).
In the end the only ones charged were the marijuana growers who were by the way growing on private not public land and were not armed. The local DA basically declared open season on the marijuana growers by letting several murders walk.
In the last 20 years there have been a number of changes in the character of marijuana growing "industry". First growing has shifted from private to public land. Second the growers have shifted from small scale (<100 plants) to very large scale. Third the small-scale growers of yesteryear were generally not hard core criminals but the large-scale growers of today are for the most part hard core criminals.
But the number of criminals that steal from the growers has not diminished. As a result the growers are now generally armed in part, at least, because they feel a need to defend themselves from other criminals. This combined with the shift to growing on public land makes for a very dangerous situation as the chances of some unknowing party wondering into one of these marijuana fields are greatly increased and those guarding the marijuana field have little or no regard for anyone other than themslves.
Would the current marijuana farmers who are growing large scale on public lands convert to legitimate marijuana farming if the WOD ended? I think not. These people are criminals first and foremost and they are in this is for the fast easy buck. If this were legalized marijuana would become a commodity item and growing it would quickly become very much like many other agricultural products where generally farmers have to take significant economic risks and work very hard for very small returns. Not quick, not easy and not many bucks; therefore not an activity that these individuals are likely to pursue.
They, of course, were committing a number of crimes including armed robbery and impersonating the police. In the incident that finally exposed them they also committed a murder as a death occurred during the commotion of a crime (armed robbery).
In the end the only ones charged were the marijuana growers who were by the way growing on private not public land and were not armed. The local DA basically declared open season on the marijuana growers by letting several murders walk.
In the last 20 years there have been a number of changes in the character of marijuana growing "industry". First growing has shifted from private to public land. Second the growers have shifted from small scale (<100 plants) to very large scale. Third the small-scale growers of yesteryear were generally not hard core criminals but the large-scale growers of today are for the most part hard core criminals.
But the number of criminals that steal from the growers has not diminished. As a result the growers are now generally armed in part, at least, because they feel a need to defend themselves from other criminals. This combined with the shift to growing on public land makes for a very dangerous situation as the chances of some unknowing party wondering into one of these marijuana fields are greatly increased and those guarding the marijuana field have little or no regard for anyone other than themslves.
Would the current marijuana farmers who are growing large scale on public lands convert to legitimate marijuana farming if the WOD ended? I think not. These people are criminals first and foremost and they are in this is for the fast easy buck. If this were legalized marijuana would become a commodity item and growing it would quickly become very much like many other agricultural products where generally farmers have to take significant economic risks and work very hard for very small returns. Not quick, not easy and not many bucks; therefore not an activity that these individuals are likely to pursue.