Well, think about it. All you need is one seed to grow a marijuana plant. And once you have the plant, which produces more seeds, you can continue to plant more plants. Which you can then continue indefinitely until you have a vast field of marijuana plants, which can then become many vast fields, which you could grow into a drug empire. So, technically, the value of any marijuana seizure is infinite. Infinity dollars.

Hmmm...

border killings will go up next week. The price of weed will go up the month after that.... making it more profitable with less people.

No picture of the plant in question?

Nearly 100 people have been arrested in an ongoing sweep of marijuana-growing operations that has netted more than $1.7 billion worth of pot in California's Sierra Nevada range, federal and state agents said Thursday.

so if we legalized it and taxed it, all of California's deficit problems would be solved overnight?

So what's that, like a pound? Two pounds?

BravadoGT: So what's that, like a pound? Two pounds?

1 pound, 3.5 ounces.

everyone knows that cannabis is the most expensive substance on the planet. it's worth more than gold. literally. one pound of pot is valued three times that of a pound of gold.

can we legalize this crap already?

we're in a freaking recession ffs.

so basically, one pound of gold is worth maybe around...$20k. give or take, depending on the exchange rate.

The cops value one pound of cannabis at almost 5 times that amount.

Weaver95: so basically, one pound of gold is worth maybe around...$20k. give or take, depending on the exchange rate.

The cops value one pound of cannabis at almost 5 times that amount.

heh, best part about when they pull out that "cop math" on values is you can directly compare it to what the medical places buy and sell it for which one would think would be a fair spot to start from (especially since that stuff is as good or better than any ordinary bust)

even if you bought it at the clinics in 1/4 oz increments for $100 a pop, it's 6400 a lb.

432,000 * 6400 (just going with the old lb. per plant avg here, maybe thats low for a big outdoor one, but the price there is INSANELY generous im giving em) = 275 millionish , true value probably about half that number

good math there Lou

A little quick division: $1.7B from 432,000 plants = about $4000 a plant. Does that sound right?

Or does it sound more right that they're inflating the street value again?

Earguy: A little quick division: $1.7B from 432,000 plants = about $4000 a plant. Does that sound right?

Or does it sound more right that they're inflating the street value again?

thats 172 million not billion, and that's maybe a lil high but in the ballpark, see post above

"Tremendous devastation has been done and continues to be done by these industrial-sized grows," said Gil Kerlikowske, who directs the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy

Raping the land, too. I'm surprised it took someone so long to stumble across this industrial size farming.

Very sad.

Butterflew: can we legalize this crap already?

we're in a freaking recession ffs.

Which is exactly why the government is not willing to put hundreds of thousands of cops and prison workers out of work. Not only that but if it is legalized then logically there has to be some type of amnesty program for the hundreds of thousands in prison.

Also, the marijuana industry would be devastated as prices plummet and China, Venezuela and Mexico start growing it for three-fitty a pound leaving another massive group unemployed. The economy can't handle a hit like that right now. All told the numbers of new unemployed people would stretch into the millions.

The cops and prison workers are the largest and most vocal political block against legalization, maybe another war is needed and they could join the army. How about a war on tobacco? Imagine if cigarettes were $750 a pack?

Wait til the guy sues them for taking his 6 "allotted" plants and demands cop-math value back from the city.

ra-ra-raw: Not only that but if it is legalized then logically there has to be some type of amnesty program for the hundreds of thousands in prison.

Nope. You can't have a writ of ex post facto. So it could be argued by prosecutors that you can't go back and pardon people who did something that was illegal at the time either.

Doing a crime that later becomes not a crime is different from being falsely imprisoned.

martissimo: Earguy: A little quick division: $1.7B from 432,000 plants = about $4000 a plant. Does that sound right?

Or does it sound more right that they're inflating the street value again?

thats 172 million not billion, and that's maybe a lil high but in the ballpark, see post above

WOOPS, my freaking calculator was set up all wrong lol.

heh yeah 4000 a plant is 1.7 billion

DAMM i look stupid now.

yeah that's not such a far fetched number actually

doglover:
Doing a crime that later becomes not a crime is different from being falsely imprisoned.

With no legal knowledge whatsoever I imagined it may be something like the end of Apartheid in South Africa. You know, they could have a Marijuana Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I have a hard time imagining a country where children grow up with it being sold as commonly as alcohol and when they are forty years old they still only see one of their parents their glass during visiting hours.

whoops: their glass=through glass

ra-ra-raw: Not only that but if it is legalized then logically there has to be some type of amnesty program for the hundreds of thousands in prison.

doglover: Doing a crime that later becomes not a crime is different from being falsely imprisoned.

If you commit a crime that later is not a crime, you should be grandfathered in with time served, released, and a mark on your permanent record that you tend to think for yourself.

ra-ra-raw: Imagine if cigarettes were $750 a pack?

They're getting pretty close to that in New York City.

Aw man. We coulda taxed all that and paid off the national debt. Amirite?

So how much potential tax revenue is that?

I'm still waiting for the followup "250 pounds of marijuana smoker arrested"

In other news the Frito-Lay company reports an inability to meet demand of their Cheeto product line in Sierra Nevada as continue to slash and burn the massive Marijuana crop. When asked about the shortage local law enforcement officials simply commented "Wow, that like totally sucks. I guess we're gonna have to order pizza or something"

Pocket Ninja: Well, think about it. All you need is one seed to grow a marijuana plant. And once you have the plant, which produces more seeds, you can continue to plant more plants. Which you can then continue indefinitely until you have a vast field of marijuana plants, which can then become many vast fields, which you could grow into a drug empire. So, technically, the value of any marijuana seizure is infinite. Infinity dollars.

From reading other posts in other, similar threads, I believe you need both a male and female to produce seeds. Other than that, your argument is valid.

I am also on the bandwagon that this could be avoided if it were legal. Even taking into account that the price will drop when the free market takes over, I still think there will be a net increase in tax revenue.

We just need some way to check drivers accurately. Like a breathalyzer. Since even though it should be legal, you still shouldn't be allowed to drive farked up.

I tbought pot was legal in California. Maybe just in Oakland?

ra-ra-raw: Butterflew: can we legalize this crap already?

we're in a freaking recession ffs.

Which is exactly why the government is not willing to put hundreds of thousands of cops and prison workers out of work. Not only that but if it is legalized then logically there has to be some type of amnesty program for the hundreds of thousands in prison.

Also, the marijuana industry would be devastated as prices plummet and China, Venezuela and Mexico start growing it for three-fitty a pound leaving another massive group unemployed. The economy can't handle a hit like that right now. All told the numbers of new unemployed people would stretch into the millions.

The cops and prison workers are the largest and most vocal political block against legalization, maybe another war is needed and they could join the army. How about a war on tobacco? Imagine if cigarettes were $750 a pack?

We, as a nation, would more than make up for it with the sale of Bob Marley albums and potato chips. And candy. And nachos. And soda. And... damn it! Now I'm hungry.

We cant legalize it. If we did, imagine all the people who would be out of a job. What else would they be able to do if not run around busting peoples doors down as they are munching on cheeze-its and watching Nat. Geo.? I mean really? What would these assholes do if not ruin other peoples life over something like pot?

i love how they inflate the values on these busts. lets value it as if this mexican schwag sold for the same price as some ultra killer green and also use the price that your jerk brother in law tries to charge you knowing everyone else is out and you really want to get a sack for the kayaking trip this weekend.... now let's double that and apply it to the whole crop and also include the weight of the water leaves, stems, stalks, roots and clumps of dirt in the roots.

damn, didnt read the post above mine

My god, it will be cheaper to shoot up printer ink than to smoke pot.


Legalize and tax it for fark sake.

Pocket Ninja: Well, think about it. All you need is one seed to grow a marijuana plant. And once you have the plant, which produces more seeds, you can continue to plant more plants. Which you can then continue indefinitely until you have a vast field of marijuana plants, which can then become many vast fields, which you could grow into a drug empire. So, technically, the value of any marijuana seizure is infinite. Infinity dollars.

You need to save it for the vaguely sexual threads. There funny. Here, not so much.

If it's indeed 1.8 Billion dollars worth of weed, they should SELL it.

I'd imagine 1.8 billion would be a nice little boon for the city.

/call Snoop

The_Philosopher_King: From reading other posts in other, similar threads, I believe you need both a male and female to produce seeds. Other than that, your argument is valid.

Actually it was my understanding for most strains they try to stay way from grown from seed as much as possible, and use cloned cuttings. That way once you have a strain that you like you can produce consistent results. Same argument though, you can produce entire crops from one mother plant.

Earguy: A little quick division: $1.7B from 432,000 plants = about $4000 a plant. Does that sound right?

Or does it sound more right that they're inflating the street value again?

Cops suck at math, so I wouldn't trust the number.

If I need help beating my wife or violating someone's civil rights for fun, I'll call a cop.

heh heh ... now it's $1.8 Billion?

I think lord-humungus pretty much summed up the logic behind cop-math rather nicely.

Also, I'd like to get some more info behind the explaination of "Yoos should see how much damaging these horrible crops are to the land blah blah".
It's. A. Plant.
It isn't like they're strip-mining the hills and valleys for psychedelic Truffels.

martissimo: Weaver95: so basically, one pound of gold is worth maybe around...$20k. give or take, depending on the exchange rate.

The cops value one pound of cannabis at almost 5 times that amount.

heh, best part about when they pull out that "cop math" on values is you can directly compare it to what the medical places buy and sell it for which one would think would be a fair spot to start from (especially since that stuff is as good or better than any ordinary bust)

even if you bought it at the clinics in 1/4 oz increments for $100 a pop, it's 6400 a lb.

432,000 * 6400 (just going with the old lb. per plant avg here, maybe thats low for a big outdoor one, but the price there is INSANELY generous im giving em) = 275 millionish , true value probably about half that number

good math there Lou

A pound of dried herb per plant is insanely optimistic, even for outdoor grows. My guess is they're weighing the entire plant wet to get their numbers. Not like I know anything about this business. I'm just speculating.

I'll bet the landscaping was nice though.

I just came to say thank you, subby, for not making the "1.8 billion seized, 1 billion turned into evidence room, dealers will be prosecuted for $500 million worth of pot" joke.

I wish these drug dealers would stop ripping off the lawmakers and politicians when they sell them a bag of weed.

It is over-inflating the value of weed.

Six bucks, about, from every man, woman and child in America. Surrre.

In other news, Hefty closed down two Zip-Lok Baggies factories today, citing a sudden catastrophic downturn in demand.

Sweet!

When its legalized in November the taxes alone (say 10% of 1.8 Billion) should be enough to pull CA from the fiscal brink.

Too bad the morons are wasting all that potential revenue by destroying it... and paying people to do it!

Pot. It is illegal for some reason. Trust Us.
-Some Government asshole-

What a ton of weed might look like:

What a ton of weed might look like:

ImFromTheFBI: Also, I'd like to get some more info behind the explaination of "Yoos should see how much damaging these horrible crops are to the land blah blah".
It's. A. Plant.
It isn't like they're strip-mining the hills and valleys for psychedelic Truffels.

The plant itself isn't terribly harmful to a given area of land. It's the methodology used for large outdoor grow ops. There's diversion of existing water supplies for irrigation use. The growers tend to use diesel generators, and improperly store and dispose of diesel. There's fertilizer runoff. Erosion problems. Hell, there's the simple problem of "kill what's already there and plant pot instead". It's not as bad as, say, airdropping Agent Orange, but it's definitely not friendly to wild ecosystems.

And the real inconvenient fact is that this is solely brought about because cannabis is a lucrative black market commodity, and law enforcement alone will never curb it. Want to get rid of a black market? Drain the swamp.

Earguy: A little quick division: $1.7B from 432,000 plants = about $4000 a plant. Does that sound right?

Considering an outdoor plant in a mass grow will yield 1-2 ounces, that is awful cop math.

Let's say each plant yields four ounces. That's still $1,000 an ounce. And "outdoor" grown by taco-benders ain't gonna be the highest quality.

Where are they gonna store the 1.5 billion dollars' worth of ganja?