Humboldt Growers Getting Away with High Numbers of Plants?

 

The number of cannabis plants seized went up this last year but the number of indoor plants seized dropped. The San Francisco Weekly, The Snitch, crunched the numbers and came up with some big digits to wrap your mind around.

DEA agents uprooted 10,329,185 cannabis plants in 2010, with the lion’s share — 7,392,652 — extracted right here in California, according to the DEA’s annual report.

That resulted in a seizure of 52,928 pounds of “processed” marijuana and 1,591 arrests in California. In comparison, here are DEA’s national totals: 85,926 pounds of marijuana seized and 9,687 people arrested.

Again, we will put that into context for you: 2007 was considered, by many in the pot community, to be the worst year for federal raids. And even then, agents only nabbed 4,951,976 plants, seized 21,239 pounds of pot, and booked 1,084 people in California.

But more than this, Mendocino County alone had over 1/2 million plants seized by CAMP.  More than the DEA captured in the remaining 49 states.  California is the leader among plants seized with 11,712,966 from the DEA and CAMP combined. Why isn’t Humboldt’s numbers right up there with Mendo’s?  Well, according to The Snitch, Humboldt County Sheriff’s didn’t as for help from CAMP like the Mendo Sheriffs did.

CAMP says it nabbed 540,000 plants in Mendocino County, but 140,911 plants in Humboldt and 120,431 in Trinity counties, or less than what cops nabbed in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

That’s because, our source tells us, Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman requested help from CAMP, whereas Humboldt County sheriffs did not.

“I had friends in Humboldt tell me they couldn’t believe what they were getting away with [in 2010],” our source told us.

 

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18 Comments
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Ben Schill
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Ben Schill
13 years ago

Imagine the financial pressure being felt by new land buyers who planned to pay their mortgages with pot money. A typical monthly payment might be $3;000= $4,000. At the current $1,500 price, they would have to sell 2-3 lbs per month or 25-30 pounds a year to make their mortgage. How many more pounds are needed for a decent (not opulent) lifestyle? 30? 50? Let’s say the grower nets $1,300 after paying trimmers and general overhead it will probably be less. For these folks, 60 to 80 pound may be what they need to feel flush.
When we have ceased to fear law enforcement these numbers are not too hard to achieve with two pound plants in the sun but we can certainly see the advantage the “old timers” who have paid off their land, may have in the future. Hank Sims’ gloomy outlook on the pot biz fails to understand the expertise of the local growers and the extraordinary quality of the outdoor product which will surely continue to find an enthusiastic market.
Indoor is another story. The overhead will probably kill it.

Ben Schill
Guest
Ben Schill
13 years ago

Imagine the financial pressure being felt by new land buyers who planned to pay their mortgages with pot money. A typical monthly payment might be $3;000= $4,000. At the current $1,500 price, they would have to sell 2-3 lbs per month or 25-30 pounds a year to make their mortgage. How many more pounds are needed for a decent (not opulent) lifestyle? 30? 50? Let’s say the grower nets $1,300 after paying trimmers and general overhead it will probably be less. For these folks, 60 to 80 pound may be what they need to feel flush.
When we have ceased to fear law enforcement these numbers are not too hard to achieve with two pound plants in the sun but we can certainly see the advantage the “old timers” who have paid off their land, may have in the future. Hank Sims’ gloomy outlook on the pot biz fails to understand the expertise of the local growers and the extraordinary quality of the outdoor product which will surely continue to find an enthusiastic market.
Indoor is another story. The overhead will probably kill it.

Matthew Meyer
Guest
Matthew Meyer
13 years ago

I wonder how much of a difference it would make if you considered the impact of Mexican cartel grows on these numbers. Is Mendo a better place for massive public land grows? That might explain part of the differences in the numbers.

Matthew Meyer
Guest
Matthew Meyer
13 years ago

I wonder how much of a difference it would make if you considered the impact of Mexican cartel grows on these numbers. Is Mendo a better place for massive public land grows? That might explain part of the differences in the numbers.

Mr. Nice
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Mr. Nice
13 years ago

Ah ins vs. outs and Mendo vs. Humboldt.

Indoor is another story. The overhead will probably kill it.

Bull. In the illegal weed world, outdoor has huge overhead.

Try it sometime. Alright, don’t try it. Take my word though, you’d be paying out the ass just to get it going.

Gotta buy all this stuff to set up, pay people off to be fall guys for you, get hella guns, fiber optic ground sensors, food, all kinna shit. Then when you are done you gotta trim and get a traiiler to dry and shit.

I figure it is at least a 20% upfront investment to crop outdoor unless you aren’t worried about being CAMPed on or jacked.

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
13 years ago

Ah ins vs. outs and Mendo vs. Humboldt.

Indoor is another story. The overhead will probably kill it.

Bull. In the illegal weed world, outdoor has huge overhead.

Try it sometime. Alright, don’t try it. Take my word though, you’d be paying out the ass just to get it going.

Gotta buy all this stuff to set up, pay people off to be fall guys for you, get hella guns, fiber optic ground sensors, food, all kinna shit. Then when you are done you gotta trim and get a traiiler to dry and shit.

I figure it is at least a 20% upfront investment to crop outdoor unless you aren’t worried about being CAMPed on or jacked.

charlie brent
Guest
charlie brent
13 years ago

SCREW the DEA and CAMP … THAT’S THE ANSWER
I MUST TIP MY HAT TO THE HUMBOLDT SHERIFF`S DEPT . FOR NOT ASKING FOR HELP FROM THEM .

POSTED !

charlie brent
Guest
charlie brent
13 years ago

SCREW the DEA and CAMP … THAT’S THE ANSWER
I MUST TIP MY HAT TO THE HUMBOLDT SHERIFF`S DEPT . FOR NOT ASKING FOR HELP FROM THEM .

POSTED !

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

“…pay people off to be fall guys for you, get hella guns, fiber optic ground sensors.”

Ummm…no — not unless you’re growing a massive crop.

There IS significant overhead, but it’s mostly the cost of the land.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

“…pay people off to be fall guys for you, get hella guns, fiber optic ground sensors.”

Ummm…no — not unless you’re growing a massive crop.

There IS significant overhead, but it’s mostly the cost of the land.

Eric Kirk
Guest
Eric Kirk
13 years ago

Maybe the nonenforcement is a strategy to flood the market so that the price drops to bring the industry down!

Devious.

Eric Kirk
Guest
Eric Kirk
13 years ago

Maybe the nonenforcement is a strategy to flood the market so that the price drops to bring the industry down!

Devious.

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
13 years ago

Ummm…no — not unless you’re growing a massive crop.

There IS significant overhead, but it’s mostly the cost of the land.

Pssht, naw, the cost of the land is held by the landowner and their folks get to do the operation for a cut. It’s known as the “Humboldt Slide…” the landowner will take a sliding share depending on how good a grower does.

I’ll detail it for ya dude. Let’s say you are growing 50 plants or some shit. That ain’t massive. Still, you gotta put in at least $5,000 in security and $15,000 into the plants before planting

During the season, all kinna people need to be paid off. Then afterwards, all kinna people need to be paid off.

If you don’t take these steps, you are guaranteed jacked or to have bad weed.

I don’t know where folks get this idea that doing a hillside sativa crop is like planting the shit in your backyard. It’s not. If you do less, the percentage stays about the same and maybe drops to 10%.

Mr. Nice
Guest
Mr. Nice
13 years ago

Ummm…no — not unless you’re growing a massive crop.

There IS significant overhead, but it’s mostly the cost of the land.

Pssht, naw, the cost of the land is held by the landowner and their folks get to do the operation for a cut. It’s known as the “Humboldt Slide…” the landowner will take a sliding share depending on how good a grower does.

I’ll detail it for ya dude. Let’s say you are growing 50 plants or some shit. That ain’t massive. Still, you gotta put in at least $5,000 in security and $15,000 into the plants before planting

During the season, all kinna people need to be paid off. Then afterwards, all kinna people need to be paid off.

If you don’t take these steps, you are guaranteed jacked or to have bad weed.

I don’t know where folks get this idea that doing a hillside sativa crop is like planting the shit in your backyard. It’s not. If you do less, the percentage stays about the same and maybe drops to 10%.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Mr. Nice,

I guess you just hang out with a different crowd. I don’t know anyone who uses “fiber optic ground sensors,” stocks “hella guns,” or needs to spend $300 on each plant — before planting!

What I have seen is that new folks who have never done any real farming before end up spending a LOT of money to make up for their beginners’ mistakes and lack of knowledge. I’ve seen the sky-high prices for ridiculous “bouitique” fertilizers with groovy labels, which nonetheless fly off the shelves at our local garden supply stores. Also the many fancy pest-control products that people turn to in a panic, because their general level of skill at farming is poor and now their high-overhead crop — that they’re depending on to pay off debts and get through the next year — is threatened by disease, which they’ve often caused themselves by overfertilizing, overwatering, overtreating and so on. Some people improve their knowledge and methods over time, while others continue to overwater, overfertilize, overdose with pestides, and overspend in every possible way.

Overspending on fertilizers, soil conditioners, pesticides, equipment and so on (and of course overspending on a luxurious lifestyle) leads people to grow a lot more in order to get by, which forces them to hire a bunch of workers and trimmers who aren’t necessarily friends or family, which only increases the chances of a rip-off (often an “inside job”), which together with the larger number of plants and more pounds of weed forces them to get “hella guns” and/ or hire armed guards, and, the spriral of spending begetting more spending goes on, ever upward. And some people will probably go on in this way, right up to the point where the declining price intersects with the increasing costs, and all this overhead will no longer be sustainable.

My advice for prospective outdoor growers: People oughtta learn to farm more efficiently, which will allow them to grow fewer plants, harvest more per-plant, keep it small, mellow, and in their circle of friends and family. If a gate, a dog, a cell phone, and a shotgun aren’t enough to make you feel safe, then you’re growing way too much. Of course collapsing prices may eventually make this crop unprofitable for even the more skilled, less wasteful farmer, so it makes sense to learn some other skill or trade. It seems to me that’s what the smart folks do, rather than just biggering and biggering their operations.

Just my opinion, of course. Get-rich-quick types will of course disagree.

tra
Guest
tra
13 years ago

Mr. Nice,

I guess you just hang out with a different crowd. I don’t know anyone who uses “fiber optic ground sensors,” stocks “hella guns,” or needs to spend $300 on each plant — before planting!

What I have seen is that new folks who have never done any real farming before end up spending a LOT of money to make up for their beginners’ mistakes and lack of knowledge. I’ve seen the sky-high prices for ridiculous “bouitique” fertilizers with groovy labels, which nonetheless fly off the shelves at our local garden supply stores. Also the many fancy pest-control products that people turn to in a panic, because their general level of skill at farming is poor and now their high-overhead crop — that they’re depending on to pay off debts and get through the next year — is threatened by disease, which they’ve often caused themselves by overfertilizing, overwatering, overtreating and so on. Some people improve their knowledge and methods over time, while others continue to overwater, overfertilize, overdose with pestides, and overspend in every possible way.

Overspending on fertilizers, soil conditioners, pesticides, equipment and so on (and of course overspending on a luxurious lifestyle) leads people to grow a lot more in order to get by, which forces them to hire a bunch of workers and trimmers who aren’t necessarily friends or family, which only increases the chances of a rip-off (often an “inside job”), which together with the larger number of plants and more pounds of weed forces them to get “hella guns” and/ or hire armed guards, and, the spriral of spending begetting more spending goes on, ever upward. And some people will probably go on in this way, right up to the point where the declining price intersects with the increasing costs, and all this overhead will no longer be sustainable.

My advice for prospective outdoor growers: People oughtta learn to farm more efficiently, which will allow them to grow fewer plants, harvest more per-plant, keep it small, mellow, and in their circle of friends and family. If a gate, a dog, a cell phone, and a shotgun aren’t enough to make you feel safe, then you’re growing way too much. Of course collapsing prices may eventually make this crop unprofitable for even the more skilled, less wasteful farmer, so it makes sense to learn some other skill or trade. It seems to me that’s what the smart folks do, rather than just biggering and biggering their operations.

Just my opinion, of course. Get-rich-quick types will of course disagree.

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