Calaveras County Has Screwed Over Every Legal Grower

[calaveras]

Calaveras chronicles #47= Since the ban I have never seen so much helicopter action. Three previously registered grow sites near me have been getting a lot of chopper attention. They were checked out last month by a small 2 seat helicopter. Yesterday they brought a bigger chopper. It had the usual dark-green-black paint but was a bigger medi-vac sized machine. They were hovering low enough to kick up dust storms and I thought they were going to land. The chopper would turn sideways and slowly proceed down the ridgeline. and then circle. Helicopter visits usually last just one or two minutes, after 5 minutes I grabbed a comfy chair and bong and enjoyed the show. He must have spent 15 minutes checking out every nook of the property. Most registered growers are cooperating with the ban but apparently not all. We'll see if the raid comes down. I am betting on law enforcement.
During the 2 years of legal registered growing here There was one big player who swept in and seduced landowners with promises of riches from marijuana. He got 2-3 dozen sites signed up and helped with some startup costs and expertise. Most people got about 10-20% of what was promised and sugar daddy deep pockets skipped town several million richer. I have yet to see a marijuana partnership that ended fairly. The business seems to attract scumbags.
It seems growers best hope for getting legal farming reinstated is with new county supervisors possible in November. With the destruction of small scale production in California and the loss of one years growing 2018 season it would be difficult to get back in the game if reinstated.
R.I.P. Calaveras grown

 

[calaveras]

Law enforcement is definitely making a show of force this year up here. Another multi-agency task force took out over 25,000 plants recently at 12+ sites. It seems most were previously registered formerly legal sites. Calaveras county is not a good place to grow more than 6 plants.

 

[MountZionCollec]

Law enforcement is definitely making a show of force this year up here. Another multi-agency task force took out over 25,000 plants recently at 12+ sites. It seems most were previously registered formerly legal sites. Calaveras county is not a good place to grow more than 6 plants.

That's half as many people as they got in last years operation and this year most of them were registered grows. The sheriff is only going to get his 60-80 grows and code will get their 200-300 and 1000-2000 other grows will get off without an issue. This is the perfect environment for larger criminals with many grows.

 

[calaveras]

It seems most years have one thing that stands in one's mind when living in the country.It may be weather or something like lots of bees or rattlesnakes. 2015 was the year of the fire. 2016 brought in the influx of new registered growers. 2017 continued the year of big weed. 2018 brought the grow ban and with it comes the year of the helicopter. I have a limited view of activities when it comes to marijuana choppers. In the past a typical year I would maybe see one helicopter around september and that depended on if I was home at the time.
This year I have seen marijuana helicopters 4X and it is barely august. Three have been a little Robinson r22 but one was a big serious looking helicopter that I mentioned in a previous post. The last flyby was just a few days ago.It means only one thing , gardens are being eradicated by law enforcement.Some guys are getting away with it , some are going to jail. Previously registered sites seem to be at the top of the list, after all they have your location.

 

[Raho]

Not from CA . . .
What's the penalty now for an unlicensed grow?
So sad to hear all the hardship coming to growers out there.

 

[log roller]

Some guys are getting away with it , some are going to jail. Previously registered sites seem to be at the top of the list, after all they have your location.

Let this be a lesson to y'all. NEVER EVER REGISTER ANYTHING, ESPECIALLY SOMETHING CONTROVERSIAL LIKE A CANNABIS GROW, WITH THE GOD DAMNED GOVERNMENT.

 

[P-NUT]

So the sheriff has the right to see your electric bill? If so wtf that info should be private unless your on a gov run utilities commision. People need to buck on this bullshit invasion of privacy its getting ridiculous.

 

[calaveras]

The big lawsuit has hit Calaveras county. 16 million, growers want their fees back and then some. That is what the county gets when it bans big weed after embracing it's money$$.
Maybe the sheriff won't be able to but his new S.W.A.T. tank. The helicopter activity has slowed down recently at least in my little slice of the county. Busts of outdoor grow sites continue. It seems about half are asians from out of the area.
Most folks are O.K. with the 6 plant limit and may push the limit a bit with 10 or 12 plants. The sheriff doesn't mess with people pushing the limit a bit if you get along with your neighbors. Recent years lots of people paid some bills and bought some groceries with some extra crop. That scene has largely been shut down with legalization, testing and corporate weed . I think the giant mega-grows are rather obscene, but then money rules.
Some of the previously high visibility grow sites have some nice vegetable crops growing in the premium soil. Tomatoes love one year old farm compost. When growing was legalized in 2016 the subject was openly discussed in grocery stores or other public places. Since the ban went into effect all discussion by commercial guerrilla growers has gone back underground. The growers are still out there, just keeping a lower profile, who knows where the flowers are going. It is risky and the rewards are getting smaller every year. Mt. Zion estimates 1000+ commercial farms still going for it and he seems to be more informed than me.

P.S. They have taken the fun out of farming

 

[calaveras]

Calaveras chronicles #48= I just had the pot copter do a flyby over my garden. It is funny how in these times of 6 plant grows being legal, that watching the blue and white helicopter 200' above my patch , cameras pointing down, just one pass, can still send a shiver down my spine. With a small 6+3 garden they don't mess with you when they are targeting grows of a couple hundred on up to many thousands, but still it is not a good sight. This is typical behavior from past years when sometime in September the copter makes an appearance. What set this year apart was all the helicopter activity during the summer that seemed to be targeting formerly registered grows.
Registered growers are getting back some renewal fees from the county but the big lawsuit is still going forward.
A couple of interesting farm busts went down recently. One was growing down the rows of a olive orchard for cover with a lot of plants. Another was at the site of a triple murder from 3 years ago where 3 rippers were blasted with a shotgun at close range.[Very messy]
That one ended up with the shooter getting 6 years jail time.
County supervisors meetings are still dominated with public comment largely in favor of reinstating legal commercial farming. Speakers run the gamut from straight looking dudes to a pleading young mother and 2 children with the misfortune of having to behave at a boring meeting.
I cut my first bud of the season. It is sure going to be good to have some fresh again

 

[KGB47]

To ensure there will be multiple deaths this year due to rippers....

Multiple dead rippers if there's any justice.

 

[green404]

To ensure there will be multiple deaths this year due to rippers....

With the price of weed at an all time low rippers have resorted to stealing aluminum cans, lawn mowers and swing sets.

 

[calaveras]

Calaveras chronicles # 49= Our fearless five county supervisors have voted to restrict public participation at supervisors meetings, limiting speakers

time and subject material from the general public. Shame.
Big busts continue, 3000 and 6900 plants. 300 to 500 pounds processed on site. Multiple hoop houses and the usual mess. Mostly out of state asians once again.
Another chopper did a quick flyby of the neighbors previous grow site yesterday. I guess they were just making sure they were behaving. This is the location that had the helicopter doing inventory earlier this summer for 15 minutes. The amount of helicopter activity has been heavy this year. I have seen them at least 6 times now and I am not always around to see it flying. In a typical year I will see one. Whenever a helicopter is heard it gets a look to see if it is a pot copter, medivac, PGE or a firefighting unit.
P.S. Happy harvesting everyone

 

[calaveras]

Calaveras chronicles #50= The big busts continue up here. 2 sites with over 1500 pounds processed and hundreds of big plants fat and ready for harvest. I Have never seen a year like this one, helicopters, big busts, lots of processed bud on site. Maybe farmers are having a hard time unloading big crops.
The county is targeting shipping containers now. They were mainly targeting former farmers until the farmers said " hey , what about all the non-farmers with shipping containers" on their land. The county allows structures up to 120 square feet without permits and the containers run 200 sq.ft. and up. It seems the new county code enforcement officers are trying to keep their jobs and create work for themselves.
Last weekend was artists open studio weekend in Calaveras county. Driving the backroads I only saw one large grow peeking over the top of a 6 foot tall fence. All other previously high visibility roadside grows were gone, tattered fencing and rows of smart pots left as evidence. One artists studio with a nice view stated that last year they had 15 commercial grows visible from their home, all are gone now.
Cops are definitely making it known big weed is not welcome. I wonder how many big operations are getting away with it.

 

[calaveras]

Our sheriff Debasilio is getting a big award and flying back east to receive the praise for his efforts with operation Terminus last year which netted a gazillion plants. The sheriff is up for election this year but no changes to the pot/grow scene are anticipated if a new sheriff is elected. If any change in marijuana regulations is enacted in Calaveras county it looks like new county supervisors, if elected,

are the last hope for big weed.
People I talk too here almost always have the same identical story about living next to registered pot farms.
1= They run noisy generators all night long
2=They run lots of lights illuminating whole hilltops and ruining nice dark skies[ we can see the milky way really well here]
3= They like to shoot off their guns a lot, especially around harvest paranoia time
4= They are rude= For example 2 dreaded out guys, bare foot, dirty walking through Senders market drinking beer. I don't know how they got away with that one.
4=They are rude= Passing cars on curves on Mt.Ranch rd.
5= They are rude and stink[ nothing worse than human B.O. ]
6= They think they are the saviors of the slow economy in Calaveras. Calaveras got by before the big weed invasion. I think they do as much damage as good .
7= Organized crime moved in
8= Senders parking lot turned into a drug deal zone
That being said, I personally know responsible growers who do no damage to the land and get along with neighbors. All are people who lived here before legalization. I have yet to meet a newcomer who tries to fit in with the country lifestyle, working with nature and neighbors, and I have met quite a few. There are some, I just have not met them yet and farmers are fleeing Calaveras county like rats from a sinking ship. Maybe you guys and gals should plant a vineyard and make some wine

 

[calaveras]

Outdoor grow season has wrapped up after a season marked by the large amount of big busts. The last one I heard of had 1200 lbs. processed on site.
Abandoned grow sites litter the countryside with broken down fences and rows of smart pots left as evidence. At least they should be fairly easy to clean up. The cops usually exaggerate the environmental damage done. The local newspaper lists foreclosures which have gone up greatly with former farmers bailing out on the grow scene.
The election last week will replace a couple of supervisors who voted no on the commercial farming this year. It is hard to forecast if this will change the legal grow ban. My feeling is most locals are fed up with big weed and the rapid change it brought to calaveras county. The county is being sued by hundreds of former registered growers and a 25 million dollar settlement from the power company PG&E for starting the Butte fire in 2015 should help pay them off. That's special, pay off the farmers while our roads are in horrible shape, especially in the high density grow areas. More thanks to our idiot county supervisors. We all get to pay for their stupidity and lack of foresight.

 

[calaveras]

Recently re-elected sheriff Debasilio made a appearance on TV news talking about the marijuana scene. He said the sheriffs have been busting 3 to 4 grows a week all season. He estimated that approximately 500 illegal grows remain active. That seems to indicate about 90% of the illegal farms got away with it.
He also had a interesting statistic : Violent crime in the area has doubled since 2008 which he attributed to the influence of mafia /gang types which moved in with big weed.
We are finally getting rain and fire season is over. Send your prayers and $ to the camp fire evacuees . Merry christmas to all.

 

[gotnoname]

Not from your area but always good to know how the scene is in other places...

Keep on posting...

 

[calaveras]

Happy new year to all from the California sierra foothills. The 2018 season is all wrapped up and bagged. Outdoor harvest was blessed by good weather except for one storm and mold problems were few. Trim work was scarce with the ban in place but still available for farms that ignored the ban. They are still out there but keeping a very low profile lest they suffer the watchful eye of Sheriff DeBasilio. 2018 goes down as the year of the pot-copter
Calaveras conspiracy theory= 2015 the butte fire fries 70,000 acres. 2016 Calaveras county supervisors approve a temporary marijuana growing ordnance. Land prices for burnt difficult or impossible to sell land double with the influx of new farmers looking to set up a legal grow site. Growers spend lots of money setting up infrastructure of grow sites giving a financial windfall to support businesses in addition to fire recovery workers. after 2 years most fire recovery efforts are done[ millions of dead standing trees still standing.] Calaveras supervisors ban commercial growing after 2 years , growers land prices drop like a rock to their true value for burnt land and they leave the area for greener pastures and foreclosures rise.
Some people think commercial hemp will rescue their plans to sell their overpriced real estate but I always thought of hemp as a big acreage crop like corn better suited to flatland where mechanical harvesters can be used. There is not a lot of flatland here in the mountains. They talk about CBD's and stuff but is there really that much CBD in hemp? All we need up here to ruin our 6 plant personal
sinsemilla harvest is acres of hemp pollen wafting by.
The big lawsuit by growers against the county has been delayed a few months.
This all started a couple of years ago as how Calaveras county has screwed registered growers ...... and it has not stopped yet. Happy 2019, just don't grow commercially here

 

[woolybear]

I enjoy reading your chronicles Calaveras! Perhaps I'll get a chance to visit some day.

 

[calaveras]

A interesting development since the commercial growing ban was enacted in 2018. Businesses that closed in 2016 and people who got in registered legal operations are now re-opening their former businesses. A local cafe recently reopened after being closed during the marijuana years 2016-2018. While standing in line at the grocery store I talked to a building contractor who was taking on new jobs. Same for road and heavy equipment work. The opposite situation is happening for the proliferation of garden supply/grow stores. County supervisors are going to re-visit the marijuana topic later this year but people I talk to are generally glad they are gone. Most of the high visibility greenhouses have their covers removed or in tatters. The lawsuit from registered growers is put off for a few months.
UNABASHED PLUG FOR CALAVERAS TOURISM FOLLOWING: Calaveras county is a great place to visit, just 3 hours from the bay area and we have a lot to offer for all tastes. We have the incredible redwood groves of big trees park, 3 different caves to explore, skiing in winter, hundreds of miles of mountain bike, hiking and horse trails. The fishing is decent for Cali. 3 well stocked dispensaries. Murphys has wine tasting and restaurants that range from upscale gourmet to casual and baja fish tacos. Big name concerts at Ironstone for those who don't mind traffic. Speaking of traffic, we consider traffic 3 cars in front of you at a stop sign as heavy traffic up here except for concert at Ironstone days. The cops are fairly cool as long as you don't act like an idiot. Stop by the Angels Camp visitors center for a free discount card good at restaurants and other businesses.