What is with the paranoia about buying grow equipment some of you have?

[yamaha_1fan]

Maybe not on a national level but there have been links here to arrest warrants that started with a cop watching a grow shop. I think there was one, he was vietnamese (sp?), Nguyen may have been the name. Cop simply followed him to a grow house, watched him unload and knocked on the door. Guy let him in, showed him MORE houses and ratted his boss out.

Yeah, the guy screwed himself but its prooven that cops watch hydro stores.

Is anyone here ready to chance that LEO is writing their plate #'s down or following them?

 

[GreenintheThumb]

Grow equipment is a way to start a criminal investigation, get over it people. And no they can't just watch you go from the hydro store and kick in your door but it could spark an investigation that lasts months and ends in heartache. Be Safe!

 

[British_Bulldog]

Well thankfully in Europe the police don't stalk people at growshops.

In fact, I've seen some idiots, and they weren't young either, smoking herb outside a growshop on Saturday afternoon, on several occasions - arseholes bringing it on top for the others. That was in England.

However, I've always been careful about buying equipment, but in Europe it's like going to the grocery store and buying your weekly shop.

You can talk about weed openly in English growshops, and pretty much in the rest of Europe too. No need to pretend you grow tomatoes or chillies, and no cops around either.

The US government really needs to re-assess its stance on MJ.

In the 70's I believe things were cool there, then everything changed for the worse.

It's a great shame, as most of the best herb came from/comes from the States.

I hope things change for you guys.

 

[Ajunta Pall]

I hope things change for us to BB. But the facts are that the pigs aren't going to stake the thing out at all times. Before you pull into the store's parking lot, do a bit of your own surveilliance first. That's what I do.

I choose to frequent a store that is not in a strip mall. There are only a few spots that the cops can watch the parking lot. I usually park a block or two away, then walk down to the store on the opposite side of the street. If I see something I don't like I just keep on walking. If not, I will either go back and get my car, or just cross the street and walk into the store.

 

[green_tea]

how would you all recommend buying equipment?

Online and having it shipped to a friends house? getting a mailbox rental where its an actual address?

 

[Ajunta Pall]

Since shipping leaves a paper trail, you must plan your purchases carefully. If UPS is the shipping co. one idea is to send your package to your local UPS store and pick it up there. Sure you'll have to show id, but your paper trail ends at the UPS store. That is if you don't grow where you live.

 

[British_Bulldog]

how would you all recommend buying equipment?

Online and having it shipped to a friends house? getting a mailbox rental where its an actual address?

In the US, I recommend getting a non-growing friend to go to a hydro shop and get it for you in his car.

If that's not possible, be very very careful over there.


Peace

 

[Wunderkind]

I've never been paranoid about going to grow shops. I've only ever been to one and have been going there since I started growing.

One time some friends of mine were looking for a smoke shop that was right by the grow shop. They couldn't find it, but saw the growshop and decided to ask them where the pipe shop was. My buddy said the clerk freaked out on him.

While I bought pipes at that shop, I agreed with the growshop clerk in thinking it brought unwanted attention to the area.

 

[British_Bulldog]

My buddy said the clerk freaked out on him.

Wow, you guys are living in MJ hell by the sounds of things.

In the UK, if a head shop and grow shop were together, as is Cannaseur in Birmingham, they'd laugh about that, then have a good chat about weed.

In fact, I happily remember going to the head shop underneath the grow shop, buying 120 seeds and a new bong, then going upstairs, buying grow equipment and talking about how I was going to grow the seeds, as well as loads of clones.

I'd parked my car across the road and just slung it all in the boot and drove off.


2 differents worlds....


Peace

 

[Macster2]

I believe you fellows are a tad paranoid.Gardening (in door and out) is a huge hobby.After all, these hydro stores are selling enough product to keep they're doors open and with overhead these days it has to be a pretty fair amount.Where I go there 're always people going in and out. You can, with an educated guess tell by looking what their field of grow expertize is.
If you're 30-40-50 years old should be no problem. Don't dress the part.Cut your hair, never wear a pot logo etc. In other words dress and look conservative. Park across the street,borrow you're buddy's car.Leo can't investigate everyone just don't get the crosshairs on you.

 

[Ajunta Pall]

Maybe it is paranoia. Or it could be some of us have a sense of caution. Do you open your door before you see who is knocking? If you went swimming somewhere with friends, would you dive head first into unknown water w/o checking the depth? Would you just pick up and pull the trigger on a gun before checking to see if it's loaded?

So in that sense does it hurt to see if the cops are watching the grow store you frequent? A cop watching a grow store with steady traffic may not even know that he is being watched. Not shopping while the store is under surveillance is a 100% effective way to avoid being "under further investigation".

 

[texsativa]

I can't go to the grow shop unless I'm driving a buddy's car.

 

[yamaha_1fan]

That may be true for the personal grower, but peeps like me walking out with 6 gallon containers of nutes, its pretty obvious.. Plus if they are watching, and see you come back every week or two, then they know.

Do you guys really think you can tell if the cops are watching? Seriously? No way.

I have to find another way to get my stuff

 

[British_Bulldog]

The best way for you yamaha would be to get it sent to a courier's warehouse in a friend's name, and go and pick it up with your friend, or get fake ID, but I'd say it's very risky to buy on the scale you're growing at from a regular grow shop in the States.

Ok, in the Netherlands or the UK it'd be ok, and I've done it myself in both countries without a problem, but no-where else I'd say.

I've even brought family sized car loads of grow equipment from Holland to the UK....in a car registered to a grow addy! I wouldn't recommend that, but it's doable if you don't look suspicious or have a criminal record.


Peace

 

[Ajunta Pall]

Hey Yamaha, I maynot be able to tell if someone is watching a store is a cop, but who else would spend their time watching a parking lot? The pigs aren't invisible, you know. And they are human too, and most suffer from some form of arrogance or another.

I don't do anything on accident, and of all the stores I could have chosen, I chose one that stands alone and has it's own parking lot. If you wish to spy on people (and I do) and write down license plates there are only a few places where you can do this. Most of the buildings that are around the store are businesses and are closed on the weekends. Pretty obvious then, because the parking lots are empty. Those buildings the way they were constructed, mostly have walls facing the road w/ no windows. So the cops can't sit in them a spy on you that way.

I don't look for undercover or unmarked cars. I watch what the occupants are doing. If the parking lot is full then logically the pigs will be busy writing down license plates and not paying attention to their surroundings as astutely as the might normally. Have I seen suspicious looking people in the lots opposite of the grow store? Yes, and I kept on going and returned the next day. Were they cops? Don't know, and don't care to find out.

As far as carrying multiple gallons of stuff on foot. I guerilla grow as well, and am used to carrying heavy and awkward shit for long distances. Doing shit like that just keeps me in shape.

 

[green_grow]

your local garden centre, home depot, or walmart has everything the grower needs however small or large the grow may be. a wide variety of affordable plant foods and grow mediums minus the hype and expense of hydro-store nutes. when i first decided to grow i visited a few hydro stores in search of info, with 1 or 2 exceptions they wanted nothing to do with a small-time grower. fuck 'em and fuck the cops that see ganja growers as worthy of persecution.

 

[FRANKENBLUNT420]

well IMO the thing for you TORO is that you can proudly state you are a prop 215 user, so IN YOUR CASE, you really don't have too much to worry about.
BUT to everyone else that is not in CALIFORNIA , we DO have to be extremley careful about where, how, what who, when and whatever else we need to do to when purchasing anything to grow anything.

the one thing that does keep me safe is that i dont carry myself as some sort of growing MJ vagabond or the like, so thats one aspect that keeps me safe. the other thing is that i really am not out there like that, as far as society to warrant any sort of negative attention.

i get stopped by the cops all the time while im smokin and its not a big deal FOR ME. but if others say no way then hey thats them, ive been stopped countless times, and still nothing. so what after a couple more years THEN everyone chimes in with the "i told you so's" ? please.

TORO the thing is, if you know you have nothing to worry about, as i do, then grow in peace man. you are the type of grower we need in society, that fearless and cautious type cause what harm is there really by growing your own. its not some thign you do with blinders on, but DAMN you cant go around looking and peeping around every corner!!! you cant order everythign off line cause believe it or not, those neighbors of your are gonna start to wonder why the hell so many boxes are always coming to your house.

for me, i DIY damn near everything, it keeps me safe but its also part of the hobby (love working with my hands) as well, and i would have been doing it that way whether it was MJ or something else in my grow closet.

i have to take everything on here, even grow advice with a grain of salt anyway. there are so many times you hear about people getting busted, but then people forget the other stories where they start off (mighty boastfully i might add) "so my friends and i were smoking in the back yard when. . .. " and it makes you go WTF!

long story short, you can grow indoors, outdoors, you can smoke outside anywhere as long as you use some of candor and repsect with what you do and how you carry yourself. anyone on here can say " sure you go right ahead" but they are not you, so you do what you have to do, and in your way. you are right alot of it is just basic paranoia

 

[ExEcutioner]

OKAY OKAY so i hear all this paranoia/smart/cautious talk about dont this and dont that, but what really works? dont tell me what dosent work, but tell me what does work.

Let me explain,
1. They say dont order online.- fine, makes sense about the credit info, but im not willing to tell anyone i grow. who ever you safe addy is, will have a damn good idea you grow.

Basically, how do you get the equipment without anyone, ANYONE knowing what you do?

from what i read, it looks like borrow a friends car and go to a shop in person and pay in cash, what else am i missing?

 

[FRANKENBLUNT420]

OKAY OKAY so i hear all this paranoia/smart/cautious talk about dont this and dont that, but what really works? dont tell me what dosent work, but tell me what does work.

Let me explain,
1. They say dont order online.- fine, makes sense about the credit info, but im not willing to tell anyone i grow. who ever you safe addy is, will have a damn good idea you grow.

Basically, how do you get the equipment without anyone, ANYONE knowing what you do?

from what i read, it looks like borrow a friends car and go to a shop in person and pay in cash, what else am i missing?

that pretty much sums it up. keep your nose clean, dont give the cops any reason to mes with you as much as possible, pa y in cash, have little to no convo about any thing related to growing with anyone. and rent a car once every couple of months to reup on supplies.

you basically have to live, very much under the "radar" as much as possible, but that should be enough. going the whole cloak and dagger way, looking over your shoulder every minute is what is a dead give away as far as i care. i mean for me, i have a front/back yard i need to take care of, so all things plant related that i buy, i would need to use for where i live, so i buy with cash best i can, but hey if i need to use a credit card then thats fine too!

but if you live in a one bedroom apartment, then you do have to be careful, jsut bring everything in boxes from the car to the spot, and you should be ok as far as suspicion. i mean c'mon, how does that look? a single guy, one bedroom apartment, always having boxes delivered, soil and other supplies going in and not one house plant? always do your own math, cause if you dont someone else will do it for you.

 

[m@rg]

i know every ones situations are different ,my self i wont walk into a certain growell shop,at least 2 cameras catch u walkin/driving to the shop,i know its fairly safe .but if they got robbed the same night Bang the police have the film in there hands .it could happen

ifeel its more safe for me to have a unrelated grow name on my bank statement and have it arrive in discreet packaging