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

[asher1er]

the court papers said the investigation started buy a hydro store stake out. see soon as the bust a few grows the link them to the hydro store. If you go in and buy 5 gallon buckets full the will follow you all day long. in Florida in one county the had 47 houses raided and only 9 had plants in them. The cops and dea just left and said sorry with know one being arrested. The have raided houses with less of a reason than going to a known "drug dealer" hang out like a hydro store.

who said only 9 had plants? the larger percentage came from dade...

like stated above, most customers at hydro stores are growing mj, the other small percentage are not and down here you can't go by long hairs or not as most of the times the one running the op will send a female with a list of supplies to the store..

 

[jipedestran]

i would suggest that going into a hydro store anywhere in the United States can be a risk. Not everywhere, not all the time, but anytime and anywhere.

I would also say that ordering from the internet is a very good idea. There are countless suppliers of lighting equipment, countless suppliers of gardening equipment. Don't order everything from one source, and of course you need a safe address.

Many people in the states cultivate orchids. My wife included. We have orchids all over our house. Read any orchid book and they will tell you how to set up HPS or MH lighting.

Be safe folks.

peace
jip

 

[ExEcutioner]

Thats a thought, I just need to get a safe addy without breaking rule #1.

Me ordering the grow equip. online is "safe" as long as im growing my own legal plants.
But i just need to do it without the truck drivers snitching on me and writing down names.

Damn that sucks cause i had a really cool UPS driver bout 5-10 years ago that we knew forever, but he transfered to another location.

Then i guess my question now is how to figure out how to get equip without breaking rule #1 and without drawing attention to myself ordering online.

I wonder how the other guys with the big grows do it. I guess they just have grow buddies they trust?

 

[ExEcutioner]

I don't know how you'd go about that, as I'm not from the States, but have a read in the Med Forum and google it, and I'm sure you'll find out all the details soon.

If you drive to the growshop and stock up in your own car that's registered to the grow addy too, then you're taking a very big risk in the US I'd say.

Much less so in the UK, as there's no stalking growshops that I've ever heard of.

What happens is the police come in when they first open, have a look around and then leave them to it.

Even Vietnamese growers who go back every day for another large van full of soil don't get busted by any police stake outs.

Thanks Bulldog, I took a quick glance at the med forum. I think what I need is in there.

 

[gaiusmarius]

what can work is renting a van/car from one of those huge car lots selling second hand old bangers. with a bit of luck you find a cardbord scribled sign saying rent this. this guy might give you the keys without taking any info, as long as you leave a nice deposit. this might require a bit of searching but it has worked and is well worth it once you find such a guy.

or you rent a small lockup and drive the stuff there. and leave it a few days or weeks before you pick it up. as long as its not in use for growing cannabis, those products are legal.

but in the end i agree with keeping your eyes wide open, if and when you do get grow supplies. mostly leo are pretty obvious in these situations. also never forget the rippers, as even if the cops don't follow you yet in europe from the grow store, rippers most certainly do. so you best always take a long route, stopping for coffee and many false turns, keep an eye out for cars following you into the same gas station twice lol.

basically just be smart about it and never say a word about canabis to the supplyer. finding a supplyer out in the country can help with noticing if you are followed. pay cash!

 

[hamstring]

I am surprised no one has mentioned calling a cab or van cab there are many different types. You can have them pick you up at the local pub or large public parking lot (make sure it is full) or even one of those pay type pots would be ok but check for security cameras first.

You could either call ahead to get the stuff ready or pay extra to have the taxi wait on you. Put all the equipment into the taxi and have him drop you off somewhere that the equipment can sit for ten minutes until you can get your vehicle to load up supplies. My thoughts are a large multi-level parking lot that way the taxi driver has no idea, which car is yours and you can watch for other vehicles very easily.

This should work just make some practice runs with your own car and see where you may have missed some problematic steps. Doing a practice run is vital because visualizing everything does not allow for what comes up in the real world.

 

[asher1er]

some of these things posted are a ton of work n highly doubtful anyone would go through the mission, specially the cab idea.. rent a uhual van from anywhere thats about 20 mins or so from the city your store is at, get a tag from a friend of a friend of a friend switch the tags out and go load up, dont go back to that friends house, dont go back to your house and def dont go back to the grow...Plan to do some other things in the area ie: eat lunch, stop somewhere for a couple drinks, get a hair cut etc..


the best one is if you have a buddy who works at a car dealer ship, have him get you a paper tag and slap it on a borrowed vehicle or rental

 

[hamstring]

Asher1er

I am not sure about you but as an outdoor grower if all I had to was get a cab to get my grow supplies to my grow location that would be so easy. Try lugging in supplies over a mile into a location at midnight or 4:00 am. Try digging 60+ holes and carrying hundred gallons of water each year.

Many outdoor growers go through 100 times more diffcult security driven techniques than flagging a cab down. I wish that was the most difficult thing I had to do.

I believe the secret to success is taking the extra step although I have broken the rule many times but the longer I maintain this hobby the more I understand security is job one. You can always grow another plant but not from inside a jail cell.



PEACE

 

[asher1er]

Asher1er

I am not sure about you but as an outdoor grower if all I had to was get a cab to get my grow supplies to my grow location that would be so easy. Try lugging in supplies over a mile into a location at midnight or 4:00 am. Try digging 60+ holes and carrying hundred gallons of water each year.

Many outdoor growers go through 100 times more diffcult security driven techniques than flagging a cab down. I wish that was the most difficult thing I had to do.

I believe the secret to success is taking the extra step although I have broken the rule many times but the longer I maintain this hobby the more I understand security is job one. You can always grow another plant but not from inside a jail cell.



PEACE

guess you guys have some friendly cab drivers that wont mind you loading bales of soil in there car/van and shovels and all sorts of tools..i work indoors and i wouldnt take my chance with any cab driver down here specially if i had to load up 40 buckets, boxes of food, and lights n such. They will either tip you off or they'll be the same ones coming back and robbing you.. i'll stick to my paper tags and rentals

 

[hamstring]

guess you guys have some friendly cab drivers that wont mind you loading bales of soil in there car/van and shovels and all sorts of tools..i work indoors and i wouldnt take my chance with any cab driver down here specially if i had to load up 40 buckets, boxes of food, and lights n such. They will either tip you off or they'll be the same ones coming back and robbing you.. i'll stick to my paper tags and rentals

I never met a cabby that gave a shit about what you put into his cab especially because all the above mentioned are legal. Not sure why you would be buying shovels and buckets from a grow shop. I thought the idea was supplies not easily obtainable from the big box stores. My understanding was indoor growing equipment but either way its all the same.

To each his own but trusting the cabby was not on my agenda. I said to have him drop you off somewhere not right at you vehicle. It seams like a very plausible alternative to throw out there.
PEACE

 

[chitownpears]

just be careful. try not to go in your own car. and DON'T drive STRAIGHT home afterwards. if the cops aren't watching then someone waiting to rob you is! someone mentioned it before in the thread - "better to be safe and free than careless and in jail (or robbed and killed).

 

[Macster2]

Why does everyone say "the cops will follow you home". The cops don't have to follow you home, all they need to do is run your plate

 

[dontstepongrass]

well if you are retarded enough to gather grow equipment in a vehicle registered to your grow address you are well.... FUCKING RETARDED!

anyhoo, retards aside, im hearing an awful lot about peeps buying equipment through dea informants. i'm assuming these are ebay companies and hydro store employees. (who else would be in position to be an informant. i dont see ads in the classifieds sellings HPS's.)

when i go to store i use car not registered to grow location (firstly, because nothing to do with me is registered there DUH!) then i scope out surrounding lots with my binocs then i go into store. while there i pay only cash and never give anyone my name. they know me by face. when i leave i watch for tails. also, this is a BIGGIE. NEVER drive straight to grow location after leaving store. are people really that dumb? i go run errands all over town before returning and unloading my car by the cover of night.

this is my procedure. i dont feel i left anything out but if my system is lacking lets hear some criticism

 

[JJScorpio]

I borrow a friends truck when I need supplies. He doesn't grow, smoke nor does he know I grow.

I also drive over 50 miles to the hydro store. If you can't tell your being followed after 50 miles, somethings wrong, lol....

 

[ureapwhatusow]

i go to stores that sell general hydro supplies, there are (in very high population density areas) many people with indoor gardens.

One store in particular has more ssquare footage dedicated to specialty indoor plants than goods (has everything you could need except for products marketed specificaly for cannabis such as AN nutes)

 

[bighogg]

well after more years than i care to mention, i've been going to the same hydro stores in my car for a very long time.

so i guess i'm retarded.

OR i just don't give a fuck anymore. cause for years i definitely DID get someone else's car, park down the street, looked for sketchy people and cops and took routes home that would take 4 times as long. it's just that took SO much time...plus i became friends with all the owners of grow stores and so i felt comfortable that if i needed to know something, they would tell me.

if you are growing for your own personal stash and you don't live in a nazi state like TX or IN or (fill in the blank) i personally would just go to the store. if you are paranoid or whatever then have your buddy who doesn't grow and smoke should take you.

if you are growing more than for than just yourself then yeah, you should just prolly borrow, rent, or cab to the store.

me personally though, i just try and limit my visits (this is harder than it sounds 'cause it's sorta my toy store) and use some common sense. i got a lot to lose, sure, but if you can't take the fuckin' heat then get out of the kitchen.

some of the posts here are ridiculous. getting busted 'cause you used your buddies car,-- oh please. there were prolly 15 different reasons you were singled out. none of which had anything to do with a properly acquired vehicle.

 

[_Dude]

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?

Buy as much of your equipment as possible from stores that have no obvious connection to growing. Avoid stores with "hydro" in the name. Be careful where you ship. Use money orders whenever possible.

You can get 99% of your stuff from non-grow stores. The only things you have to buy from grow stores that I can think of are nutes, certain mediums like expanded clay, etc. And light hoods if you can't find them used. Everything else can come from non-grow stores (home depot, lighting wholesalers, grainger, etc.).

 

[_Dude]

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

I've seen a couple of your posts now on this subject. I agree, the USA is draconian over pot, but your generalizations like "nazi state" (in another thread) are a bit much coming from a Brit.

Over there you get thrown in the dock for not eating Halal. One of the most PC nazi states on earth.

 

[Prof Sublime]

i go to stores that sell general hydro supplies, there are (in very high population density areas) many people with indoor gardens.

One store in particular has more ssquare footage dedicated to specialty indoor plants than goods (has everything you could need except for products marketed specificaly for cannabis such as AN nutes)

Sounds soo much like the closest store to me.


After reading this thread though Im going to be alot more careful.

 

[newbgrow]

I'm not going to criticize anyone being paranoid, but one post here said most shoppers at hydro shops are growing MJ and I would just flat out disagree with that statement. There are plenty of hobbyists growing all kinds of vegetables or ornamentals; there's an entire industry of agriculture that depends on hydro and/or plant nutrients and equipment from those hydro shops. To think they would have cops lying in the outskirts of the parking lot following all the customers home is a bit of a stretch. If the cops ran your license plate and have a reason to follow you home, then you should have other precautions you need to worry about.

But again, it all depends on the size and the scale of your operation. If you're doing commercial, you have the right to be paranoid.