Cops Make Major Hibiscus Bust (thinkng it's marijuana)

Fox News ^ | 08/04/2004 | staff

[BJClinton]

Texas cops thought they'd made a major drug bust when they raided a home northwest of Houston last Tuesday. After all, it looked like there were huge marijuana plants growing in the front yard.

"All of a sudden, they burst in with their guns loaded, pointing at me, screaming, 'Get on the floor! Get on the floor!'" northwest Harris County resident Blair Davis told KHOU-TV.

[Free Trapper]

Don't miss B67s link in post #73.

I know about a lot of the plants that are used in different ways but the wood rose was a new one on me.Live and learn.

[stuartcr]

If you wish for something hard enough...it will happen

[BJClinton]

LOL. Y'know, if this happened to me I would immediately head to a shrink and claim to have some trauma/stress thingy from the raid then get the sleaziest lawyer I could find and sue the $#!t out of this LEA. I'm getting a bit worried about the hibiscus growing around our house now...

[Kaslin]

-- snip -

It turned out a concerned citizen had seen the native Texas plant, which has little white flowers and smooth green leaves — marijuana has rough leaves and dense flowering buds — in the yard and tipped off the authorities.

What a moron

[Dog Gone]

Do y'all have any competent cops down there.

Given the sheer number of cops that we have, I'm sure there are a few. But our Keystone Cops reputation is richly deserved.

[Mamzelle]

A hibiscous shrub does not look remotely like a marijuana plant.

OTOH--the annual flower, cleome (also called spider plant), has a leaf very similar.

[BJClinton]

Do y'all have any competent cops down there.

I should be offended by this as a great deal of my family are in various LEAs but they routinely talk about how ignorant most cops are. I don't know if this is true but supposedly there is a maximum intelligence allowed to join in many PDs.

[BJClinton]

Especially when you consider that I have never seen a variety of Hibiscus that looked anything at all like Marijuana.

I will grant the LEOs that from a distance, if the hibiscus is not flowering, it could be mistaken for MJ. But c'mon, once you get up close it is obviosly a different plant altogether.

[Darnright]

At first glance, yes, I think the plants are similar. And, from the street, looking at one of those Texas Stars on a front porch, I would bet money a nosey neighbor or an overzealous rookie cop could very well make a mistake in botanical classification between the 2 plants.

Unless, of course, the Texas Star was covered in those pretty red blooms.

[Sir Gawain]

[BJClinton]

What are (or were) these "radar townships" ?

Small, rural communities with a small tax base that raise revenue by setting ridiculous speed traps to collect fines from travellers pasing through. For instance, dropping the posted speed limit from 70 to 45 as the road goes around a bend so you have only 20-30 feet to slow down by the time you see the new speed limit. Of course there will be a local cop right there with his radar gun to get you. 10-20 tickets a day at $50-$200 a pop is a major cash-cow for small towns.

[green iguana]

I for one am sick and tired of the "authorities" choosing the smash in the door with guns drawn as the first option.

So am I, but I doubt they smashed in the door in this case. As I understand it, that sort of warrant serving is only legal when the police believe that the occupant of the house could get rid of the evidence if they are given a bit of time. As the full sized plants were outside in the front yard, that doesn't seem to apply here.

[Redbob]

According to my wife, hibiscus can be VERY addictive...

[ninenot]

I used the term "radar township"--

There are a number of little postage-stamp towns in the South which derive huge revenues for their municipal budget from speeding fines levied on motorists who are driving to Florida for a vacation. It's an industry, not a safety or enforcement issue.

Same sort of stuff is beginning in the North. Not necessarily speed traps; a number of States now have "not wearing a seat-belt" as a primary motor-vehicle offense, meaning that one can be ticketed if the PO observes that he/she is NOT wearing a seatbelt while driving. Same goes for passengers in a vehicle.

In Wisconsin, one can be ticketed for NOT using one's headlights IF the windshield wipers are being used for rain or snow (!?!?!?) Some States have made using cellphones while driving into a separate moving vehicle offense, and more States are going that direction quickly.

Harassment crap, all invented by the States who want to be Mommies.

[TexanByBirth]

Your point is well taken by me!

The whole situation could have (and should have) been resolved by a trained officer paying a visit to this man. It is not like this man was hiding the plants, they were in his front yard. If the plants turns out to be marijuana, the officer calls for backup and informs the man he is under arrest. If the plant turns out to be hibiscus, the officer just got a valuable botany lesson.

This SWAT mentality is what got 4 DEA agents killed at Waco when a McLennan County Deputy Sheriff could have handled the whole thing away from the Branch Davidian compound.

Bottom line is the governments behind these law enforcement agencies can expect to pay monetarily for these officer's stupidity.

[Atlantic Friend]

You know, this thing you said about Wisconsin reminds me of an anecdote my dad told me, when his was an expat engineer in Gabon. He was once arrested by a local cop, while he was - I precise it was in broad daylight - driving to the dam his team was building.

The cop asks for every kind of official papers : drivers license, green card, official working permit, the works. Accidentally it seems that us Westerners are totally outgunned when it comes to throwing red tape at the commoner. For once, my dad had all the papers, much to the dismay of the cop.

The cop says to him "Ah, boss, I'm not lucky today", and begins to circle around the car. Suddenly the cop joyfully say "Yes, I'm lucky, yes, I'm lucky !". And he fines my dad the equivalent of 5 dollars for not having clean lights - in broad daylight and on a road that was no more than a trail dust !

[Ben Chad]

they should simply legalize marijuana. It's a waste of resources to enforce laws against a narcotic that is not a whole lot more dangerous than alchohol, if at all.

Ditto from a nonconsumer.

[sweetliberty]

"supposedly there is a maximum intelligence allowed to join in many PDs"

I remember seeing a documenary about that several years. I'm not sure if that was everywhere or just in certain PD's. Seemed like a pretty bad idea at the time though. I don't know if it has changed. Apparently not in Houston.

[douglas1]

MY sentiments exactly.

[headsonpikes]

Fanatic-free thread placemarker!

Color me surprised.