It is a little misleading. It's really a combination of some or all of those. It seems to be happening a lot near me, except for the murders (so far). Drug dealers from the big city recruit people to 'grow' for them in rural areas, we were told in the police report, generally teen potsmokers, who lately happen to be punk or goth or both, and as so many teens are, computer savvy. Our local police have busted a huge pot ring of local teens and non-local dealers who were scheming to grow (gathering supplies) and to fund this venture, they used identity and credit card theft. And a few smaller groups as well. And it's not just pot anymore, but heroine, too. It's happening all over the rural area where I am in the small towns, a couple hours drive from the 'cities'. The son of acquaintances of mine is serving time now, awaiting trial, for identity theft, computer fraud, drug posession. It's not his first arrest. And the family is well to do and are involved in their kids lives - or were.
Fortunecookie, I have to disagree with what you said in your post. It's not that I'm accusing you of mis-truths, I'm sure you're only repeating what you've been told. In my real life, I've been involved in combating this type of enterprise for years, most kids who smoke pot give the habit up after a few years, particularly once they get into carreers paths and whatnot. Most normal kids would avoid getting involved in any type of situation you mention, the risks are far too high, both legally and personally. This leaves the outsiders who really have nothing to lose. Coming from a family that is well to do and involved in their kids lives is not a guarantee that a young person won't get into trouble, on the contrary, when these kids do break the law, it is usually indicative of something far more serious going on within the family unit. Also, heroin is extremely, extremely difficult to cultivatel in North American climates, nor does it do well in a greenhous stting.