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The MONTHLY Victory Garden Thread is a gathering of folks that love soil, seeds and plants of all kinds. From complete newbies that are looking to start that first potted plant, to gardeners with some acreage, to Master Gardener level and beyond, we would love to hear from you. If you have specific question about a plant/problem you are having, please remember to state the Growing Zone where you are located. This thread is a non-political respite. No matter what, you won’t be flamed, and the only dumb question is the one that isn’t asked. It is impossible to hijack...

Take a look at the picture at the start of this article. The one on the left is good ol' cannabis, the plant we know and love. The one on the right is kenaf hibiscus, a plant which is not marijuana. Could you tell the difference? Well, a Nationwide Insurance agent couldn't - or didn't want to. What followed was an arrest and a lawsuit. On Oct. 5, the agent spotted the hibiscus plants while investigating a fallen tree on the property of Buffalo Township, PA couple Edward and Audrey Cramer. He then told police they had marijuana on their...

A Buffalo Township couple is suing the township police and the Nationwide Insurance Co. after, their lawsuit says, hibiscus plants growing in their backyard were mistaken for marijuana plants. In a lawsuit, Edward Cramer, 69, and his wife, Audrey Cramer, 66, claim that Buffalo Township police handcuffed them both and made them sit in the back of a police car for hours last month as police ransacked their house looking for marijuana. But rather than running a pot-growing operation, the Cramers say they grow flowering hibiscus in their backyard. The Cramers were not charged. They filed a civil lawsuit Thursday...

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.