The old joke had it that California was the land of fruits and nuts.
The Left Coast.
But what in the world is going on there now?
I am watching an NBC documentary about the marijuana industry in CA.
We in PAWG might fly 800+ hours per year on CD. And it makes a difference, which you can see, in deterring pot farms.
The PA State Police, the PA National Guard, and the DEA do a lot of work with us in finding and eliminating pot growing.
1. Does CAWG fly CN at all?
2. If so, does the state police or the DEA do anything about it, about finds?
???
The DEA representative on the NBC documentary is saying they can not do anything about it, because it has become a drug based economy.
:o
^ Just an example of how self determination and control was taken away from States. Fed might say no, but Cali says yes. What are we to do? I vote on everyone moving to California. PLUS, PAWG is full of snow and cold and old people. California is full of awesome, sun and pot. Where would you rather live? Cold or Sun??
CD is going to be one of those programs that eventually will be eliminated when marijuana is legalized nationally for tax revenue.
I would imagine when a find happens on a CD mission in CAWG, CAP first calls out the Hippies to "eradicate" the drugs.
There are now 15 state which allow the "plant" to be used for medicinal purposes (by prescription). The DEA has decided not to pursue "violators" in these states. So, it could be argued that the writing is now on the walls; it looks like total decriminalization of MJ will be a reality in the not to distant future (what is that haze.....) >:D
Quote from: DG on February 04, 2010, 01:34:29 AM
The old joke had it that California was the land of fruits and nuts.
The Left Coast.
But what in the world is going on there now?
I am watching an NBC documentary about the marijuana industry in CA.
We in PAWG might fly 800+ hours per year on CD. And it makes a difference, which you can see, in deterring pot farms.
The PA State Police, the PA National Guard, and the DEA do a lot of work with us in finding and eliminating pot growing.
1. Does CAWG fly CN at all?
2. If so, does the state police or the DEA do anything about it, about finds?
???
The DEA representative on the NBC documentary is saying they can not do anything about it, because it has become a drug based economy.
:o
Yes California does fly CN missions. You might contacting FlyingPig for more info. He flies them.
Once it becomes taxable, you will see even more CD missions as "illegal" plots are searched out and taxed.
Greetings!!!!
Yes, we fly CD. And yes, where I am, the Sheriff and the DEA do enforce marijuana laws. There are counties in CA that do not enforce marijuana laws, except for trafficking etc. Mendocino County is one such county. In my day job I spend a lot of time looking for it certain time of the year. The other times we are more concerned about Meth. CAWG actually has the largest CD program in CAP. Bosshawk has the numbers, but its a couple thousand hours per year I believe. I know we fly a whole lot more than 800 hrs per year. I think I have about 75hrs flying CD myself in '09 alone. Im not sure who the DEA rep was on TV but he hasnt talked to the DEA guys I work with in CA.
While I am no longer the CDO for CAWG, I can say that we typically fly between 1900 and 2300 hours of CD per year. CAWG participated in spotting missions last year that resulted in around 4.5 million plants being eradicated. We usually have around 350 to 400 of our members screened for the CD program. Beyond that, you will have to demonstrate being officially cleared into the CD program and PM me: I may or may not be able to answer your questions. BTW: CAWG has 26 or 27 assigned corporate aircraft.
Quote from: bosshawk on February 04, 2010, 07:26:03 AM
While I am no longer the CDO for CAWG, I can say that we typically fly between 1900 and 2300 hours of CD per year. CAWG participated in spotting missions last year that resulted in around 4.5 million plants being eradicated. We usually have around 350 to 400 of our members screened for the CD program. Beyond that, you will have to demonstrate being officially cleared into the CD program and PM me: I may or may not be able to answer your questions. BTW: CAWG has 26 or 27 assigned corporate aircraft.
How is that Mendocino County pot growers can operate with impunity?
Sounds like a lawless foreign country.
Liberals
Mendocino County growers do not operate with impunity, despite what seems to be the case. I happen to know those LE guys and they have so much dope and so few deputies that they are selective about which grows they harvest. I also happen to know that the DEA raids in Mendocino on a regular basis. I saw that TV show and: (1)it is several years old and (2) it is a typical TV spectacular: it has some basis in fact and a lot of hype. I happen to know several of the LE guys who are depicted in that show.
If you are genuinely interested, call the Mendocino Sheriff's Office and get the straight scoop. Otherwise, it is just guessing as to what is the truth and makes good posting on CT.
Just for your information, CA harvested somewhere in the vicinity of 9 million plants last year and that barely scratched the surface.
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/general/view/20100301drug_gangs_taking_over_public_lands/srvc=news&position=also this seems relevant to the thread.
Mike: good article. You won't get any denials from me. I live within eyesight of Yosemite National Park.
HA...the Lt. in that photo looks pretty darn familiar!
Yes, he should.
It is interesting to me that California has effectively legalized medical marijuana, which is a direct slap in the face of the Federal Government. My copy of the constitution must be missing the part about the Federal Government controlling drug use in the states, although they have a fair argument for controlling interstate commerce of drugs. California borders Mexico, and Uncle Sam does have a constitutional duty to defend our borders, a duty which they for the most part, choose to ignore, and focus on more important things, like regulating antitrust laws pertaining to baseball.....
Montana is going a step further, rejecting the authority of the US Government to license and control gun sales. Montana says that if they make the guns there ( including suppressors, or "silencers" for the non-gun people) and the guns stay within the State, Uncle Sam has no authority to interfere.
The Federal Government is as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs right now. A case is before the supreme court that will determine if the bill of rights applies to the States, or just the federal government. Chicago is actually taking the position that the 2nd Amendment, and the 14th Amendment do not not apply to the State of Illinois!
Other States are challenging the Federal Governments' unfunded mandates imposed on them in violation of the 10th Amendment.
These and other factors could put a sharp stick in the eye of CD op's.
Major Lord
An interesting by-product of CA's lax marijuana prosecution reputation, and probably eventual legalization of marijuana is the burden it puts on other states who choose to keep it illegal. AZ, NV and OR for example, will be trying to clean up our mess when those state residents come into CA, buy it legally and then take it back home.
I can hardly wait for some California Hippy visiting Arizona to get scooped up by Sheriff Joe, put in a tent city surrounded by barber wire, given pink underwear, and fed baloney sandwiches on day-old bread! Maybe there is a God........
Major Lord
:clap:
Our Sheriff ran on the platform that she was going to change CA law and build tent jails here. 4 yrs later, I see no tents. Our county Sheriff has a $101,000,000.00 (I like writing it out) budget, with the jail taking $80,000,000.00. Is there something wrong with that? Actual crime fighting gets the rest. Now keep in mind that also pays for the jail staff, but still.
I like the idea that has been promoted of paying Mexico to house our illegal alien prisoners. They don't have a California Prisoners Bill of rights there, and no prison guard unions. Sheriff Joe has to carry his gonads around in a wheel barrel, and I am pretty sure we don't have a Sheriff in California with 1/10th his guts! He is my hero!
Major Lord
Quote from: Flying Pig on March 04, 2010, 06:35:20 PMOur Sheriff ran on the platform that she was going to change CA law and build tent jails here. 4 yrs later, I see no tents. Our county Sheriff has a $101,000,000.00 (I like writing it out) budget, with the jail taking $80,000,000.00. Is there something wrong with that? Actual crime fighting gets the rest. Now keep in mind that also pays for the jail staff, but still.
Not sure about California, but in Michigan the only thing a Sheriff is required to do is maintain a jail. That is the primary purpose for our Sheriffs. Everything else is extra duty.
CA is much different. In CA the Sheriff is responsible for the Jail, Court Security, SAR and is also required to provide patrol/LE services to the county areas not incorporated by a city municipality. If a city decides they can no longer afford their own PD, the Sheriff is mandated to patrol the city. Now, of course, they are also required to compensate the Sheriff for services, otherwise they risk losing their status as an incorporated city. Some of the benefits are, a small city of 10 officers doesnt have many resources. However, contracting with the Sheriff for a cost less than those 10 officers, you will get enough deputies dedicated to patrol your city effectively. You will get all of the other deputies who are patrolling the county who can respond if it goes to crap. You also get detectives, crime scene techs, helicopters, SWAT, K9s, EOD, traffic cops, etc. And in addition all the liability falls on the Sheriff. Not the city. So for small cities, it makes sense. And even for big cities, they get the full force for nowhere near what it would cost to manage their own PDs.
The City of Fresno cant just wake up tomorrow and decide to close down its PD and have 2 deputies handle it for free. Riverside County Sheriff in CA is like that. Many of the large cities in Riverside County such as Moreno Valley, Temecula, Palm Desert, etc. are full blown cities, but they chose to pay a fee to the Sheriff instead of paying for a PD. In turn, the deputies drive around in patrol cars that have the city logo on it, and wear a patch that says "Moreno Valley Police" but the badge still says Deputy Sheriff. When I worked for them, it was always funny to be a deputy, and hear people say they always wanted to work for Moreno Valley Police because the Sheriff's Department sucked. Or they would say "Im applying to the Moreno Valley Police Department as soon as Im 21."
In many States the State Police handle that stuff. In CA the CHP is responsible for the vehicle code and "assisting the motoring public". They are 100% sworn cops, and sometimes, in very rural areas, they may have an agreement with the Sheriff to assist or handle patrol calls, ie. 911's, domestics, etc. But you will hardly ever see that except for in rare occasions. You wont see a CHP officer handling a murder, child molest or a check forgery.
WHen I was teaching SWAT Courses I was always interested in traveling around the country and seeing how states do things differently. Out in CA, we have a couple counties, one is San Francisco County Sheriff, that all they do is courts and jails. The only "county" property is the buildings.
By the way, Ill take responsibility for taking this thread completely off topic! >:D
Flying Pig is absolutely correct. Sheriff's deputies in California perform the full range of law enforcement activities pursuant to California Penal Code Section 830.1. This is very different than many other areas of the country. Probably the best known full-service California sheriff's department is the LASD, which has one of the largest departments serving the greatest number of both incorporated cities and unincorporated areas. My California LE days go even further back than Air Hog - I remember when there was a California State Police AND a California Highway Patrol! I was in the Navy at the Amphib Base in Coronado when I went through the San Diego Police Reserve Academy and became a Coronado Reserve Officer, then moved to San Diego PD and eventually became a regular before I crossed to the dark side and joined the feds. Law school followed, federal prosecutor, now a chief judge. But I always remember the days of riding patrol in Southeast San Diego, and hanging out in PB during the day working on a tan and scoping out the talent. Ah, for the days of my misspent youth!
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department is on the same model that Flying Pig describes -- i.e. jail, court security, coroner, process serving, crime lab, detectives, SED, Bomb squad, aerosquadron, Search and Rescue, Horse Posse, etc. as well as patrol in the unincorporated areas. The department has a narcotics division (with one canine trained in drug detection). And there is a County-wide Task Force comprised of officers from several LE agencies. There are six city police departments within the county. Much of the marijuana growth takes place in rural areas and land bordering on or within the Las Padres National Forest -- so there is a good deal of cooperation there.
Illinois is similar to CA in this respect, at least in most of the major counties - "Cook" being the big boy on the block. Chicago obviously
has their own PD, but some surrounding suburbs use the Sheriff for patrol. In Cook, the major use for them is the jail(s), of course.
I'm not aware of any larger cities that use the a Sheriff instead of their own police, but there's plenty of unincorporated burbs around here
that do.
Quote from: Eclipse on April 22, 2010, 04:01:52 AM
Illinois is similar to CA in this respect, at least in most of the major counties - "Cook" being the big boy on the block. Chicago obviously
has their own PD, but some surrounding suburbs use the Sheriff for patrol. In Cook, the major use for them is the jail(s), of course.
I'm not aware of any larger cities that use the a Sheriff instead of their own police, but there's plenty of unincorporated burbs around here
that do.
Here, Indianapolis and Marion county merged their departments into a metro department.