Operation Green Merchant - did you have any close calls?

Smoker's Lounge
1

I’m 60 something years old and been around a bit. Things sure have changed …

Back in the day, it was somewhat difficult to get grow supplies, especially if you were using rockwool like I was. The nearest “hydroponics and brew store” was a couple hours away in Chicago, and I think there were only 2 of them at the time.

So it always involved a full day, a a boatload of paranoia. Park as far away from the store as you could and keep an eye out for funny characters. Get in, get out and don’t talk about anything except the weather.

So that’s what it was, in addition to sending cash to Marc Emery in B.C. and hoping you’d get some seeds in a metal washer in the mail, even though you used a fake name and sent cash …

I figure those things caused me to end up on the radar, because one day after I made that trip to Chicago, about 2 hours after I got home - my house had a direct flyover at about 500 feet from a military aircraft. Maybe it was my paranoia, but it seemed too weird to just be a coincidence. To this day I still think they were looking for a heat signature from my grow.

Thankfully it was a small grow, and my mantra back in the day was always “no sell, no tell, no smell” so other than the grow shop or BC Seeds, nobody was ratting on me. That’s why I figure it was Operation Green Merchant because the timing lined up.

We didn’t know what the government was doing, so I probably didn’t get as paranoid as I should’ve been, but nothing ever came of that one (unfortunately i do have other stories, maybe someday …).

Any other old timers with Green Merchant stories they want to share?
And to the young folks who have no idea what I’m talking about, be thankful!

21 Likes
2

I remember going to hydro shops where there was no talking. “Give me a bale of Promix and the botanicare line” and that was it.

I had a helicopter hover 100’ above me while I was digging holes for outdoor (nothing illegal on me at the time.) I was on a bicycle and booked it and narrowly avoided two squad cars coming to get me.

Not to mention running from cops because I had a couple joints in my smoke pack.

The kids today will never understand.

I miss being an outlaw.

23 Likes
3

I was growing in the back yard, it was urban area. There had been a murder and they chased the guy through the back yard… I had about two dozen plants flowering about 6 foot tall. The cops ran through the grow, then after they caught the guy they said we need to watch you chop, or you going in with us. Another time they drove by and scanned the house for heat. They demanded to see inside and I just showed them medical papers and they backed down. Another time I was at college smoking tough had a lb in my bag and some pieces. Well they got called to the house for the stench, and the owner opened the door to them blazed as all hell. They proceeded to come in and search the place for who knows why, they I guess made up probable cause. Ne ways found my bag and said, how did your friend get baked, she has nothing she claims. I says maybe she stole a bit. She said she did. Then I said awe man. Your my friend so I won’t press charges. Being a med patient and providing her with any were grounds for losing it. Also nothing any of those times happened. No ticket nothing. One time I got a mip in college, I was wearing tight pants, and a bag was sticking out. Only a dub. Then they asked why I had the scale. I told them it was to make sure my bags weighed when I got them. Worked. Still got the minor in possession in the dorm room that day.

8 Likes
4

I was on my motorcycle and got stopped at 2am. I had my wallet on top of a big bag of hash and had to very carefully pull out the wallet without the hash falling on the ground.

I was leaving a girls’ house. They thought I was stealing the bike.

4 Likes
5

Got lucky huh…how big of a bag??? And was it bubble??? :yum: I’m going to the gas station for some ice now.

5 Likes
6

Maybe 7 grams. Enough to be trouble anyway. No it wasn’t bubble it was commercial but surprisingly the commercial we got back then was actually pretty good we just had nothing to compare it too.

7 Likes
7

Right on. Definitely fixing to make some apple fritter bubble today…7 gs, they wouldn’t have liked that…lol

6 Likes
8

Smoking as kids from a coke can pipe. You know the kind. Well officer asshole rolls up and sees some youth out in a neighborhood after dark (wasn’t even late, maybe 7:45pm?) and decides to exercise his right to be an asshole. I’m holding the coke can we’ve been smoking from, so I turn the bowl part towards my chest and start pretending to sip from it, holding my thumb over the bowl and first finger over the carb to try and keep the smell in. He asks what we’re doing and I tell him “well, we were having a nice walk” which he didn’t like. Informs us there’s “always a smart ass in the group.” Tells me to step to the back of the car for a search. So I casually as possible hand the can to my friend and go to the rear of his squad car. Tells me to put my hands on the car then tells me to “spread em” like he was a little too eager to feel up a teenager. So naturally, i jut my hips out and I start wiggling my hips and ass at him as he gives me the pat down. I’m from a part of the country where even still, gay people are seen as “abominations unto the lord” and this fella reeked of the type of prejudice you inherit from a childhood filled with slurs and hate slung by adults ill-prepared to rear kids. I couldn’t resist pushing his buttons, and he couldn’t get his hands off me fast enough. He told us to go home, so we finished our walk and didn’t go home. Friend had an ounce in her pocket, other friend had the coke can pipe, pretending to sip with a pinky up :joy:

12 Likes
9

I wish I could contribute, awesome thread. Thank y’all for sharing your stories.

1 Like
10

Love it :grin:.

Sharin a puff with a buddy leaning up against my 71 charger back mid 80’s just before heading into the lounge. Ladies have already gone inside to get a seat.
Local fellas drive past and see us.
I said to my buddy “ you know they’re coming back right “ still smoking the j.
Passed to him and hear behind me the boots coming across the parking lot.
He’s facing the cop and still pulling on the j with a half smirk on his face as the cop gets closer.
It was down to just the paper so he takes the big inhale as the cop reaches my shoulder and it’s gone.
Cop tried hard to keep him from swallowing but too late.
Good thing it was the only one we had on us :grin:
Damn they were pissed when they left empty handed. :joy:
Good times.

Stay lit folks.
Great stories.
:v:

12 Likes
11

You honestly don’t realize how lucky you are that you can’t!
Everyone who can has some form of ptsd from these times.

6 Likes
12

Maybe that’s why we smoke so much now. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

6 Likes
13

my younger brothers got busted at the beach years ago the cops came up on them and they rolled up the windows one cop asked if he could have the bong my bro took a rip and said ummmmm nope as he blew the smoke into the cops face well they searched thentruck and found a film case witha lil bit of hash in it but they didnt get the brick stashed under the seat up in the springs theyhauled them to the station processd them and then took them back to the truck he was shittin himself wondering if they found the brick under the seat and they didnt

5 Likes
14

That’s awesome. And some nice luck. Dang pigs

4 Likes
15

Well, this one might bring a smile.
It was back in about 1972 and Me and a friend had just been told about magic mushrooms and shown how to find and collect them; it was great fun. After some months, I was going to visit some friends in another state and thought it would be cool to bring them some mushrooms, so I went out and filled a grocery bag and headed off to visit. Arriving, I thought to gather some folks and have a party since I had enough for 10-12 people. I dropped the bag off at one friend’s place and met up with a buddy who was quite notorious in the town where we happened to be and as luck would have it we were spotted by the local cops, who recognizzed my buddy and decided that we must be up to no good by riding around town at 4-5 p.m. (this is getting rather long so if you get bored, sorry!) Anyhow, as we were being questioned/ hassled I slipped the bag of pot i had with me into my shoe thinking they wanted my buddy so I would be safe. Well, some civic minded bystander saw me bending over and told the cops I was hiding something under the seat. Well, that meant a full search of the vehicle, but luckily not me as they did not find the bag. They did, however, decided to take us in and throw us in the drunk tank for good measure and to teach us to not ride around town in the late afternoon, I guess. Anyway, the cop says “put your shoes and belt over there and get in the cell.” I very carefully tossed my shoes and for once the universe cooperated and the tongue fell perfectly over the bag. Whew! The next morning they gave us our phone call and moved us in with the regular inmates. I had to get my shoes and I just knew they were waiting to see who the bag belonged to, but nope. I took my shoes and pot and went in the cell to join the rest of the good folks. I asked my buddy what he thought I should do with it and he said “lemme ask the man”. The Man being the biggest badass in the place. They said he was going on trial for murder, so yeah, badass, however he wanted to try smoking pot, which he had never done, so I started rolling and my buddy lit and passed them on. That was on a Sunday morning when the inmates were allowed to take a walk under guard, across the way to the nearest church, but today, for some reason nobody wanted to go to church. We had a grand old time in there that Sunday morning, smoking, drumming and one guy was an expert at playing the spoons, so we made the best of it. I made bail around noon but left the remains of my bag for my new friends. Still don’t know why the cops didn’t bust us all for smoking in jail.

7 Likes
16

Guess not many around from the Green Merchant days? No surprise I suppose.

As far as crap your pants cop moments, here’s another of mine …

Back in the day I wore a suit to work and carried a briefcase. Weird, I know. Anyway, one night some jerks broke into my car in my driveway and stole my briefcase. In addition to my work stuff, my briefcase also contained my one hitter with a recently filled up dugout. That’s what I was most bummed about losing.

So the next day I get a call from the cops while I was at work. They found my briefcase, identified me from my business card inside, and wanted me to come down to the station to reclaim it (large city police dept)

HOLY crap, I was scared to death. Were they setting me up? Was I walking into a trap? Well, I didn’t really have an option. They knew who I was and where I worked. I knew I could always rightfully claim that the briefcase wasn’t in my possession the whole time, but I really didn’t want to have that discussion with the cops in the police station with me wearing my suit, etc. But, I just sucked it up, swallowed hard and went to pickup my briefcase (which had been ripped open by the thieves, it was locked.)

Cops handed me my briefcase, said “sorry, that sucks, take your briefcase inside at night.” I said thanks, and quietly slipped out. I was too afraid to look inside it when I got to the parking lot, but by the time I got back to work I had gained enough courage.

My one hitter and freshly filled dugout were returned to me intact, thanks to the stupidity of some thieves and the kindness of the local PD.

5 Likes
17

Yea I had few close calls at hydro shops, I must say it was a strange, uneasy environment back then… I went to a new hydro store in Tampa fl , the guy behind the counter was a cool a dude. But didn’t understand or didnt care about the microscope he was under. Or it could have actually been a sting operation. He tried to talk to me about weed and I just brushed him off. You NEVER talked about that sort of Subject in the stores. About week later he was busted and shut down.

Went to a hydro store in Jacksonville FL about a month or 2 later, bought a bale of promix and notes and has bulb, loaded the stuff up in my car and just as I was getting in I seen 5-0 cruising up the street, I pulled out of there and he got in behind me and followed for a while… thought for sure there was going to be a welcoming party for me at my house. Nothing did happen, but on the news about a week later they had busted about 6 grow operations from hydro store stings in the Jacksonville area… that was a damn close one

2 Likes
18

As a pure hydro grower, back then I usually found it more comfortable to buy stuff from saltwater aquarium stores. MH lights, T5’s, all the ph and water testing equipment you needed was available there without the “stinkeye” associated with the brew and grow stores.

Unfortunately, that also led my down the financial sinkhole known as reef aquarium keeping. But I learned a lot about water chemistry!

6 Likes
19

Yea I get led down that same path , aquarium fun. I did try to use regular nurseries

2 Likes
20

lol got stopped one night pulled out of the parking lot without my headlights on my car was known in town so local dick pulled me over he said why arent your headlights on i explained i had just left the parking lot after using the phone booth to call me bookie and dealer :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:god i loved fuking withe the locals its was a small town he asked for my registration so in to the glove box i went when what do you know a baggie fell out he couldnt get over to that side of the car fast enuf but it was a baggie full of rubber bands…lol apparently he isnt smart enuf to know i NEVER EVER carried…lol

another night i got pulled for a bald tire how he saw it was bald is beyond me but anyway id been at a friends smoking and snortin no alchohol tho come to find out my liscence was suspended so on go the cuffs and into the back of the cruiser he went to search my van and while he was doing this i remembered i had a nice bud and a 1/4 g or so in an empty marlboro pack along with a taped up dollar bill and a single edged razor blade i was like ohhhh shit…im so f%$#ed when we get to the station but and i dont know how i was able to get in the bottom of my coat pocket and get the blow to my mouth wrapper and all chewed it up the bud i shoved down into the seat and off to the station we go any ways he searched me and found the cig pack with the dollar and razor and asked when i was doing with that i said well wayne…we were on a first name basis lol its like this you get to drinkin and roll up and tape a dollar bill lol i thought he was going to strip search me he did however make me take a breath test i passed cause i hadnt been drinking so there was a bond feee of $15 that i didnt have so i called my friend id been partyin with to bring me some cash she came and proceded to take me home as we started up the hill away from the station i told her to stop so i could get my weed back :rofl: :rofl:i walked back down the hill and retrieved my pot it was way to good for him to find and smoke local cops are such dipshits sometime geeez i have many more edventures withe the local constabulatory whe i was younger

2 Likes