Grow Your Own: Back to Security

So, you've got your equipment from various places. You didn't raise any red flags. You've started growing and your first crop was AWESOME. You even rolled a 2-gram joint of your own homegrown and it had you floored.

Do you think it's over? I hope not.

Security continues to be an issue from odor control to police visits to nosy neighbors to friends with big mouths.

Treat your home in layers like an onion.

The core is the marijuana. The closest thing to the core is YOU. First rule of growing marijuana is to keep your mouth shut. No one needs to know what you're doing. If you have to tell someone, expect to bring them in on the action in some way. A good friend will help you out in more ways than one. You keep him in good weed and he'll be an extra set of eyes, ears, hands, and muscle. But, keep in mind, you can't fully control your friend. If anything happens, it was your own bad judgment that pulled him through so many layers.

The next layer is the home itself. You have to do everything you can to maintain the security of the home. The number one offender is odor. The only person in control of odor is YOU. So, if you feel you need to backup or double-up on your odor control, do it. Spend the extra money if you have it. It's worth it in the long run. Make sure all of your wiring is properly done as well. You don't want any fires to happen.

After the home is everything that can happen outside of the home. Nosy neighbors may bring pesky police. Thieves may find your grow op and you'll never get rid of them once they know. So, you have to approach this problem from all sides.

• Be a good neighbor. Lots of grow ops get popped because neighbors pay attention. Having no neighbors raises a red flag. Someone may come to welcome you to the neighborhood and no answer. Notes left go unanswered. Something's wrong. Good neighbors respond. Go to neighborhood meetings and so on. Keep your lawn and backyard clean. Good neighbors don't raise red flags.
  
  
• Be vigilant. Increase your security against prying eyes - physical and digital. Police will not have a problem trespassing in your home or even sending some civilian in there to find something. Get some security cameras for your property to keep an eye on things. This way if some weird person shows up at your home, you'll know to at least be on alert. Surveillance scares both thieves and police.
  
  
• Never keep anything in your car. I know so many people who keep small pipes in their car or rolling papers. Don't do it. One slip up and that could land you in jail.
  

Know your rights. A lot of marijuana growers get caught by their own activities or words in front of police. Think about your answer, be clear, be precise. Don't give more than what they asked. Remember, "you have the right to remain silent (5th Amendment)" and anything you say "can and will be used AGAINST you in a court of law." In other words, there is nothing you can tell an officer that will help you in a court of law. Police are not there to help anyone. They are there looking for crime. If they have to make it up, they will.

Check out Barry Cooper's Never Get Busted. Barry Cooper is a former Texas interdiction officer that was considered Texas' #1 drug cop. You don't get that distinction by being bad at catching people. Barry Cooper basically saw the error of his way and