Anthem Nail Salon Front for Money Laundering. Largest Pot Bust in Phoenix History (2014, crime)

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

No, you didn't.

You said there were no "mature plants" in the video. I was just pointing out that there WERE. Good to know you are an expert in appraising such things and can tell from a 13 second clip exactly the worth of the plants. I am smart enough to assume that video didn't show EVERY single plant or piece of equipment that was seized. Do show everything could/would compromise the investigation and trail.

Um - not a pothead, but some things are kinda obvious - no bud= no value. 6" plants, no value.

Over the past 30 years, the public has become desensitized to "cop math" - and it's a bit infuriating.

Marijuana plants aren't worth $50,000 each. and a roomful of sprouts isn't noteworthy.

Sheriff Joe has no business "investigating" marijuana rings.

It's about priorities -Marijuana isn't particularly dangerous or harmful.

It's kinda like if there were a riot going on, and he's busy writing parking tickets.

28,000 known felony warrants in his county.

How many sexual abuse cases did MCSO just decide not to investigate, not that long ago?

The list goes on.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

Sheriff Joe has no business "investigating" marijuana rings.

It's about priorities -Marijuana isn't particularly dangerous or harmful.

It is illegal (both marijuana and money laundering) regardless on personal feelings about it. That's the bottom line.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

It is illegal (both marijuana and money laundering) regardless on personal feelings about it. That's the bottom line.

The bottom line is, Joey's "undercover" thugs are drawing fat salaries and hefty overtime to take down a victimless crime. Meanwhile, there are dangerous folks living right next to you, and the sheriff doesn't have time to bother knocking on their doors.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Bungle

Busts were in multiple locations. I don't know off the top of my head if any of these also qualify as Anthem but the areas seem close by

BUST LOCATIONS:

Interstate 17 and Carefree Highway
43rd Avenue and Old West Trail
67th Avenue and Happy Valley Road
Third Avenue and Fillmore
Seventh Avenue and Watkins
72nd and Catalina drives
Daisy Mountain Drive and Gavilan Peak Parkway
Interstate 17 and Phoenix-Wickenburg Highway

Some of the north western locations were where the people lived. One apartment, somewhere, did have plants in it. But, as the title of the thread notes, the main Anthem connection is the nail salon, which may be at the Daisy Mountain and Gavilan Peak address (the only one of the addresses that's actually in Anthem).

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

It is illegal (both marijuana and money laundering) regardless on personal feelings about it. That's the bottom line.

Bingo!

[wase4711]

even in the most miserable financially messed up state in the usa, Illinois, we have decriminalized it, and have made small amounts of possessing it a ticket. wasting legal resources, and jailing tens of thousands for possessing it, is no longer the mood in this country, along with legalizing gay marriage, and other things not thought socially "Acceptable" even a few years ago.

Its ok if you dont want to do it, but stop wasting billions prosecuting and jailing those casual users who do..I dont drink or smoke pot, but I dont want others that do to be jailed, as long as they arent driving and doing it..

its time for Arizona, and the rest of the coutry, to move into the 21st century as well on these issues, and devote more of the law enforcement resources to getting murderers,rapists,child molesters, and the REAL threats to society off the street....

[Burning Madolf]

Everyone please follow this "important" bust and ignore the recent articles about the taxpayers being on the hook for a cool $45 million because of the MCSO's racial profiling case.
Thanks,
The Sheriff

[observer53]

Originally Posted by Burning Madolf

Everyone please follow this "important" bust and ignore the recent articles about the taxpayers being on the hook for a cool $45 million because of the MCSO's racial profiling case.
Thanks,
The Sheriff

And don't forget the pictures of the Sheriff at the puppy mill in Wittman last week.

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by observer53

And don't forget the pictures of the Sheriff at the puppy mill in Wittman last week.

Good, but IMHO nothing compared to the camera party at the annual Dead Beat Dad Round Up (not to mention all the OT these "shows" cost).

[R_Cowgirl]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

Marijuana users and sellers aren't the ones breaking into homes to score funds for their next "fix".

Marijuana is pretty much legal everywhere but here because it's pretty much harmless and not addictive.

We have gobs of meth addicts in the valley - and the users of that particular drug are always desperate, and will rob their own parents for another "fix".
.

I have always had mixed feelings about people self-medicating with weed, especially some of the new strains that make our 70's grass look like, well, bermuda grass. But I do agree with you on the meth/marijuana issue. Have a retired Sheriff friend from Hawaii who told me that when they did all their much celebrated "Green Harvest" raids back in the 70's and 80's, all it did was make weed more expensive and drive the users to meth, which was cheaper and easier to make or smuggle in. Now the meth problem in Hawaii is epic.

As always, people try to get rid of the thing (alcohol, guns, drugs) instead of dealing with the underlying issues that make those things a problem. Agree - legalize it so you can control the strength, purity and the quality. Then for those too lazy to grow their own, tax it like alcohol and cigarettes. That should cover any social costs of people being idiots when they use it. There are already impairment-while-driving laws, so no new legislation will be needed in that area.

Also - there is serious research being done on CBD oil, made from cannabis sativa, that shows it has a very real chance of being a cure for several diseases. This is a plant that has been cultivated for thousands of years... it must have had some benefits over the centuries beyond making your brain fuzzy for awhile. And that's why medical marijuana is taking hold in many states. But since marijuana is so emotionally charged on both sides, it's going to continue to make the use and research of it as medicine far more difficult.

As for prisons etc. Agree 100%. Stupid to put people in prison for weed. It exposes those people to a whole 'nother population that isn't good for anyone, especially the young and impressionable. IMHO some of this is due to turning prisons into for-profit enterprises. More bodies, more money.

And the debate rages on. We have far more pressing problems than stoners, that's for sure.