# Any one really killed from stumbling on an illegal pot growing operation **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2013, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-one-really-killed-from-stumbling-on-an-illegal-pot-growing-operation/648461 "2013-01-26T19:29:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shiloh2013](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@Shiloh2013](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiloh2013)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-one-really-killed-from-stumbling-on-an-illegal-pot-growing-operation/648461/21 "2013-02-11T17:30:27Z")
It has been effectively legal in CA for some time. Prescriptions are a joke. But prices didn’t go down, This isn’t prohibition and it isn’t the 30s. Alcohol wasn’t made legal in order to tax it. But that IS the motivation with marijuana. I think it is amusing to think that government might stand back and say, “Look, making it legal has made the price go down. We could fill that gap with a tax, but nah! let’s give the consumers a break.” LOL ---
**Author:** ![Shiloh2013](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@Shiloh2013](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiloh2013)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-one-really-killed-from-stumbling-on-an-illegal-pot-growing-operation/648461/22 "2013-02-11T17:33:03Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I should think that if anyone could grow it, illegal activity would decline. By definition it would. People are grow it now and are illegal would suddenly become legal. Not everyone is going to grow their own. There are people who would rather spend a thousand dollars than do an hour of work. But there are enough people who would grow their own to be significant competition for the commercial growers. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-one-really-killed-from-stumbling-on-an-illegal-pot-growing-operation/648461/23 "2013-02-11T21:01:11Z")
> [@Shiloh2013](#): > > This is exactly why those who think pot prices will go down with legalization are wrong. They think the pressure of illegality being removed will lower prices, but any pot grower is far less worried about the law, than about those trying to steal a crop. The problem is that when an orchid grower or basil farmer gets robbed by a bunch of scumbags, the orchid grower can call the cops to arrest the scumbags. When a pot dealer gets robbed, he can’t call the cops or he’ll be busted for growing pot. So he is obliged to take matters into his own hands, which means lethal street justice. People don’t go out into the tobacco fields and steal tobacco plants, because the cash value of the tobacco is so low it doesn’t make any sense to steal it. ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2013, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-one-really-killed-from-stumbling-on-an-illegal-pot-growing-operation/648461/24 "2013-02-11T23:32:19Z")
National parks are poor places to conduct illicit activity. They are heavily developed, and see lots of tourist traffic. There are lots of park service employees about keeping people out of trouble. There are often fee gates at all the road entrances. National Forests, administered by the Department of Agriculture, on the other hand see a fair amount of illicit agriculture. The land holdings are much larger, people are typically allowed to roam freely, and the employees are busy administering logging, grazing, mining, etc. permits. They do have a few law enforcement people, but these are spread very thinly. I have spent several days within sight of a 2WD road in a national forest and not seen another human. Hike a couple of miles up a path and you could go weeks. Get off the path, and you will see far more deer than humans. (which explains why I was there) Within the forest service, few hold the title of Ranger. A District Ranger heads an office of perhaps a couple-three dozen employees, none of whom are known as Rangers within the Forest Service, yet the public know them all as Forest Rangers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-one-really-killed-from-stumbling-on-an-illegal-pot-growing-operation/648461.md?page=1)