# Do criminals really shoot people to protect their Marijuana fileds
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [April 19, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070 "2015-04-19T21:50:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/1 "2015-04-19T21:50:42Z")
Will a hillbilly really shoot you if you stumble across their pot field? This only happens on TV right? Because it seems the best way to have your crops found is when 200 LEO and civilian search and rescue stumble across your crop while looking for a missing hiker. I googled " Marijuana trespasser shot" and all I could find was a few cases where criminals shot at people but didn’t kill them. Which, doesn’t seem to smart either since if you get shot at you will obviously go tell the police. I did find a few results for Marijuana field booby trapped. Isin’t that going to have similar results? Attracting more attention than its worth.
Marijuana trespasser shot:
[https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&q=Marijuana+trespasser+shot&spell=1&sa=X&ei=miA0VZymL46qogTihIGAAg&ved=0CBsQvwUoAA&biw=1366&bih=681](https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&q=Marijuana+trespasser+shot&spell=1&sa=X&ei=miA0VZymL46qogTihIGAAg&ved=0CBsQvwUoAA&biw=1366&bih=681)
Marijuana field booby trapped:
[https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1366&bih=681&q=Marijuana+field+booby+trapped&oq=Marijuana+field+booby+trapped&gs\_l=serp.12...130172.130172.0.132322.1.1.0.0.0.0.48.48.1.1.0.msedr...0...1c.1.64.serp..1.0.0.FFj\_s3JPX2Q](https://www.google.com/search?espv=2&biw=1366&bih=681&q=Marijuana+field+booby+trapped&oq=Marijuana+field+booby+trapped&gs_l=serp.12...130172.130172.0.132322.1.1.0.0.0.0.48.48.1.1.0.msedr...0...1c.1.64.serp..1.0.0.FFj_s3JPX2Q)
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/2 "2015-04-19T21:54:34Z")
Looks like you kinda answered your own question, then.
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/3 "2015-04-19T21:57:57Z")
> [@cmyk](#):
>
> Looks like you kinda answered your own question, then.
wouldnt booby traps attract as much attention???
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### Author:  [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/4 "2015-04-19T21:59:44Z")
Dumb criminals make dumb decisions? You don’t say!
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### Author:  [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/5 "2015-04-19T22:00:00Z")
> [@Robert163](#):
>
> wouldnt booby traps attract as much attention???
I don’t think we’re talking about the smartest people on the planet here.
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### Author:  [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/6 "2015-04-19T22:02:06Z")
Yes, they do.
I’m a bomb tech, and have been called to investigate former-military munitions used as booby traps on marijuana fields in National Forests.
Shoot? No. That requires constant vigilance (i.e. you live next to it) which easily ties a person to a criminal activity. Booby-traps however, I despise, and I if you plant one, I will fucking _find_ you.
There are innocent people in the National Forests that you are putting at risk. I have zero tolerance, but infinite motivation. :mad:
Tripler
Mark my words–my motivation is clear; not a threat, it’s a promise.
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/7 "2015-04-19T22:03:23Z")
> [@Tripler](#):
>
> Yes, they do.
>
> I’m a bomb tech, and have been called to investigate former-military munitions used as booby traps on marijuana fields in National Forests.
>
> Shoot? No. That requires constant vigilance (i.e. you live next to it) which easily ties a person to a criminal activity. Booby-traps however, I despise, and I if you plant one, I will fucking _find_ you.
>
> There are innocent people in the National Forests that you are putting at risk. I have zero tolerance, but infinite motivation. :mad:
>
> Tripler
> Mark my words–my motivation is clear.
ah, ok, that makes sense
thanks for the explanation
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/8 "2015-04-19T22:06:42Z")
> [@Tripler](#):
>
> Yes, they do.
>
> I’m a bomb tech, and have been called to investigate former-military munitions used as booby traps on marijuana fields in National Forests.
>
> Shoot? No. That requires constant vigilance (i.e. you live next to it) which easily ties a person to a criminal activity. Booby-traps however, I despise, and I if you plant one, I will fucking _find_ you.
>
> There are innocent people in the National Forests that you are putting at risk. I have zero tolerance, but infinite motivation. :mad:
>
> Tripler
> Mark my words–my motivation is clear; not a threat, it’s a promise.
Oh, forgot, but don’t the crops get burned/confiscated when a team is called out to deal with a trap? So how does a trap really protect a field then??? Glad you are doing your job though, thanks for that.
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### Author:  [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/9 "2015-04-19T22:11:22Z")
“Trespassing” is a questionable term in cases where the land is not theirs to begin with.
[This US Senate report](https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=695923) from 2011 mentions a number of incidents on public and private land, including at least one fatal shooting on property not belonging to the grower. It seems that a random hiker is more likely to get a gun pointed at them, not shot, but that encounters with law enforcement occasionally turn deadly.
This [decade-old article](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/11/1103_031104_marijuana.html) mentions that booby traps and warning shots from the ‘hilbilly’ type (i.e. what the article refers to as “white, independent growers”) were both more violent and common in the 1980s.
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### Author:  [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/10 "2015-04-19T22:19:50Z")
> [@Robert163](#):
>
> Oh, forgot, but don’t the crops get burned/confiscated when a team is called out to deal with a trap? So how does a trap really protect a field then??? Glad you are doing your job though, thanks for that.
That part is not my business, nor yours. I just render safe the suspect military munitions, and dispose of them later.
I keep _very_ close ties with the County and State Bomb Squads though, and their main priority is to preserve evidence for prosecution, which I’m happy to do if able.
I have cold, dark, “look the other way” thoughts about those that plant booby-traps in National Forests.
Tripler
Cold. Dark. Especially against the innocent.
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### Author:  [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/11 "2015-04-19T22:28:19Z")
> [@Tripler](#):
>
> That part is not my business, nor yours. I just render safe the suspect military munitions, and dispose of them later.
>
> I keep _very_ close ties with the County and State Bomb Squads though, and their main priority is to preserve evidence for prosecution, which I’m happy to do if able.
>
> I have cold, dark, “look the other way” thoughts about those that plant booby-traps in National Forests.
>
> Tripler
> Cold. Dark. Especially against the innocent.
ah, ok, well thanks again for doing your job
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/12 "2015-04-19T22:32:42Z")
I learned a thing or two from Charlie don’t you know.
You better stay away from Copperhead Road.
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### Author:  [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)
#### Post date: [April 19, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/13 "2015-04-19T23:12:41Z")
> [@Robert163](#):
>
> ah, ok, well thanks again for doing your job
I am in no way endorsing anything, nor making a stand against current legal framework.
But I will stand firm, and steadfast, against booby-traps. All types–all concerns.
Tripler
I _will_ find you.
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/14 "2015-04-20T03:07:59Z")
Back when thermal imaging was still ‘new’ our company was hired by various alphabets to use out equipment to go a hunting off in the hills & hallows where the roads don’t go.
Was a witness for the law most times. I got to go on all the good stuff because I was the airchine driver. 😃
Now that stuff is on some cell phones… ::: sigh :::: So old.
**Tripler** , got a few things like that myself so I empathize & sympathize… Glad you are good at what you do.
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### Author:  [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2015, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/15 "2015-04-20T03:33:22Z")
“Hillbilly”? Really? You think that’s who’s growing marijuana?
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### Author:  [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/16 "2015-04-20T03:35:59Z")
> [@susan](#):
>
> “Hillbilly”? Really? You think that’s who’s growing marijuana?
The Acapulco Hillbillies.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2015, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/17 "2015-04-20T15:13:51Z")
> [@susan](#):
>
> “Hillbilly”? Really? You think that’s who’s growing marijuana?
Years ago in Jamaica I did a bike ride thing where a bus takes people and bikes up the Blue Mountain and then you cycle down. They warned us not to leave the main road.
I left the main road. I met an angry looking guy tending his crop. I smiled nervously and told him I was on his side, then I peddled away.
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/18 "2015-04-20T15:29:10Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> Years ago in Jamaica I did a bike ride thing where a bus takes people and bikes up the Blue Mountain and then you cycle down. They warned us not to leave the main road.
>
> I left the main road. I met an angry looking guy tending his crop. I smiled nervously and told him I was on his side, \*\*then I peddled away.
\*\*
I assume you mean “pedaled,” otherwise, this is a _completely_ different story.
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### Author:  [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/19 "2015-04-20T15:54:42Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#):
>
> \*\*
>
> I assume you mean “pedaled,” otherwise, this is a _completely_ different story.
Heh. 😃 Got me.
Happy 4/20, coincidentally.
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### Author:  [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)
#### Post date: [April 20, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-criminals-really-shoot-people-to-protect-their-marijuana-fileds/718070/20 "2015-04-20T16:32:27Z")
> [@kayaker](#):
>
> Years ago in Jamaica I did a bike ride thing where a bus takes people and bikes up the Blue Mountain and then you cycle down. They warned us not to leave the main road.
>
> I left the main road. I met an angry looking guy tending his crop. I smiled nervously and told him I was on his side, then I peddled away.
My brother had a similar experience in Hawaii around 1995, driving a rental car on random dirt roads among the sugarcane fields. When he passed a guy at roadside with an M1 he did a hasty Rockford turn & went back the way he’d come.
No peddling or pedaling involved. 😃
I’ve always wondered why folks wish one other “happy 4/20” on Hitler’s birthday. Perhaps they’re not who/what they appear to be?
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