# Google Earth is also good for - Finding marijuana fields in your neighborhood! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003 "2010-01-07T05:00:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/1 "2010-01-07T05:00:41Z")
[This modern world!](http://arstechnica.com/software/news/2009/01/google-earth-reveals-two-acre-field-of-weed-to-swiss-police.ars) I wonder how often they update? > [@](#): > > Google Earth reveals two-acre field of weed to Swiss police > Police in Switzerland managed to discover a two-acre field of marijuana while using Google Earth as part of an investigation. Growers, you may be able to hide your goods from police in fields of corn, but you can’t hide from the all-seeing eyes of Google. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/2 "2010-01-07T05:12:13Z")
If this had happened in the U.S., it raises interesting 4th amendment issues. I’m not sure satellite images count as “plain view” to justify an arrest, or even should be allowed to be used to establish probable cause for a warrant… ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/3 "2010-01-07T05:47:56Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > …I’m not sure satellite images count as “plain view” … Most Google images are not from satellites, just normal airplanes. Airplanes are routinely used for finding illegal marijuana plantations in remote areas of the West. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/4 "2010-01-07T05:54:04Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Most Google images are not from satellites, just normal airplanes. That I did not know. Score: \*\* garygnu \*\* 1 ignorance 0 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/5 "2010-01-07T17:41:21Z")
Now I really want to see a Google earth picture of a marijuana field. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![cgg419](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cgg419/32/2847_2.png) [@cgg419](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cgg419)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/6 "2010-01-07T18:15:42Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Now I really want to see a Google earth picture of a marijuana field. ☹ You’re not the only one, I figured there would be a picture accompanying the article… Though I have to wonder, are Google Earth pictures ever a high enough resolution to figure out the plant, rather than a field of green? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/7 "2010-01-07T18:18:49Z")
I’m surprised the Swiss police even care about a field of weed. America, I could see, but not Switzerland. One of my favorite things to do when I was stoned in college was to look at Google Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Textual\_Intercourse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Textual\_Intercourse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Textual_Intercourse)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/8 "2010-01-07T18:22:54Z")
> [@cgg419](#): > > Though I have to wonder, are Google Earth pictures ever a high enough resolution to figure out the plant, rather than a field of green? Well they did say in the article that the marijuana field was discovered in the middle of a cornfield. If they were just looking for general anomalies of this nature (a field of one plant growing in the middle of a field of a distinctly different plant) I guess it’s feasible that with enough investigation they’d find something. I’m with you on the resolution though. I was able to pinpoint my house but I couldn’t tell what kind of plants were in the backyard. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/9 "2010-01-07T19:09:22Z")
[This page](http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2009/01/marijuana_field_found.html) thinks someone may have found it, and includes a Google Earth link and a picture. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/10 "2010-01-07T19:51:03Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Most Google images are not from satellites, just normal airplanes. Airplanes are routinely used for finding illegal marijuana plantations in remote areas of the West. And the Google Earth view is a patchwork of pictures taken at various times. The picture of my house is at least 3 years old, I know because it has been re-roofed in a different color since the picture was taken. Ten miles away I can see newer pictures. The views are not anything even approaching real time. So it makes me wonder if this pot plantation had been used for multiple years or if they just got lucky with a new picture. ---
**Author:** ![Vorpal\_Blade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9de0a6/32.png) [@Vorpal\_Blade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vorpal_Blade)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-is-also-good-for-finding-marijuana-fields-in-your-neighborhood/524003/11 "2010-01-08T20:37:34Z")
> [@Textual\_Intercourse](#): > > Well they did say in the article that the marijuana field was discovered in the middle of a cornfield. If they were just looking for general anomalies of this nature (a field of one plant growing in the middle of a field of a distinctly different plant)… Weed is a noticeably different color from corn (and trees, wheat, etc.).