(LM: Perhaps installing the burglar alarm was not a good idea...)Berks couple won't lose house over growing potThe lengthy legal nightmare for Steve and Karen Haver finally ended this week, when prosecutors formally withdrew a motion to seize their Berks County house.
But the repercussions are far from over.
Karen Haver, 38, spent time in jail, lost her job, and read criminal accusations about her on the front page of the local paper. Steve Haver, 47, is now a felon with a suspended driver's license, on leave from a job he doubts will be renewed.
His crime: Growing five marijuana plants in their Reading home.
The Haver case is a cautionary tale for anyone still flirting with recreational marijuana use - particularly those who grow pot in houses with burglar alarms.
The Havers' alarm went off in July 2006 while they were on vacation in the Poconos. The police found the pot, and Berks County authorities reacted as though they had nabbed big-time dealers.
Steve Haver, an avid gardener active in the local history society, admitted growing the plants in an interview yesterday. But he said that his wife didn't smoke marijuana, and that he had only occasionally.
"The true irony of this whole situation is that I really hadn't been a regular user for about 15 years," he said. "It's been quite an ordeal. I don't think your average citizen has any idea how destructive and Draconian our justice system has become."
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(Link:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20080411_Berks_couple_won_t_lose_house_over_growing_pot.html)