Huge pot farm busted in E. Washington...LOST REVENUE

[rsmith6621]

By KOMO Staff

BURBANK, Wash. - Authorities busted a mammoth pot-growing operation near the Tri-Cities area of Washington, confiscating a staggering $50 million worth of marijuana in one fell swoop.

The grow operation, which was camouflaged inside a fiber tree farm about three miles east of Burbank, contained nearly 40,000 plants, said the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office.

Three people were arrested and now face possible federal charges. They are Francisco Sosa Cervantes, 26, and Augustina Salas Serena, 32, both of Yakima; and Isidro Cortes Perez, 32, of Portland, Ore. All three are being held on $100,000 bail.

The three suspects originally were charged in Superior Court. But local charges were dropped, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is planning to take the case to federal court, said a Sheriff's Office spokesman.

A fourth suspect was seen running from the area and got away before an arrest could be made, according to a news release.

The plants were between 1 and 4 feet high and had an estimated street value of more than$50 million, the Sheriff's Office said.

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/48553582.html
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LOST REVENUE FOR THE GOVERNMENT.....just imagine if the government would impose a 20% tax, just for this bust that would be 10 million bucks....POT needs to be legalized......LOST OPPORTUNITY.

[Xithras]

1. The value of marijuana is primarily due to its scarcity.

The value of any product is set by supply and demand. If demand is high and supply is high, competition will push prices down. If demand is low and supply is high, prices will plunge because of surplus product.

With pot, there's high demand and low supply, so scarcity drives the price up. If pot were totally legalized, production would increase and prices would probably drop to tobacco levels. The price of beer dropped 700% after prohibition was repealed. There's no reason to think that it wouldn't happen with pot.

[votingupstart]

3. i think you bring up a good and over looked point

first - i am for the legalization of Marijuana, however i don't think IF it ever happens it will be some economic bonanza thats going to solve a lot of financial problems. there will be revenue yes how much is the question. if you tax it to much then you end up in the same situation now where people just get it illegally because its cheaper than the government version. if it is too cheap then we have very little revenue to bring in.

the other side to this is that haven't we spent millions of dollars to promote non-smoking? how do we justify saying tobacco your bad but pot your good?

in 20 years are pot smokers going to sue big pot for the same things big tobacco got hit for?

[eilen]

4. True, but states will limit the number of "grow permits"

after some heavy lobbying by the "industry" developing all kinds of regulations and standards. People will still get arrested for growing without a permit. Expect lots of scare stories (bacterial or fungal outbreak) to plant distrust in small growers.

[BolivarianHero]

9. They won't fool me...

I partake a few times a week, I'm rarely sick, and I have the best attendance of everyone at work. People are prone to smoking the green stuff aren't ones to trust the scare tactics of crony capitalists and their neo-liberal backers. They're either lefties or anti-cronyism free-marketers.

[madokie]

2. Well now that 50 million price tag

came out of some ass somewhere.

[Fly by night]

7. Agreed. One to four foot tall mj plants grown outdoors this time of year have a street value of ...

... $0.

[dem mba]

10. they weigh the dirt that is stuck to the roots

and then charge the defendants for the weight of the "pot". the cops did this to two very nice, very sweet friends of mine in Ohio. made them felons for life.

so I am guessing that's how they get $50M. the weight of the bud, the stalks, the leafs and the dirt x street value per pound.

[Hannah Bell]

5. bet the three people arrested don't own the operation.

[1]

6. another thing is... pot growers are not the greatest of farmers...

their business is the output. however they can make that happen.

these dudes are not "organic" or "natural" in their farming techniques.

it is amazing what is included to get the crop in. or what is added afterward to make it marketable.

its about the buzz. and if nefarious ways are implemented to achieve that? well, that's the business.

kinda like a corporation...

[Fly by night]

8. Don't paint all cannabis farmers with the same stale white-wash.

There are lots of us who know precisely what we are doing (or, in my case, what I was doing.) Organic methods are not only healthier, but produce better quality cannabis. Those of us who have been doing this a while (in my case, on-and-off since 1972) know that.

FBN
Federal Bureau of Prisons # 16502-075
www.saveberniesfarm.com