The illegal (but punishment free) pot growhouse trade in Florida

[mia]

South Florida is considered the center of a trade in which groups of young Cubans throughout the state are turning to the lucrative business of raising ultra-potent pot worth up to $4,500 a pound, without fear of deportation or lengthy prison sentences.

Probation is a common sentence for anyone convicted in state court of running a growhouse, drug agents say. And, unlike other foreign-born felons, U.S. policy prevents the deportation of Cubans....


The topic is sensitive in a state where Cuban refugee status was a badge of honor until it was tainted by a few thousand criminals in the 1980s Mariel boatlift.

"The last thing we want to do in law enforcement is crucify the Cuban-American community as a whole -- they have made South Florida what it is today," said Capt. Joe Mendez, a Cuban-American member of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area task force. "That's why we are saying these are Cuban refugees, recent arrivals. . . . They arrive here on a raft, and drug dealers give them a place to live and promise them they'll own the (grow) house in a year or two."


http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/sfl-florida-cuban-pot2-103109,0,2029511,full.story

[ixion]

1. legalize it... problem solved

some day, they'll get that through their thick skulls.