Terrell Texas Marijuana Grow Bust- Point/Counterpoint

I’ll be the first to admit that news site comments are not the highest form of debate. However, they can be a useful gauge of how some members of the public feel on an issue. So how do the conservative readers of the TT feel about cannabis prohibition?

Here is a recent news story from Terrell, Texas courtesy of the Terrell Tribune.

Marijuana growing operation discovered off Lawson Road
A combined effort involving Kaufman County Sheriff;s Office investigators and the Department of Public Safety located a marijuana plant growing operation on the western edge of Kaufman County.

According to KCSO spokesperson Pat Laney, the highly developed growing operation was located in the Lawson Road area just off of U.S. Highway 80.

Authorities seized 7,125 marijuana plants. It appears that the illegal growing venture had just been started.

The street value of the marijuana plants after harvest is estimated to be in excess of $71,000, Laney said.

Nothing sexy. Just a typical cops find weed and dig it up story. To my surprise, this bust generated a lot of comments for a benign “crime” story. Instead of reposting them I invite you to head on over to the Terrell Tribune (they wrote the story and deserve the hits). Read the comments and ask yourself, which side of the debate has more logic and intellectual depth? And which side is ad hominem nonsense?

I’ll make a few quick points that I’ve already covered in the past.
1. Opportunity costs- every minute we make cops spend digging up plants is not spent on solving and preventing real crime.
2. Marijuana can’t kill you. It’s non toxic.
3. There wouldn’t be grow operations all over the place if weed was legal. Are there moonshine stills all over the place?

I don’t blame law enforcement for this bust. Law enforcement by definition, enforces laws. But turning cops into lawn care men with guns is a bad investment that makes us less safe.