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Couple Sues After Police Mistake Hibiscus For Marijuana

Satanica

Satanica

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http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/national-business/article185160613.html
[....]
Edward and Audrey Cramer say in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that a Nationwide Insurance Co. agent investigating a fallen tree at their Buffalo Township home sent photos of their flowering plant to police.

The lawsuit alleges that Buffalo Township police officers with assault rifles came to their home on Oct. 7 and held them for several hours inside a police cruiser, despite both telling the officers the plants were actually hibiscus. They were eventually released.

The Cramers are seeking monetary and compensatory damages and court costs.

Nationwide Insurance declined comment Friday, citing the litigation. Township police also declined comment.
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Looks like Cleome to me. I have boodoodles of them. The leaves do resemble pot,;the flowers are beautiful. Also called spider lilies...pink and white, they attract butterflies and bees and smell wonderful.

I need some demonites to come down here and help me with this damned garden!..which has gone berserk.

I got dive bombed by a bunch of mean little birds! Black capped chickadees, brown wrens, blue jays, cardinals, bluebirds, mockingbirds, hummingbirds (mean l'il boogers). I have an owl living in the oak tree outside the bedroom window. TUWHOOO TUWHOO TUWHOO. Makes me crazy, but he's a cute li'l booger...... AND we have swifts in the chimney...cheepcheepcheepCHEEP. All day.
 
This thread has motivated me to smoke my arthritis medicine! LET THE WILD RUMPUS BEGIN! I
already ate all the ice cream. I'ma make some brownies....would it be awful if I give the poodle a piece of "special" brownies?

Hell with it. I'm CarolinaBlue and I do what I want!
 
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carolinablue said:
Looks like Cleome to me. I have boodoodles of them. The leaves do resemble pot,;the flowers are beautiful. Also called spider lilies...pink and white, they attract butterflies and bees and smell wonderful.

I need some demonites to come down here and help me with this damned garden!..which has gone berserk.

I got dive bombed by a bunch of mean little birds! Black capped chickadees, brown wrens, blue jays, cardinals, bluebirds, mockingbirds, hummingbirds (mean l'il boogers). I have an owl living in the oak tree outside the bedroom window. TUWHOOO TUWHOO TUWHOO. Makes me crazy, but he's a cute li'l booger...... AND we have swifts in the chimney...cheepcheepcheepCHEEP. All day.
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I can be there in about five hours, CB. May I take a few cuttings?
 
Frayed, you are more than welcome....maybe the damn birds will dive bomb YOU...not me. No snakes, thank Goddess! I also have a forest of hydrangea <<<<<<I can't spell for shit.
I still have tomatoes, mustard greens and okra...growing like crazy! The okra goes into my black iron gumbo pot (I can hardly LIFT the damn thing), it belonged to my great-great grandmother and I am going to make chicken and okra gumbo with French bread...the bread is still in the oven and will be nice and crunchy...smells like heaven on earth. I grow my own rosemary, parsley, basil, lemon mint, and about a million other herbs (not really a million)
I am a pain in the ass, but I'm a damn good cook. I'll bake you some REAL biscuits...the size of your palm! French toast is my favorite.
If anyone wants to come down here in the HELL HOLE of the South, I will defend you from our weirdos...they will try to give you a puppy and/or a kitten.
I will also protect you from our poodle...she'll bark at you then run and hide behind the sofa. Some great watch dog.
[doublepost=1511204314,1511203822][/doublepost]Frayed, you will be forever my BFF!.bring me some arthritis medicine. That shit's expensive.
 
https://www.themaven.net/theweedblo...o-federal-court-lfEb2AU9kkGWk85Hd5-eEA?full=1
2 Feb 2018
The couple who filed a lawsuit after they were arrested last October when the police had mistaken their hibiscus plants for cannabis is now in federal court.
[...]
The Cramers filed a lawsuit claiming that the officers violated their civil rights by using excessive force. The lawsuit also alleges, false arrest and imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as invasion of privacy. There is no word if the lawsuit also claims incompetence. Sgt. Scott Hess refused to listen to the couple while he insisted that the plants were marijuana and claimed to be an expert. The hibiscus plants were in bloom.

The lawsuit was filed last November in Butler County Court against the Buffalo Township Police Department and Nationwide Mutual Insurance. Buffalo Township sent three police officers to the federal court on behalf of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. Nationwide tried to cancel the Cramers insurance after police already knew they had been mistaken, claiming that unless they moved the drugs from the residence their insurance policy would be canceled. I guess Nationwide is not on your side.
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I've never smoked marijuana, or grown a plant. I've rarely seen a plant in life but plenty of photos. I know they have a distinctive scent. Even I can identify a marijuana plant. At least I know what ISN'T weed. The incompetence of all the people involved in preparation and execution of this raid is astounding. Maybe it's a sign there is very little marijuana actually grown in that township if the police fell for it so readily.
I really think there are officers in town who are shaking their heads in bafflement and embarrassment for the force. They are not all fools.

More update: http://triblive.com/local/valleynew...cus-marijuana-case-heads-to-federal-mediation
19 Mar 2019
A Buffalo Township couple's federal civil rights lawsuit is heading to mandatory mediation.
[...]
The couple initially filed a lawsuit in Butler County Court, but the case was moved to federal district court.
[...]
The case is scheduled for mediation April 17 in the Pittsburgh offices of mediator David White.
Expected to participate in the session are the couple's attorneys, attorneys for Nationwide Insurance and its agent, and legal counsel for Buffalo Township police.
[...]
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well, at least the insurance company thing is straightened out. It amazes me how far their arms can go into your business with out fear
 
Any word on whether the officer has received remedial training of any sort? Clearly the guy isnt good at a very significant and important aspect of his profession. Embarrassing. Police depts need to do a better job properly reprimanding and/or retraining officers in fucks up like these, and also making the details of those actions known to the public. It is alarming to know there are officers out there on ANY police force who are incapable of telling the difference between such popular drugs.

Glad to see the insurance agents name is out there. Hopefully any future customers stumble across these stories when googling him prior to doing business with him. What a fucking scumbag idiot. What did he get out of telling the cops he thought he saw pot?

What does the presence of pot have to do with the insurance policy anyway?

ANd why the hell did the insurance company try to cancel the policy when there was no pot? Did they not even vbother to seek the results of the police investigation? Hope they lost a hefty bunch of change over this.
 
JackBurton said:
What does the presence of pot have to do with the insurance policy anyway?
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It's just business. Growing pot is illegal therefore A liability issue for the insurance company. An insurance co. would threaten to cancel a policy If you built an addition to the house without a permit or stacked a pile of tires against the wall. So comply to rules or lose the policy. And when you comply, the rates will still increase. After all, the business model of insurance is not needing to pay out.
 
Muriel Schwenck said:
An insurance co. would threaten to cancel a policy If you built an addition to the house without a permit or stacked a pile of tires against the wall.
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That makes sense though. Those things could very likely lead to situations that might cause damage to the home. Someone building without a permit is more likely to skirt other rules and building codes. Stacks of heavy things can fall on people, and can enhance fire risks.

Unless there's some absurd believe there's some deluxe growing operation with intensely hot lamps and so forth, i dont see the danger or risks with some pot plants suspected in a home.
 
JackBurton said:
Unless there's some absurd believe there's some deluxe growing operation with intensely hot lamps and so forth, i dont see the danger or risks with some pot plants suspected in a home.
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The point is that even a recreational marijuana grow is illegal and therefore a liability to the insurance company. They were all obligated to investigate once someone reported it. Definitely they could have investigated the allegation quietly to avoid the $$$ payout and the public relations disaster. How hard is it to figure out that weed doesn't have big lavender blossoms ?!
Seems like the insurance company and police operate from a position of deep suspicion more than logic. They should all pay through the nose for their idiotic tunnel vision.
Everyone wasted a lot of resources on something that could have been resolved quickly by researching a photo and a few discrete questions.
 
Seems like the insurance company and police operate from a position of deep suspicion more than logic. They should all pay through the nose for their idiotic tunnel vision.
Everyone wasted a lot of resources on something that could have been resolved quickly by researching a photo and a few discrete questions.
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Exactly. Well said.
 
MildlyMedicated said:
I am not drug savvy, so I have a question. Do pot plants have flowers?
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A pot plant will grow flowers yes. They are actually very pretty. When growing weed the grower picks the buds at a certain time in the growing process. If these buds which are what we know as pot, the part of the plant that is sold and smoked is left alone they eventually bloom or flower. I knew a man one time that was growing weed in his grandmothers basement. To help hide it from her he gave her one of the plants as though it was a regular house plant you would by at Walmart. Thinking it was just another plant she put it in her front window. It wasn’t until his mom came over one day seen it and told her what it was that she found out. Grandma told her daughter her grandson had given it to her. Grandma said it smells a lot but looks very pretty.
 
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