Meg Loucks/ Houston Chronicle
Blair Davis with his Texas Star hibiscus plant. Posted on 07/29/2004 12:33:10 PM PDT by Cagey
Meg Loucks/ Houston Chronicle Blair Davis with his Texas Star hibiscus plant. |
Davis said he hadn't even gotten his hand on the doorknob when it flew open and he was looking at the barrel of a pistol.
Behind the gun were about 10 members of the Harris County Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force, who burst into the home, guns drawn, and began shouting at him to get down on the floor.
There on the floor, Davis said, it took a while to figure out that what had caused the swarm of lawmen to descend upon him was the hibiscus in his front yard.
That's right, hibiscus.
The foliage of the Texas Star hibiscus, a native plant that's growing in popularity, vaguely resembles that of marijuana.
But: "It's got white buds on it," Davis said. "Hello."
Davis had several of the plants in his yard, where he grows stock for his business.
"They were in containers," he said: "I don't want to say potted plants."
Evidently, some well-meaning but horticulturally challenged citizen turned Davis in. Davis said the team of narcotics officers combed his house for about an hour, at one point discussing whether red and gold bamboo growing in his window might be marijuana. They also asked what he did with the watermelons and cantaloupes growing in his back yard.
"What would I do with them?" Davis said.
Finally the officers gave up and left, leaving Davis only a "citizen's information card" with "closed-report" written on it.
"No apology, no nothing," Davis said. "I realize they have a job to do, but this seems a little bizarre."
Calls to the task force were not returned Wednesday.
Davis hasn't let the episode put him off the Texas Star hibiscus. "It tolerates heat and drought and our rains," he said. "It's a great plant, except for the police."
Our tax dollars at work in the "war on drugs."
This line ALMOST makes this story funny!
War on Drugs lack of common sense bump!
He should just count his blessings that he ain't dead.
Somebody needs to ask a few questions about this "raid."
"...10 members of the Harris County Organized Crime and Narcotics Task Force..."
Wannabe Rambos with too much time on their hands. Save it for real criminals-terrorists. Learn the difference.
Sad thing is that he was raided the next day in a prostitution sting because of his hoe.
I am still trying to figure out what you could do with a watermelon other than eat it.
ROTFL! Poor guy!
Carve it into a bong?
"Evidently, some well-meaning but horticulturally challenged citizen turned Davis in."
No, some ignorant busy-body with nothing better to do than potentially ruin someone's life turned Davis in.
And cantelopes are a gateway melon. They might lead to consumption of bigger melons like honeydews or watermelons.
Next time Mr. Davis, tell the narcs you're an illegal alien. Then they'll leave you alone.
LOL! Maybe that's what the melons were for.
Halfway through it, so far you've got The Line Of The Day. Congrats.
Start 'em out young, man, and you've got 'em hooked for life.
Who is going to pay for his front door?
Stories like this remind me why I (a solid, never-used-illegal drugs, Church-going, Republican) am for the de-criminalization of drugs.
This guy nearly got killed -- for nothing.
We could balance the budget and pay for Social Security by cutting out the DEA, etc., and taxing the heck out of the stuff.
Plus, all these raids do little to stop the supply and use of drugs. Indeed, it just creates an illegal market so that groups like the Taliban can make a bunch of money.
I bet he was going to make a bong out a watermelon..
I wonder how he knows what color the buds should be. The cops were stupid, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was a setup.
And I believe the hibiscus is related to hemp.
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
ROTFL
I have a Texas Star Hibiscus in my yard and my friends and relatives always kid me about it. The flowers are a beautiful red color with a five pointed star in the center. I took a photo of it last year when it was blooming as proof that it IS in fact a hibiscus and not "something else". lol
Out OF a watermelon ..(sorrry, too much hibiscus today...)
or be glad he doesn't have a dog.
I don't have an easy answer to all that.... I'd not prosecute for pot if I were boss, but I applaud his sense of humor in it is all.
Bwhahahaha!
He knew things were out of hand when Ricky Williams camped in his front yard....
What was it you were sayin' about potted herbs?
The cops remind me of Stacey Keech's character as the bumbling narc in one of those Cheech and Chong movies.
absolutely...nothing worse than cops with too much time on their hands.
ROTFL!! That kid looks like a character from "Reefer Madness". Hooked on Melon.
"Sad thing is that he was raided the next day in a prostitution sting because of his hoe."
ROTFLMAO!!!~!
Definitely. And that he didn't have a dog that tried to protect his owner, because they shoot the dogs first.
Caorlyn
Luckily no private citizen was startled awake and reached for a defensive weapon fearing the break in was a home invasion style robbery...sometimes perpetrated by rapists, theives, and or murderers dressed as Police Officers.....
Yes it's a good thing the family dog wasnt there doing his/her duty....
Some Barney with an MP-5 SD would have capped the guard pooch just because.....he could...
The militarization of the police is great....if you wanna live in a Police State...
imo
It's one thing to criminalize marijuana, and quite another to stage no-knock raids like this one. To be for the first does not imply that one is in favor of the second.
In some situations a no-knock raid might make tactical sense; however, they should not be the norm. If they are indeed the norm in Harris County, then somebody needs to be fired.
Now, if he could modify his spud gun to something with a bit bigger barrel...
"Okay, just when did they catch the judge to sign that warrant?"
Do they still need those old things?
I am still trying to figure out what you could do with a watermelon other than eat it.
You could ferment it....but that would be legal.
Man, I gotta watch it! I've got three 7-foot hibiscus plants in my sideyard.
Oh, good gravy! 'Er ya nuts?
"Sad thing is that he was raided the next day in a prostitution sting because of his hoe."
ROFL!!! We really DID spend our summers "hoeing", but I learned when I got to college to add "cotton" when I was talking to urban dwellers :)
I've got a Texas Star in the back yard and have caught visitors giving it the eye a time or two. Bottlebrush buckeye's the same way.
Hahahahaha! You just made my day. Well, at least that part of the day I spend reading threads here.
Guys in the chemistry lab used to inject them with absolute alcohol (200 proof) for picnic consumption.
*Wod_list ping
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