Operators of illegal marijuana grow enterprises hidden inside rural homes in Maine don’t have to worry much about prying neighbors. But their staggering electric bills may give rise to a new snitch.

An electric utility made an unusual proposal to help law enforcement target these illicit operations, which are being investigated for ties to transnational crime. Critics, however, worry the move would violate customers’ privacy.

More than a dozen states that legalized marijuana have seen a spike in illegal marijuana grow operations that utilize massive amounts of electricity. And Maine’s Versant Power has been receiving subpoenas — sometimes for 50 locations at a time — from law enforcement, said Arrian Myrick-Stockdell, corporate counsel. It’d be far more efficient, he suggested to utility regulators, to flip the script and allow electric utilities to report their suspicions to law enforcement.

  • octopus_ink
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    88
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    which are being investigated for ties to transnational crime.

    I refuse to believe this is anything more than more “War on Drugs” horseshit. Sorry world you burned Gen-X and earlier already on your ridiculous lies about Marijuana (among other things), we’re not buying it again.

    It’d be far more efficient, he suggested to utility regulators, to flip the script and allow electric utilities to report their suspicions to law enforcement.

    And it would be far more efficient to just arrest people who seem likely to commit crimes before anyone gets hurt, but that’s not how our justice system works, and that’s not what the constitution allows, so go fuck yourself Arrian Myrick-Stockdell. Maybe don’t be so quick to lick the boot and smash it against the neck of your countrymen.

    • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      19
      ·
      5 months ago

      Yeah, as if big deal international crime syndicate couldn’t figure out how to hide electricity bills. Either way there’s probably an easier way to find these dudes than to sacrifice our privacy.

      • octopus_ink
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        22
        ·
        5 months ago

        Assholes like Arrian Myrick-Stockdell are 100x more dangerous than your average maga. They will couch ridiculously fascist authoritarian proposals in nice language and present it in a boardroom, all in the name of “efficiency” - god damn that sounds a lot like a particular solution I read about once, but I don’t want to Godwin the discussion.

        Shit like this truly makes my blood boil.

      • Gigasser@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        5 months ago

        Do large criminal syndicates even bother with home grow operations anymore? I thought most of them were busy growing weed in the deep remote areas of national parks or some shit.

    • octopus_ink
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      13
      ·
      5 months ago

      go fuck yourself Arrian Myrick-Stockdell

      I just wanted to say that out loud again so maybe somehow he’ll vanity search himself one time and receive my personal message that Arrian Myrick-Stockdell can go fuck himself.