Looking At 30 Years & $1 Million For Mushrooms

[slp]

Looking At 30 Years In Prison And $1 Million Fine For 50 Grams Of Mushrooms
February 15, 2006, 2:55 am

A Pipestone, Minn., man was arrested Monday night on suspicion of growing hallucinogenic mushrooms in his home.

Donald C. Lowther, 51, is charged with a first-degree controlled substance crime for manufacturing a hallucinogen, Pipestone County Sheriff Dan Delaney said Tuesday.

Sheriff's deputies searched Lowther's home at 116 Fifth Ave. SE on a warrant at 7 p.m. Monday and discovered at least 50 grams of mushrooms in several stages of development, Delaney said. Mushrooms also had been harvested.

Lowther is being held in Pipestone County Jail. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...plate=printart

[waylitjim]

Another important reminder of the serious implications of being caught. This hobby can add alot of joy to your life, but the sad thing is, it can just as quickly ruin it. Be careful out there.

[arezap]

That's totally unreasonable and uncalled for imho! A non violent crime worthy of a million dollar fine? That's total bs!

[thafunkyone]

Nothing a good lawyer can't take care of...

[altered_states]

Originally Posted by arezap

That's totally unreasonable and uncalled for imho! A non violent crime worthy of a million dollar fine? That's total bs!

Exactly... Solving crime takes work.
Handing out fines doesn't...
And it's more lucrative.

Solving violent crimes simply doesn't pay enough to make it worthwhile for law enforcement.

Violent criminals are the desire of prisons, not cops.

[python]

Originally Posted by waylitjim

Another important reminder of the serious implications of being caught. This hobby can add alot of joy to your life, but the sad thing is, it can just as quickly ruin it. Be careful out there.

ya, or ya could just grow legal types

[python]

Originally Posted by arezap

That's totally unreasonable and uncalled for imho! A non violent crime worthy of a million dollar fine? That's total bs!

possibility of a million dollar fine, its not going to happen imo

[python]

Originally Posted by psilocommando

Nothing a good lawyer can't take care of...

ya, in your dreams............he wont get the max but it isn't something to take lightly

[FLcubiefan]

So what does it take to get caught? Are they busting in and searching everyone who buys spores and brown rice flour on the same credit card?

[python]

most likely he was snitched on.........set up with a wire or something..........

[viraljimmy]

Ouch.

[arezap]

Originally Posted by psilocommando

Nothing a good lawyer can't take care of...

And exactly how many of us can afford a lawyer that good? Not me for sure. I should move outside the usa so I won't be continually be persecuted in my home country anymore.

[mushit]

Originally Posted by fmrc

Sheriff's deputies searched Lowther's home at 116 Fifth Ave. SE on a warrant at 7 p.m. Monday and discovered at least 50 grams of mushrooms in several stages of development, Delaney said. Mushrooms also had been harvested.
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...plate=printart

Thats a hell of a punishment for 50 grams. Whats that, 5 Grams dry.............
Has to be a typo.

[TVCasualty]

With the studies being conducted at UCLA using psilocybin proving that it is both a benign chemical and has legit medical uses, it's high time for a reclassification to Schedule III-IV. Then at least there wouldn't be that huge sentence/fine hanging over our heads to make growers plea bargain a shitty deal. Might even be a defense for the guy who got busted (Good luck, Don...).

Time to found a Church? Like the approach used for peyote... Mushrooms have a good long history of such use, at least a few thousand years (longer than peyote or Christianity even)...

[Stenciler]

here's his story
http://www.pipestonestar.com/article...12945&Type=new
the good news? he's a moron:
"...comments that the Sheriff’s Office received information that he was selling hallucinogenic mushrooms to juveniles..."
"... Neighbors noted the high traffic coming from the home. He also stated that this case is an ongoing investigation concluding with Lowther’s arrest..."
keep a low profile, ya'll. Can't be said often enough apparently.

[LethalTr1p]

religion would be hard to pull off, but i've seen it done. in the body modification community, many people were being descriminated against (on the job) for facial tattoo's that were part of there 'ritualistic' life. someone founded the church of bodmod, got a few laywers behind them, and the problem virtually dissapeared within a few years.

creating a religion after something has already been made illegal is another story though. you'd have to prove you were born into, or a part of a religion in another country, (or before the substance was illegal) to take any part. Leads to another point. if your supposedly able to choose your religion, how come you can't follow native american beliefs (against american law) unless you can prove your family lineage includes at least some % of native american. we're all people. talk about descrimination straight from the government.

if it was possible though. many problems would be solved. just dont get caught selling them (especially to minors) like that jackass did.

[Landogarner]

Something I don't worry about as I will NEVER sell mushrooms or grow more than I need for my own personal use.

*gets off pulpit*

[waylitjim]

the Sheriff’s Office received information that he was selling hallucinogenic mushrooms to juveniles. Neighbors noted the high traffic coming from the home.

Yup, that'll do it. What a dumb ass.

“In 23 years this is the first growing operation that I have come across, it is uncommon in this area because of the climate, they require a moist, warm environment to grow.”

guess they never heard of a humidifier.

[Omega 11]

the street value for per ounce falls around $200.

yep, they have to be talking about 50 grams of dried.

[Stenciler]

hey yo! about that religion thing. All we need to do is re-found a gnostic christian church based on 1,700 year old beliefs. check this link out
http://people.etnoteam.it/maiocchi/fabbro.htm
Apparently early christians left evidence in Italian mosaics of mushroom ingestion to further spiritual enlightenment.
...almost creepily parallel to the modern church UDV...

[maynardsdick]

i seriously doubt he was selling to minors, although i dont know the guy. it just seems very unlikely. sounds like a trumped up charge to justify the outrageous prison/fine.

[slp]

Originally Posted by Stenciler

hey yo! about that religion thing. All we need to do is re-found a gnostic christian church based on 1,700 year old beliefs. check this link out
http://people.etnoteam.it/maiocchi/fabbro.htm
Apparently early christians left evidence in Italian mosaics of mushroom ingestion to further spiritual enlightenment.
...almost creepily parallel to the modern church UDV...

See my post here "Hallucinogenic Tea Made Legal"........slp/fmrc

[{Mr}fLoYd]

Unfortunatally Maynard ... not everyone who grows or uses sites like this does it for the love/ personal enjoyment/ happiness from the results ... the important thing is to keep the low profile and be smart about those who we let know of our hobby ... just because we (and im assuming most of us growing here arent doing it for the vast monitarty summs we aquire from said hobby) do not see the harm in our hobby and do not use out results in a harmfull way doesnt mean the rest of the world doesnt ... as well as those few bad apples who grow shitty shrooms with no care and no enjoyment of the hobby other than getting that green paper ... inconsiquentially there are a great many things in this world better than paper that are green ( i would hate to throw the wink face into my pulpit ramp so just insert here) ... ok im done now

*another man steps off his pulpit*

Floyd

[Hippie3]

he was dealing,
bet on that.
to get a search warrant
the piggies had to have an eyewitness
who had been in the home and saw
the shroomage, i.e. a snitch or a roll-over.

[Hippie3]

Originally Posted by Stenciler

hey yo! about that religion thing. All we need to do is re-found a gnostic christian church based on 1,700 year old beliefs. check this link out
http://people.etnoteam.it/maiocchi/fabbro.htm
Apparently early christians left evidence in Italian mosaics of mushroom ingestion to further spiritual enlightenment.
...almost creepily parallel to the modern church UDV...

bah.
a few mushrooms in a mosaic fall far short of being evidence
for early christian use.
wishful thinking is what i see there.
grasping at straws.

[TVCasualty]

The religion angle would have to have a new framework; it's ludicrous that someone would have to do DNA testing to determine their eligibility for membership in a religion (which is what proving your % of an 'approved' genetic heritage amounts to). It's just a way to close the door to new members.

Of course, we could use mitochondrial DNA to prove our lineage as far back as necessary to prove whatever connection to whatever heritage we want. I bet there is a connection between any of us reading this and the mitochondrial DNA of the trippers depicted in the caves on the Tassili plateau in Algeria; likewise if there is any South American blood in your family tree you are now eligible for legal ayahuasca or cohoba or yopo or fungi etc.. Not that such an angle would ever be 'allowed' into a meaningful debate...

The Council on Spiritual Practices has been going after this angle for legal entheogen use for years. I wouldn't say their efforts have been in vain as we'll never really know how they might be effecting slow changes over time. Slow and steady wins the race, in this case.

Most people on this side of the fence know what's really going on: maintenance of the status quo. Changing that is very hard, duh, since the status quo has rabid defenders and the undecided are usually only tepid in their acceptance of change, esp. seemingly radical change.

Seems to me the best approach is to know in your heart that what you are doing is righteous (or at least OK), be responsible in your use and who you administer entheogens to (don't smoke salvia at the mall or give/sell fungi to kids), and with infinite patience and calmness (no preachy fanatical rants) try to educate anyone who asks and is receptive about the truth of these substances (as documented in clinical studies about toxicity, addictive potential, therapeutic uses, etc.) and how they relate to cognitive freedom. Be impeccable. Set the positive example.

Maybe the grandkids can get them at a church supply store someday.

[slp]

Well Fug....I couldn't find the "Hallucinogenic Tea Made Legal" I posted.....so,
I'll put it here???? slp/fmrc:
MSNBC.com
Court upholds church use of hallucinogenic tea
Justices unanimously rule that N.M. congregation can drink illegal drug
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:11 p.m. ET Feb. 21, 2006
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a small
congregation in New Mexico may use hallucinogenic tea as part of a
four-hour ritual intended to connect with God.
Justices, in their first religious freedom decision under Chief Justice
John Roberts, moved decisively to keep the government out of a
church religious practice. Federal drug agents should have
been barred from confiscating the hoasca tea of the Brazil-based church,
Roberts wrote in the decision.
The tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered
sacred to members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal,
which has a blend of Christian beliefs and South American traditions.
Members believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which
is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies.
New Justice Samuel Alito did not take part in the case, which was argued
last fall before Justice Sandra Day O'Connor before her
retirement. Alito was on the bench for the first time on Tuesday.
Roberts said that the Bush administration had not met its burden under a
federal religious freedom law to show that it could ban the
sects sincere religious practice.
The chief justice had also been skeptical of the government's
position in the case last fall, suggesting that the administration was
demanding too much, a zero tolerance approach.
The Bush administration had argued that the drug in the tea not only
violates a federal narcotics law, but a treaty in which the United
States promised to block the importation of drugs including
dimethyltryptamine, also known as DMT.
The government did not even submit evidence addressing the
international consequences of granting an exemption for the
(church), Roberts wrote.
The justices sent the case back to a federal appeals court, which could
consider more evidence.
Roberts, writing his second opinion since joining the court, said that
religious freedom cases can be difficult but Congress has
determined that courts should strike sensible balances.
The case is Gonzales v. O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao Do Vegetal,
04-1084.
I think this says a lot! I know of several groups forming mushroom churches,
I will send this to them..........slp/fmrc

[FLcubiefan]

Originally Posted by arezap

And exactly how many of us can afford a lawyer that good? Not me for sure. I should move outside the usa so I won't be continually be persecuted in my home country anymore.

If you're in MY state, Scott F. Mitchell is one of the best attourneys. He's for real worked some magic before on a few occaisions.

[hogwild]

this guy sold to "juveniles" from his home! I cannot believe what utter stupidity that is...... i think if you simply do not talk about your mush lab and dont show anyone theres slim possibility of getting caught. Besides he should have never sold any mushrooms, and just eaten them all for himself

[noshadows]

Originally Posted by LethalTr1p

if your supposedly able to choose your religion, how come you can't follow native american beliefs (against american law) unless you can prove your family lineage includes at least some % of native american.

Can this be right? Is it really against american law to follow native american beliefs?

[Hippie3]

not exactly.
but the NAC won't let you in if you aren't registered on the tribal lists,
and the government cannot force them to accept anyone
they don't want to let in.
perhaps there is an 'understanding'
between the NAC and the feds,
but there is no law that prohibits the
NAC from letting in anglos, etc.

the real sad part is a child molester whould get about 1-3rd the time and a 1/4th of the fine . id be willing to bet his bail was set higher then a 2 victim child perv. Recently I bailed out a friend for writing a couple bad checks . her bail was set at 60,000 or 6000 coperate cash . while this was going on a pretty high profile child molester was caught and for ruining 3 kids lives he got a bail of 45,000 or 4,500 cash coperate .And this creep is looking at about 5 years less then my friend who pulled a non-violent crime . am i the only one who see somthing wrong with this ? and this is common place where im from . its said that almost 1/4th of the USA is in jail in any given year since the early 90's .more then any other country in the U.N.("prison tek" on discovery channel) With that kind of number i guess its just kind of like a raffle. your just waiting for your number to be up . or your Favorite sin to be demonized . eventully where going to be in a "demoltion man" type of world . sorry that was a bit off topic .
This rant was brought to you by the number VII.

thats shit is fucked up.....and with a lawyer and money you could definitly
get the charges dropped down...especially if it's a first offense..