Utility company's proposal to rat out hidden marijuana operations to police raises privacy concerns
Utility company's proposal to rat out hidden marijuana operations to police raises privacy concerns
A Maine utility wants to be an ally with law enforcement in the crackdown on illegal marijuana grow operations — if it can overcome privacy concerns.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What motive would electricity companies have to report their customers?
The actual answer is that significant swings in usage create a problem for the utility. It makes capacity planning and budgeting very difficult, and it could even put a strain on the infrastructure, one that isn't accounted for in the $/kWh.
Like when a youth group shows up st a McDonald's at 10pm on a Thursday night, and 60 teens each order a box of chicken nuggets. You might think "Oh good, more sales," but now they are going to run out of nuggets over the weekend. Will they be back next week? Should the restaurant increase staff or stock up on nuggets? What if everyone wants a cheeseburger next week?
Residential energy consumption is predictable. Hidden grow houses are not.
Sweet juicy govt grants
And suddenly Maine sees a huge spike in solar and wind installations.
Solatubes, lots of them. It would work, but your roof would raise some eyebrows.
An expedited mother nature
It's the same with gmail - they scan your private messages and will snitch on you if they find something they dont like.
Back during the covid lockdown one dude was screwed because doctor asked to send a photo of the intimate parts infection of his infant son.
Google called the police, police raided him immediately.
Who knows what will they do next - send your private finance data to IRS? Your correspondence with lawyers? Everything goes apparently.
Use encrypted alternatives if you want to be safe.
The ultimate use case for crypto mining: as a front for an illegal grow op.
They can just say they’re mining Bitcoin or doing AI or something.
I really like growing tomatoes indoors, just can't get enough of those sweet sweet red berries. I like them so much, they make my eyes red.
Snitches get stitches.
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