Marijuana Horticulture: The Indoor/Outdoor Medical Grower's Bible

This will eliminate unsightly light leaks. Ozone-treated air should discharge through a roof vent or chimney to decrease ground-level odors. See “Ozone Generators” in Chapter Thirteen. Be careful when installing a ceiling vent or when venting out chimney. Light shining out the chimney and around roof vents looks very suspicious!

Keep air conditioner water from draining outside. The water is packed with potent cannabis fragrance.
    “All electric” homes are few and far between. Electrical use information from previous tenants might be available from the electric company. On the average, growers in the USA can use one 1000-watt lamp per bedroom. This means a two bedroom home can host 2000 watts, a three bedroom home 3000 watts, etc. Unhook the dryer and other appliances that draw much electricity. Turn the water heater down to 120 degrees, and take showers at the gym.
    Stealing power from the electric company causes even more exposure than paying for it! The extra risk is insane, and it’s wrong to steal!
    For more information on Internet, personal, and grow show safety, check out the cannabis grow sites listed earlier in this chapter.
    Now, relatively inexpensive (less than $10,000) thermal imaging devices are becoming more affordable for smaller police forces. Thermal imaging devices have been used legally to measure the heat signature escaping from structures. This invasive “evidence” is used with other “evidence” to secure a search warrant.
    According to US police sources, the devices are legal only to find heat escaping from windows, vents, etc. Most often narcs use the cameras illegally to secure a search warrant. They slither around the neighborhood early in the morning or under the cloak of darkness to snap the hot shots. The law stipulates specific parameters for the camera, and the technology is relatively arcane. The “approved” imaging devices are able to record differences in heat levels outside of buildings. In the USA, it is illegal to search the inside of a structure for the “heat signature.” However, today there are devices that can actually “see through walls” to provide an image based on the heat a person emits.
    Avoid thermal imaging problems by turning grow lights on during the daytime. The daytime heat and light make accurate measurement of heat coming from vents and windows impossible. Thermal imaging cameras are rendered useless; the technology will not work during the daytime. Shield and insulate walls and windows from heat loss from lamps. Store ballasts in separate rooms, and channel the heat away from the grow room. Cool grow room air before exhausting outdoors. Air vented out underneath a structure is nice and cool before mixing with the outdoor environment.
    Growers having problems with thermal imaging should contact NORML, 1001 Connecticut Ave. NW, suite 710, Washington, DC 20036, Tel: 1-202-483-7205. They have an excellent study on thermal imaging devices and legal aspects compiled by Carlos Ghigiotti. This information could save another lawyer a lot of time.
    In June of 2001, the Supreme Court decided a case brought against Oregon resident Danny Kyllo. The decision determined that the use of a thermal imaging device constitutes an illegal search. High-tech thermal imaging devices often get as much press as police bullying tactics. Law enforcement officials can legally lie, cheat, and steal to acquire evidence against peaceful, plant-loving growers. Deception is one of their biggest weapons, and snitches their best allies. Law enforcement legally coerces terrified growers into squealing on their friends and family. The lesson here is simple; do not tell anybody, under any circumstances, that you are growing in the United States of America. Growers are arrested daily on “hearsay” evidence from an arrested informant. Stay away from the heat.
    One last bit of simple security detail: grow efficiently! Growers in a Drug War-torn America should harvest 0.5 grams of dried bud every month for each watt of light in the flowering room. Growers that do not harvest this much are cheating themselves and need to master the basics of growing. Always grow fewer than 99 total plants in America. Federal laws require a five-year minimum sentence with no parole when convicted of growing 100-1000 plants.

Always keep a fire extinguisher nearby.

Put rubber feet on fans and blowers to shunt vibrations and noise.

A carbon filter will remove the fragrance of cannabis before