What's Your Take on This?

[82Rigger]

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) -- A man who said he and another bow hunter barely escaped with their lives after stumbling onto a marijuana farm is upset about being denied a reward after he reported his find.

"To have guys chasing you with firearms, I mean, we should get something out of this deal," the hunter, Mike Gambrell, told the Yakima Herald-Republic. "The people running this program, they just don't want to give up the money. It's a joke."

Washington State Patrol officials said the reward offer using a telephone hot line, 800-388-GROW, was designed in the 1980s to draw tips from pot smokers and others in the drug culture rather than discoveries by law-abiding citizens.

"This isn't for people who learn after the fact they could get money for this," Capt. Mark Couey said. "We're thankful (Gambrell) called 911, that he wasn't hurt -- and that he did his civic duty."

Gambrell, 39, a state maintenance technician, said he and Duane McFarland of Puyallup were hunting mule deer Sept. 3 in a steep canyon near Satus Pass about 25 miles northeast of Goldendale.

Nearing the bottom of the canyon, Gambrell said he met a man wearing camouflage who threw his hands in the air, took cover near a tree and drew a chrome-plated semiautomatic pistol. Thinking the man was a poacher, Gambrell hustled to catch up with McFarland on the canyon floor.

"That's when I realized I was surrounded by marijuana plants," he said. "I mean, the whole bottom of that canyon was like a corn field full of pot plants."

About halfway out of the canyon, Gambrell said, he and McFarland saw four men coming after them with rifles. With a head start of about 300 yards, the pair made it to safety in the woods and used a walkie-talkie to alert a friend, who called 911 on his cellular telephone.

State troopers and Klickitat County sheriff's deputies seized 1,079 marijuana plants but found no one to arrest.

Gambrell said he later learned of the hot line offering up to $5,000 for tips leading to the seizure of marijuana but was denied any money.

Couey said Gambrell failed to meet the requirements listed on the patrol's Web site -- that to receive a reward, a tipster must call the 800 number before alerting any other law enforcement agency and then call back within two weeks.

"He's trying to win the Lotto," Couey said. "I feel for him, but this program is designed specifically to entice people who would not otherwise normally come forward."

So, if you're a pothead and illegal drug user, you can claim the $5,000? :cd: :cd: :cd:

[melody1181]

Good Lord....another example of being a druggy being profitable.

They should get the money.

[David]

Lucky they got out of there. I was reading an article a few days ago that said a lot of park service personnel have been wounded and even killed lately by people involved in the drug trade who set up shop on government land. The article said that the park service has the highest mortality rate of any police service in the country due to this trend.

Why has it not been talked about in the mainstream? It has not been talked about in the mainstream because the park service has no requirement to disclose deaths and woundings of its personnel and feels no inclination to divulge such information on its own. It is a sad commentary on our society and really points out the wisdom of being well armed the next time you take the kids camping.

Well to stop the trend send in US Troops and let go on full scale combat op against the drug dealrs.

[Seascamp]

Lucky to be alive is right. A few months back in Alberta the RCMP sent in four Troopers to engage with a suspected and known dangerous rural MJ grower. Two of the Troopers sent were rookies of two weeks service and unarmed and were shot dead, two others that were armed with pistols and of a bit longer service were shot dead via longer-range rifle fire.

I guess the story there is don?t call the RCMP on MJ growers if one values the lives of rookie RCMP Troopers or the RCMP?s judgment when it comes to drug law enforcement and who to send where, to do what, and with what arms and or equipment. I hope we do a better job of caring about our police in the ever-dangerous drug law enforcement end of things.

Not at all surprised that sand lot ball was played when it came to the reward money. Kind of like getting a clean base hit to first and being called out. The ref says ?you stepped on a line, you?re out?. The reply, ?that isn?t a rule?, is of no avail because the reply is, ?it?s a rule now?, comes as sure as the sun rises in the east.

Ten layers of phi beta kappa MBA?s in government service make sure sand lot ball is always played and in this instance I hope there is a lot of exposure as to how all that really works in real time.

Scamp

[Packo]

Just more government double talk. These guys rate the money but since they didn't follow the instructions that they knew nothing about.....tough shit. Local, State, or Federal....just more bureaucratic assholes. Like FEMA telling Phoenix they were not welcome if they brought armed police officers to protect them. Why I'm prepared for disaster here on the coast. I would no more rely on a government agency to help me then I would the French.

Pack