Las Vegas foreclosure nightmare a boon for indoor pot growers

In Las Vegas, the metropolitan area with the highest number of foreclosures in the country, a number of bank-owned McMansions have literally gone to pot and been converted into indoor marijuana farms.

Thu, Nov 17 2011 at 10:30 AM EST

Photo: Andy Morales/Flickr

Earlier this week, the New York Times published the brilliantly titled but somewhat cringe-y, “Animal McMansion: Students Trade Dorm for Suburban Luxury,” an article describing how students at the University of California, Merced are shacking up in the city’s surplus of amenity-heavy, bank-owned properties for about $200 to $300 in rent per month. Swimming pools, Jacuzzis, chandeliers, high-end appliances, granite countertops, five-plus bedrooms … you name it, these students have it (and the neighbors in these foreclosure-ravaged subdivisions — many of whom are struggling to keep up with their own mortgages — aren’t always thrilled about it). To think that my first off-campus apartment in Boston was probably about the size of a walk-in closet in one of these homes. Sigh.

Anyways, not to be outdone, the Los Angeles Times also published a piece on how foreclosed McMansions in another part of the country severely shaken by the mortgage crisis — Las Vegas — are being put to interesting new use instead of being left to rot: they're being converted into energy-intensive indoor marijuana growing operations. Yep, Merced, the metropolitan area with the third highest number of foreclosures gets those crazy college kids doing homework in whirlpool tubs, and Las Vegas, the metropolitan area with the highest number of foreclosed homes, gets hydroponic gardeners growing skunk in their guest bedrooms. I'll let you decide which would make a worse neighbor.

The L.A. Times notes that Las Vegas’ pot problem is very much tied to the housing slump — “in neighborhoods where residents may be as transient as crowds in a subway station, growers are rarely questioned about dark windows and empty driveways” — with authorities in Nevada raiding more than 153 indoor grow sites and seizing more than 13,000 plants in 2010 compared to 18 sites and 1,000 plants in 2005.

William Sousa, a criminologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, remarks: "You can't have crime without opportunity. And all those empty homes present an opportunity for criminal activity." Sgt. Russ Cutolo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department notes that many of the foreclosed home-turned-pot farms have been nearly identical, "suggesting some groups take a chain-restaurant approach to farming pot."

One of Las Vegas’ more recent (and smaller-scale) foreclosed home pot busts involved Frederica Ballard and her two adult sons who were renting a “two-story box the color of an oatmeal cookie" in the Vegas suburbs. Police arrived on a domestic violence call (those not-very-smart Ballard boys got into a brawl) only to find a "jungle" growing in the master bedroom. In total, 61 plants were found along with scales, packing materials, growing equipment, and a couple grand in cash. Not surprisingly, the Ballard clan has since moved from the neighborhood.

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Angela Today 20:18 PM

Make it legal. Make it Legal. Its a shame that people have go to such lenghts to make money. Its hard out here for a pimp

Enter your name Today 18:02 PM

I say light one up and pass it around

m Today 16:49 PM

WHY & HOW
why legalize? -deficit. $ spent to prohibit when it could be a surplus in revenue +/-
-pots safer than >alcohol, tobacco, pills(all legal).
-it would cut off demand and profit to the mexican cartels.
-imagine if every employed person today lost or couldnt get their job because they drank alcohol
within the last month . well that same descrimination happens for something less deadly than beer.
-it helps the sick and is an artistic /motivational tool.... More

Nuh Uuuuuhhhhh Today 10:18 AM

The college kids are going to be the worse neighbors by far. You're not going to hear a sound from the grow house. This country needs to accept the fact that keeping pot illegal is doing more harm than good.

little hippo Today 09:36 AM

what is so bad about marijuana? in terms of consuming it. not how to obtain it.

kaysalace 11/27/2011 03:28 AM

Smoking no less than 1/8th-1/4 per week 365 days per year for the last decade I can certainly attest to marijuana's addictive capacity. However for the non daily drug user this "addictive capacity" is no where near that of any "hard drugs". People saying there is no chance of addiction should be cautioned to amend their argument. Speaking in absolutes just empowers those too immature to be using drugs in the 1st place helping support the negative stigma that surrounds drug use.

I 100%.... More

Anonymous Today 15:48 PM

marijuana is NOT addictive. Not in the physical and not in the mental. I elect to remain a smoker. i have abstained for many different multi month periods. I come back because I enjoy it. Clearly you speak from ignorance.

Arcimbold Today 20:45 PM

People who work with addicts see a lot of victims of mariajuana, if you add their families the victims of innocent and healthy marijuana, grow and grow. Now if we add the driving under influence and extra irresponsible behavior it, marijuana consumption becomes more and more of a problem.

Anonymous Today 23:37 PM

These very same counselors make significant financial gains from the stigma that the ONDCP perpetrates. The War On Drugs is a war on the American citizenry.

Pun Knee 11/25/2011 23:20 PM

Don't you just know they wanted to title this article, "Las Vegas Goes to Pot"?

Chollie 11/25/2011 22:50 PM

The only reason Pot is not legal is people like , Seagrams and Budwieser would go broke......LOL It's all about the money ...every time..

josh bateman 11/25/2011 19:27 PM

Marijuana is not harmful and it's so rediculous to arrest so many people who dont do anything wrong but toke up. good and bad people do it but dont punish the good people.

prof 11/25/2011 17:34 PM

Agreed.
It beggers the imagination that a society which claims to champion individual liberties should continue to persecute people who wish to enjoy themselves in their own homes.

us_1776 11/25/2011 13:58 PM

Marijuana is now growing everywhere.

Nobody is paying any attention to the stupid drug prohibition.

The so-called "war-on-drugs" is a massive failure.

LEGALIZE and TAX NOW !!

us_1776 11/25/2011 19:58 PM

And why did my post have a whole bunch of Likes a short time ago and is now down to only 1 Like?

Tarrant Today 08:16 AM

I will look into it. I am not aware of this happening in the past but we can see if there is a bug to track down. Do you have a screenshot of it with more likes?

us_1776 Today 12:40 PM

I don't have a screenshot. Never thought I would need one. The Likes were going up through the day and then bam it just went to 1 Likes and stayed there.

Tarrant Today 20:28 PM

Hmm. Ok, I will have the tech team look into it. Sorry about that. (and I wouldn't have had screen shots either, I just always need to ask because IT bug chasers the world over love their screen shots.)

Ceres 11/25/2011 21:29 PM

Some people feel happy if they make you unhappy. The $15 trillion national debt is making them behave that way.

Anonymous 11/25/2011 14:31 PM

If I have to choose who I'd rather have for neighbors I'd go with the pot farms every time. I live next to the ever-partying renters whose owners couldn't afford the mortgage and saddled the neighborhood with this creeping cancer. Or the other neighbor who converted HIS house into a Section 8 pavillion. Bring on the empty driveways. It is too bad about the energy suck these farms take though. Another reason to end the war on this vegetable and just let it grow in the sun.

Anonymous Today 08:54 AM

with today's lighting technology (led), the power consumption is just a mere fraction of what it used to be. they are no longer using wharehouse lights (metal halide, hps). which, aside from using a lot of power, also generated a lot of heat that had be dealt with. so, power draw is no longer an issue.

Anonymous Today 15:52 PM

LED lights are still not sufficient to use for flowering. Their time is coming, but presently you still need HPS to flower. Just not enough lumens with LED. I'll b stoked when they will produce enough.