ShrOOmSynEgry said:

so why dont we all vote against these bullshit laws????

I'll tell you why. It's because it doesn' matter worth a FUCK if we vote one way or the other.

.............but fuck this shit. i wish some of us here would actually fucking vote, and make laws PRO-GROWERS.

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Uh, so what were you trying to say?  Take a step back my brother, the sky is not falling (yet)!  I do vote, and I write my senators and district representatives whenever there is an upcomming vote on drug policy and subsequently again if they vote against a drug policy that I am in favor of.  If we all had an attitude like yours, you are correct we wouldn't get anywhere!  Thankfully some people are willing to take the personal initiative to WORK for change.  It won't happen overnight, but if people hadn't been dedicating their time and resources, we wouldn't have so many states with medical marijuana laws today. 

I believe that once a solid majority of states enact medical marijuana laws, it would only make sense that the federal government would eventually have to conceed to the people's choice.  You can be cynical and say no, that there is a conspiracy and the fed's will hold their power grip over our nation for all time, but I won't believe it -- I can't believe it -- because then I'd be as complacent in my inaction as it seems you are.  Negative propaganda seems to have blinded many, but that doesn't mean you still can't help those fighting against this hypocritical drug war and create some change!

Here are some websites that I suggest anyone interested in fighting for positive change join, contribute to, and participate in.  Most of 'em even take much of the legwork out of the fight and will email you whenever there are local events / voting matters that could use your support!  Come on guys 'n gals, take a few minutes:

• Drug Policy Alliance
  
• Stop the Drug War
  
• National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Drug Laws
  
• ACLU Take Action

Now get to work!!

Things in You Can Do in Your Community:

Discuss the issues with other interested people 
There might be several like-minded groups of people in your local area or discussing the issues online. 

Table at Events     
You can set up a table at public events and provide information on the issue.  This is also a great chance to meet like-minded people, talk to them about their concerns and coordinate. 

Distribute Flyers and Put up Posters   
You can print out materials and distribute them to friends and the public in order to raise awareness about issues.
   
Write a Letter to the Editor     
You can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and express your opinion about issues that are being covered (or are noticeably absent). Your letter might very well be printed in the "Letters to the Editor" section, which is the second-most read feature in a newspaper.

Meet with your Elected Representatives
You can meet with elected officials or their representatives and tell them what you think about a certain issue or bill, and to try to get him or her to take action on that issue.   

Join a Demonstration
All across the country people are showing their disproval of government policies by peacefully demonstrating.  You can join these gatherings and add your voice.   

Vote
You can vote for candidates who share your belief in a safe and free society.  To find out a candidate's voting record, please visit the ACLU's National Freedom Scorecard. 

Start a Letter-Writing Campaign   
Recruit friends and others to write letters to Members of Congress and the State House/Senate on key issues.

Organize a public event     
You can organize public events (such as rallies, speaking forums, town hall meetings, and concerts) to raise awareness about the issues and perhaps even raise funds.  By gathering interesting speakers and cool activities (music, dancing, etc.), you not only recruit new members, but you may also get media attention. 

Volunteer     
By volunteering at one of the above organizations you are not only contributing significantly to the work that needs to be done, you also develop great experience and gain tremendous knowledge about the issues.

Get a Resolution Passed in Your Community 
Many communities around the country have passed resolutions indicating their commitment to defend civil liberties. These resolutions show politicians at all levels believe that civil liberties must be preserved and that it is possible to be both safe and free.

We are still free to fight for our freedom
so channel your negative energy towards positive change

bellylard said:

Sad day for Canada. Sounds like the US is having all sortf of fun with their new buddy up here in Canada.

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simtap said:

Did these sites sell by creditcard? If so the cops now have the names and addresses of everyone who ordered from there. Assuming the cops do start raiding customers what offence have you commited by ordering from a site like this? Or is this offence only if you are caught in possession?

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Quote:

The following is a rough rant on Security and Overgrow.com. I need to get some more info from the feds and lawyers who deal specifically with Internet issues - this article will be much improved over time.

I have seen the same concern popping up again and again:
Is Overgrow safe? Can LEO get my IP?

Q: Is LEO actively trying to gather info on Overgrow members?
A: Probably. Does it much matter? Not really.

Be assured that the DEA, RCMP and various other agencies, have the time and money to hire some very intelligent people with almost infinite resources when it comes to hacking and Internet sleuthing in general. If they want your IP, with few exceptions, they will get it.

Q: "Does this put me at any kind of risk":?
A: I will say that you are 99% safe, even if they find out your ip and track you.

How can this be?

1. Hacking is illegal.
Courts will not tolerate police doing illegal things to gain evidence to be used in a trial proper. The reason that you see cases thrown out of court for search violations is often due to defense lawyers attacking and quashing a warrant.

However, if a cop taps your phone, searches your house or goes through your banking records with no warrant at all, then that is an even more egregious and illegal violation of basic rights and the evidence gained (and all subsequent evidence flowing from that) will never see the inside of a courtroom.

2. A warrant would be required to gain access to a server's records, (to gain useful information for) an investigation or prosecution. (I've got a funny feeling that should that happen here, we might hear about it.)

Ok, let's say the cops get a warrant somehow, (The possible grounds for the police to get a warrant for Overgrow in the first place are a mystery to me) and take Overgrow's servers apart, finding all our IPs, then what?

The police now have an IP. Whose IP? Apparently someone, somewhere, who has access to that computer with that IP has been claiming that they grow marijuana.

Which person? Is that person, who has been using that computer under an alias, reliable? Maybe it's a lot of bullshit boasting. And what about those pictures? Who do they belong to? Is it really that mysterious person's house (what house? - the house with the IP / ISP registration or is the grow somewhere else?)

....See where I'm going here?


Imagine if you were the cop showing up with a blank warrant before a judge - To Search: "mystery person" at "mystery location" for "fourth party, unconfirmed anonymous tip"

3. The information on the Overgrow server is effectively an anonymous tip since the source of the information (an unknown entity behind a keyboard at a particular IP) cannot be established to be credible or even properly known.

It was explained by both myself and our American legalists that anonymous tips are not enough for a warrant because the origin of the tip could not be established to be credible.

Even if the police magically obtain a warrant for Overgrow, they still have to get another warrant for you. There is no real possibility that they will get a warrant for YOU since they have no clue who YOU are or where your grow is.

There are also cross-jurisdictional issues here since this server is somewhere in Canada.

4. Now here's what the cops can do. Once they have gathered enough legitimate evidence that you are growing (in the real world) (Smell, hydro bills, pictures of you carrying christmas tree sized plants out your door) then they will come in and, with a warrant, seize your computer and use whatever they find on it in your prosecution. But then so what? By that point your fun is over anyway.

Police do illegal things all the time, my point is that it will not get them very far. You will have to have screwed up in the real world first.

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