The small ski town of Breckenridge, Colorado recently made national headlines after voters approved a measure to decriminalize marijuana use for adults. The vote will surely inspire other towns to try and make their own rules on marijuana until state and federal laws catch up to the will of voters. Its important to note that Breckenridge’s success may not of happened without the example Denver set for the state by passing a decriminalization measure 4 years earlier.  Want more sensible marijuana laws in your town? The following cities help draw a blueprint for marijuana activists at the local level.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Almost 40 years ago, influenced by harsh state laws, Ann Arbor voters passed the Marijuana Ordinance of 1972 which made possession of less than 2 ounces a $5 ticket. It took only 5 months for a state judge to rule the ordinance unconstitutional which resulted in the city council repealing the ordinance. A year later the voters overruled the council’s decision by amending the city charter to declare that city police had to send all marijuana cases to the Ann Arbor city attorney; and the city attorney could not send the case to any other authority for prosecution. In doing so, the provision effectively denied state courts the opportunity to declare the measure unconstitutional, which had occurred in 1972. The same day, the neighboring city of Ypsilanti adopted a similar measure. In 2000, Ann Arbor passed an ordinance allowing the cultivation and use of medical marijuana which paved the way for Michigan’s first statewide medical marijuana law in 2008.

Berkeley, California

In 1973, Berkeley passed The Marijuana Ordinance I, which forbid law enforcement from arresting persons for cannabis related crimes unless cleared by the City Council. Like happened in Ann Arbor, A California Superior Court Judge struck the ordinance down because it violated city code that states the City Manager has discretion over police personnel. In 1979, Berkeley passed The Marijuana Ordinance II, which made the enforcement of cannabis laws–including cultivation, sale, and transport—-the lowest priority for law enforcement, banned the expenditure of funds for enforcement of cannabis statutes, allowed residents to grow cannabis and report any theft of cannabis plants to law enforcement, and even directed the City Council to lobby in favor of the decriminalization and legalization of cannabis.

Madison, Wisconsin

Since 1971, Madison has been home of the Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival. In 1977, Madison voters passed ordinance 23.20, which made possession of about an ounce legal when used for “personal use in a private place”. In 2007, The Dane County district attorney announced that his office would no longer file any charges against anyone in the county caught with less than once ounce or paraphernalia. Although the announcement cited lack of resources for the decision, it’s also likely due to the fact that roughly half the county’s population lives in Madison.

Seattle, Washington

Initiative 75 (I-75) was passed by Seattle voters in 2003 which not only made marijuana the cities lowest law enforcement priority but also setup a review board to see how things worked out afterwards. About 4 years later, in 2008, the board released their final review which said that marijuana use, crime and public health risks had not risen. The report also noted there was a decrease in “adults experiencing the consequences of involvement in the criminal justice system” and a slight increase in public safety officers availability for other priorities. Imagine that.

Columbia, Missouri

Columbia is home to the University of Missouri and many local colleges. Over 1/2 the population posses a bachelor’s degree and over 1/4 hold graduate degrees, making it one of the most educated cities in the United States. In 2004 Columbia voters widely approved two initiatives. The first allowed patients to be prescribed medical marijuana by a doctor and the second made marijuana the lowest priority for police and set a max fine at $250 with no possibility of arrest or incarceration for less than 1.2 ounces. Shortly after the approval, the Columbia city council changed the law without voters consent to only apply to first time offenders. In 2009, the tiny Missouri towns of Cliff Village and Cottleville used Columbia as an example to pass their own medical marijuana laws.

Carbondale, Illinois

Carbondale is home to Southern Illinois University and in 2004, approved the small ordinance which allows the city to fine offenders possessing less than 10 grams of marijuana or paraphernalia rather than sending the case to the State’s Attorney’s Office or the county court system. While the 10 gram limit seems low to many marijuana consumers, Carbondale has at least taken steps to protect people from criminal records and incarceration.

Denver, Colorado

In 2005, Denver voters passed the The Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative which made Denver the first U.S city to actually legalize marijuana and treat it just like alcohol. Under the initiative, an adult can legally possess up to 1 ounce, but marijuana use in public, by people under 21, or while driving all remain illegal, just like alcohol. Similar to Breckenridge, Denver’s initiative is hailed as a symbolic measure due to the possibility of being prosecuted under state and federal laws.

Lawrence, Kansas

The college town of Lawrence became an unfortunate example of how many politicians are only interested in decriminalization if it means more revenue. In 2006, The Lawrence City Commission narrowly voted to have first-time marijuana possession cases tried in municipal court instead of state court.  The ordinance was aimed to protect University of Kansas students from loosing federal financial aid due to a state or federal marijuana possession charge. But city commissioners also narrowly voted to impose a $200 minimum fine and a mandatory $100 “evaluation” fee for marijuana possession, meaning Lawrence marijuana consumers would now face a much higher fine than county or state courts typically give.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

In 2006, the small town of Eureka Springs voted to make marijuana the lowest law enforcement priority and reduce the punishment for small amounts to a fine and/or community service. With a population of less than 3,000, Eureka Spring’s mild decriminalization law is only a small step for the state which boasts fairly tough state laws against marijuana consumers. Eureka Spring’s small success probably would not of happened without the support of nearby University of Arkansas NORML, who abandoned a similar effort in Fayetteville (where the University is located) because of weak support. They choose to instead focus on Eureka Springs, where they only needed to gather 144 signatures (15% of those voting in the last mayoral election) to send the measure to public vote.

Lead photo by: FoxTongue

Subscribe to Spark Report via email subscription or RSS Feed. You can also find SR on Twitter and Facebook.

Before marijuana prohibition began in the late 1930’s, many people, including some of our nations leaders grew cannabis for a variety of reasons. It’s fairly well known that cannabis has thousands of industrial uses, and has been grown for thousands of years. While simply growing cannabis is far from proof that someone smoked it, there is still evidence showing many would-be U.S Presidents enjoyed it for recreational and medicinal uses.

George Washington
Washington routinely smoked marijuana to alleviate the pain from his ailing teeth. Washington’s diary recounts his efforts to better cultivate and enhance his crops of marijuana.

Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson grew cannabis on his plantation and smuggled Chinese hemp seeds to America. He also is believed to have given special smoking blends out as personal gifts which is why he makes the list.

James Madison
Madison once remarked that hemp gave him insight to create a new and democratic nation.

James Monroe
Monroe began smoking it as Ambassador to France & continued to the age of 73.

Andrew Jackson
Jackson has been documented to have smoked cannabis and tobacco cigars along with the troops he led.

Zachary Taylor
Like Andrew Jackson, Taylor is said to have smoked with his troops in one or more of the many wars he was in.

Franklin Pierce
Continuing a popular theme of the era, Pierce also smoked with his troops as a general in the Mexican-American War. In a letter to his family, he says cannabis is “about the only good thing” in the war.

Abraham Lincoln
Quotes (real and fake) about Lincoln enjoying hemp are all over the internet. While some debate if Lincoln sparked up, many resources point to yes.

John F. Kennedy
Close acquaintances say Kennedy used cannabis regularly to control his back pain (even during his term) and actually planned on legalizing marijuana during his second term.

Jimmy Carter
Along with his efforts to legalize marijuana, Some say Carter also hosted many marijuana smoke filled events at the White House. This leads most to assume Carter at least tried it at some point in life.

George W. Bush
Bush publicly refused to answer the marijuana question. He was later caught saying he refused to talk about it “because I don’t want some little kid doing what I tried”.

Bill Clinton
Clinton famously stated that he smoked but “didn’t inhale”. He has been known to bend the truth every now and then, so he still makes the list.

Barack Obama
Even though he joked off many American’s wishes to legalize marijuana, Obama has been very open with his own marijuana smoking in the past, once saying “I inhaled frequently. That was the point”.

Unfortunately history has forgotten many facts of lesser known presidents like Millard Fillmore, which makes finding evidence of possible marijuana use for some presidents next to impossible. Despite that, 30 percent of the United State’s 44 presidents are believed to have smoked marijuana for recreational and/or medical purposes. While under the average of roughly 40% of people that admit to smoking marijuana, it’s still an interesting fact to keep in mind while debating issues about marijuana use in America.

All sources for this list were gathered through internet resources. Best judgement was used in determining credibility. Any additional fact checking can be done in the comments. Subscribe to Spark Report via email subscription or RSS Feed. You can also find SR on Twitter and Facebook and coming soon to the all new StonerNation.com.

If you spend much time online, chances are you have stumbled upon photos often referred to as “The Marijuana house” or “The Great Tennessee Pot Cave”. The photos are of a seemingly normal house with a huge marijuana grow operation hidden in a cave beneath the house. While these pictures have made their rounds on the internet for years, details on the story behind the photos are vague at best. I have always wondered the real story behind the photos of this amazing setup. The full story.

The Property

The million dollar A-frame style vacation home was located on Dixon Springs Road in Eastern Trousdale County Tennessee, about 40 miles northeast of Nashville.

There is a hidden passageway from the home to the cave that leads to a corridor with cinder block walls and concrete ceiling and floor.  The corridor slopes down 40 feet into the converted cave. The cave was complete with air conditioning, full bathroom, and a kitchen with a fully stocked pantry. An excape hatch lets out steps from the home and has a  hydraulic jack that lifts a trap door which is hidden with a boulder.

The growing operation was complete with an irrigation system to water the 400 – 500 plants that were between 6 and 12 inches tall and the 400 – 500 additional plants that were as tall as 6 feet. To power the sophisticated lighting and climate control system that kept the caves temperature at 87 degrees the growers had illegally spliced into county power lines.

The growers would hire about a half-dozen Hispanic workers in Arizona, and then drive them to Tennessee. For part of the journey the windows on the van would be covered so the workers did not know where they were.

The Bust

Police were eventually tipped off to the operation after the electric company discovered the missing electricity and sent crews to investigate. There are unsubstantiated rumors that man with a shot gun threatened an electric company worker in a confrontation at the houses massive front gate.

On December 14th 2005, the house was raided by national and local law enforcement agencies and three men were arrested in connection with the growing operation. Brian Gibson and Greg Compton were arrested in Tennessee and are believed to be the day-to-day managers of the operation. Fred Earl Strunk, thought to be the mastermind behind the operation, was arrested at his home in an affluent area of Gainesville Florida.

Investigators estimated that the operation could bring in as much as 6 to 8 million dollars per year and could produce about 100 pounds of processed marijuana per harvest.

The People

Fred Strunk, is said to have had at least 6 identifications with various names in his home along with $50,000 in cash. Strunk was held on a 15 million dollar bond which was reduced to 1 million dollars with the provision he provide a high school or college yearbook with his photo to prove is identity.

Fred Strunk pleaded guilty in March 2006 to charges of growing marijuana, money laundering and theft. He received concurrent sentences of 18 years for the drug charge and 12 years for the theft charge. He will have to serve at least 30% of his sentence, or more than five years, before becoming eligible for parole. He also must repay Tri-County Electric a total of $60,001 for electric power he stole from the utility to power the underground lights and other equipment in the cave.

Gibson and Compton, the “managers” of the operation, received less time in exchange for agreeing to testify against Strunk.

The Fire and Rumors

On December 5th 2006, the house and a neighboring home about a half mile away, caught fire and burned to the ground. The suspicious fires were intentionally set and sparked a wave of speculation about who, and more importantly, why someone would burn the houses. A popular theory is that the police possibly missed a key piece of evidence during the investigation. Maybe documents or information leading to more underground grows or other co-conspirators in the operation. With the attention to detail that went into hiding the huge grow operation, it seems logical that the police could have missed something small and well hidden within the home. We will probably never know the true reason, but the fact that a second house was also destroyed, fuels suspicion about how large this operation really was (or possibly still is).

There are rumors that a neighbor was found murdered in a house close to the pot cave about 3 or 4 months before the bust. The rumor also says that 2 dead immigrants were found a few days later in the same area. I was unable to confirm whether or not the bodies were actually ever found.

The Auction

On December 8th, 2007, the famous pot cave was auctioned off on behalf of the state. The auction was held in what had been one of the underground growing rooms in the previous marijuana operation. About 170 people, mostly spectators, came to watch the court-ordered sale unfold about 90 feet below ground.

Roth Kase, a Wisconsin-based maker of European-style cheeses, won the auction with a bid of $285,000. The auction included 7 acres of land, the high-tech cave, the burned remains of the house, and a smaller house located behind the original which was believed to house the garden workers. The property was sold pretty much “as is” and even still included a majority of the equipment used in the growing operation, including the white buckets and grow lights.

The Photos

Video Tour

Tour starts around 2:30.

Subscribe to Spark Report via email or RSS Feed. You can also find SR on Twitter and Facebook.