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NutDraw t1_j9g2b1a wrote

The Happy Trees dude only got nailed because he was flaunting the law hard. They probably would have left the pop ups alone if they hadn't branched out into shrooms and stuff. They were very quickly morphing from a pot based grey market to a black market, and within a few months probably would've gone full Hamster Town based on the trajectory. He's like the last person we want to be the face of legal retail weed.

I'll be the first to say RPD routinely has their priorities messed up, but let's not pretend some great injustice was brought down on Happy Trees.

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jl55378008 t1_j9gorb5 wrote

>Hamster Town

You mean Hamsterdam? lol

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NutDraw t1_j9gq2rm wrote

Lol Yes, been ages since I went through The Wire so brainfarted on the name.

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idgafau5 t1_j9g8mma wrote

When I saw vendors selling shrooms, I knew it wouldn't last.

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Gwala_BKK t1_j9k410u wrote

Damn I’ve been looking for shrooms too. Would have been nice

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Hiltson87 t1_j9h4pmd wrote

Didn't help they were openly doing it at their legit business either.

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RiverYuppy OP t1_j9g30ko wrote

I don't think it's some great injustice that Happy Trees got brought down.

My issue is that it doesn't feel like there are the appropriate amount of resources being allocated to a situation I think is far worse. Happy Trees is just a case of visible misallocation of resources to me.

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fusion260 t1_j9g8ygt wrote

I think you're conflating the problems Richmond is having with policing and its public image overall with one specific policing event out of many that happened that same day—Except the two murders this article is referring to happened in a completely different week and time of day than the Happy Trees bust.

By saying "appropriate amount of resources," it sounds like you're thinking a majority of RPD's time that day and the days that led up to it were spent on this single bust, when in reality, the resources used likely totaled a small portion of one precinct's staffing.

It's the same type of argument people use on "why spend time and money on removing monuments than our schools?" when there are separate budgets and funds and teams for multiple things.

As shameful as RPD's public image has been these past few years, they are able to do multiple things at once because they have several precincts, units, and investigations going on at the same time.

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NutDraw t1_j9g502w wrote

I don't think it took a lot of resources given how open they were about it lol The raid itself, maybe but I don't think they needed a team of detectives working the case for months or anything. Stopping street murders though? That takes a lot of resources and ones RPD don't actually control. Lest anyone think I'm actually defending RPD, I actually view the general inability of police to prevent such crimes to be a good indicator that they need to do a lot of stuff differently. I'm just trying to be consistent in acknowledging that there's not too much they could have done to prevent said murder in the first place.

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choicebutts t1_j9j3vie wrote

It takes a lot of work to solve homicides because the public won't talk to the police when they know something.

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NutDraw t1_j9jhsao wrote

Definitely a factor, but I want draw a distinction between preventing and solving crime.

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StillPsychological45 t1_j9jii8h wrote

How would you prevent crime?

Sounds like minority report

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NutDraw t1_j9kcchr wrote

Well, it's been demonstrated over and over again that the best way to reduce crime is to reduce poverty. Social programs for violence intervention, better education, etc have all been better correlated to long term crime reduction than increased policing. As I mentioned, these things are outside the purview of RPD. IMO, police are better equipped to solve crimes than directly prevent it, so there should be a greater emphasis on that (and coincidentally less blame for failing to prevent it than what OP has given them). If the police demonstrated an actual ability to solve crimes and make people's lives better through that over some of the tactics we've seen in the past (there are good reasons these communities avoid involving police), you'd certainly see more cooperation and better relations between these communities and police in general.

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healing_gourd t1_j9gcxp9 wrote

Good point, we should legalize and regulate those drugs, to prevent the cops wasting time on both fronts.

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ImmobilizedbyCheese t1_j9gi00t wrote

We can't have people eating mushrooms and being happy though. We need them paying for prescription antidepressants so the pharma companies can thrive!

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RiverYuppy OP t1_j9ggrp2 wrote

You think we should legalize and regulate coke and heroin?

−37

ZephyrInfernum t1_j9gvjbf wrote

Yes. I don't use either, but the people who do use them will use them if they're legal to use/possess or not. Regulating them like we do with alcohol/cannabis would make them at least clean.

Decriminalize all drugs, make rehab available for those that want it, make narcan widely available.

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pumicepickle t1_j9gtrnq wrote

Do I support heroin use? No. Would regulation of it prevent a ton of fentanyl overdose deaths? Absolutely.

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welcome-to-the-list t1_j9hje7o wrote

And would likely severely drop the prices. Which would hopefully reduce crime as someone won't have to fence a bike/rob someone to get money for a hit.

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healing_gourd t1_j9honsw wrote

Absolutely. Drug abuse / addiction is an illness, not a crime. It is reduced by helping and caring for people, not throwing them in jail or fining them.

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DeviantAnthro t1_j9fqymy wrote

I'm sure glad RPD saved Richmond from those violent stoners, think about how many more murders there would have been this past weekend otherwise.

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okcknight t1_j9fyhn2 wrote

Most street level dealers of hard drugs have been arrested many times. They know the game, they know not to walk around with literal pounds of illegal substances (unlike Mr. Happy Trees) That way when you get caught, you get a slap on the wrist for simple possession and you’re right back on the corner next week.

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RiverYuppy OP t1_j9g29nh wrote

Sadly this is true. They often do it in groups too. One is selling. One controls money/gun. With optionally a lookout. Then someone drives by every so often to pick up cash to make sure they aren't holding so much that they become a target to other criminals. Also police can't get them with possession & firearm or confiscate too much money as the dude with the money hasn't done anything apparently illegal.

Occasionally you'll see a Porsche or Ferrari pull up and talk to them. I wonder if those are just rich dudes buying drugs or the people running the show. I think the latter since they seem to stay and chat and I never see them buy.

I think if they were inconvenienced enough by being arrested so often, they would at least move their operations. I imagine moving operations would result in a hit to sales.

But I'm sure RPD doesn't want to increase their simple possession charges.

−9

ApocalypticShadowbxn t1_j9gws1c wrote

what you describe is NOT how most richmond "street corner" drug dealing is set up. what you describe is how its done in baltimore(the wire was somewhat accurate portrayal of Baltimore's drug trade), Philadelphia & other larger cities, but most Richmond street dealing is not set up like that. no idea where it is that you are observing what you think you are seeing, but you are probably misunderstanding what you are watching.

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RiverYuppy OP t1_j9ryxgr wrote

I see it every day in highland park three blocks from my house.

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goosey65 t1_ja32ngg wrote

What part of Highland Park are you seeing this in? Genuinely asking. I’ve encountered what I assumed was some drug activity by Carolina Market but that has gotten very quiet since August.

Outside six points, I mostly see older folks who appear possibly on drugs but nothing matching your description in terms of operations.

I’ve walked countless times through the area where the shooting occurred and never seen anyone outside except an occasional walker or person waiting for the bus.

NOW, I have seen homes that look like drug houses but again, have not seen drug corner operations like you’ve described. So again, just curious where you see this happening because maybe it’s just not on my radar.

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Plenty_Net5261 t1_j9j8ajc wrote

Seems like you lumped a few movies together to describe how drugs are sold and money is exchanged?

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t00oldforthisshit t1_j9ha81t wrote

Please, neighbor, read u/ApocalypticShadowbxn 's comment and really take it to heart.

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RiverYuppy OP t1_j9rz0yh wrote

They must live in the fan. I see it everyday three blocks from my house.

No your average UR son of a lawyer drug dealer OP is probably familiar with doesn’t do this. But in highland park they clearly do.

0

vtbeavens t1_j9fw045 wrote

Maybe if the RPD's priorities were properly aligned you'd see murdering of snacks at 7-11, not people.

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Farmerjoerva t1_j9gwh97 wrote

During the search, police recovered around 127 pounds of suspected marijuana, 150 pounds of edibles containing marijuana, 14 pounds of suspected psilocybin mushrooms and 18 pounds of suspected psilocybin mushrooms bars, according to court documents. Officers also secured three firearms, $15,000 and multiple documents during the search.

Ummm not to mention the DMT lab in the back of the shop plus other class 1 and 2 narcotics. This wasn’t just about weed this was about multiple felony count’s happening. This is close to a Rico case and he’s probably not going to see the light of day for a while

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Treymolken t1_j9i42kf wrote

Oh no not mushrooms and DMT, thank god we got them, much safer streets

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Farmerjoerva t1_j9jmvei wrote

Still a felony. Weather or not I agree isn’t the issue it’s the multiple fu to the police and doing it in a way where they were very open about it. What did you think was going to happen ?

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Thrikal t1_j9hd7m9 wrote

Is there a source to what was taken? I'm genuinely curious - I know the court charges say possession with intent to sell, and was over 5 pounds. I can't find anything more specific, unless it's recent news.

Either way, with the 5 pounds of marijuana, he was cruisin' for a bruisn'. If the numbers you mentioned are true, along with the added stuff, he's beyond F'ed.

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Farmerjoerva t1_j9hi923 wrote

That all came from RPD

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Plusqueca t1_j9hy9z8 wrote

Cool they definitely always tell the truth

−1

Farmerjoerva t1_j9hyhpa wrote

Police reports on things like this are usually kinda accurate not to mention I know people who used to work ther and yes they all agree this checks out. Sit down sir

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Plusqueca t1_j9kelan wrote

Not a sir. Cops lie and there is always someone who says “but actually these cops don’t lie!” when they do. Doesn’t mean a thing, not because I think all cops are bad but because they routinely lie and routinely deny any wrongdoing even when they have lied and/or broken the law.

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FattieBanton t1_j9htv51 wrote

Allowed to sell drugs in the open with impunity? Pls educate me…

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sikkimensis t1_j9guxj6 wrote

Cops said they seized from the raid

-127 pounds of marijuana

-150 pounds of marijuana edibles

-14 pounds of suspected mushrooms

-18 pounds of suspected mushroom edibles

Ouch.

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VirginiaTex t1_j9hs8uw wrote

Shrooms and herb at just about every smoke shop in DC.

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[deleted] t1_j9g3tb0 wrote

[deleted]

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RiverYuppy OP t1_j9g45n7 wrote

I think you got me confused for some other person.

I certainly think we need to be cognizant of how government officials can abuse their power and waste my tax dollars, but I'm certainly not an ACAB person. I want more cops.

−15

zazzersmel t1_j9gycho wrote

cops would probably point and laugh at this post

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Federal-Subject-3541 t1_j9jfbt6 wrote

Not the same at all. HT dude was just fucking it up for everybody trying to popup.

2