Traffic Stop Leads Police to ‘Massive Grow’ in Proctor

PROCTOR — State police seized more than 400 cannabis plants, four pounds of processed marijuana and 52 grams of marijuana concentrate from a town residence.

Two men, a father, 49, and son, 25, were arrested and released with citation to appear in Rutland Superior Court for cultivation of marijuana and possession of marijuana respectively.

As a policy, Heady Vermont does not identify people arrested for cannabis cultivation in Vermont.

The father was initially stopped for speeding with a female family member in the car on Tuesday on Route 103 near Mount Holly. State police say that the man consented to a search of his car, and based on information collected during the stop, they were able to get a search warrant for the man’s Procter home.

State police describe a “large, sophisticated indoor marijuana grow operation” in the home. Police describe the concentrates they seized as “marijuana honey oil” a “THC Super Concentrate.”

Vermont’s recently passed adult use and home cultivation law, which doesn’t go into effect until July 1, would allow for only six plants. People can travel with only up to an ounce of marijuana and five grams of concentrate. Certain methods of extraction will also be banned.

The law is silent on how adults can obtain marijuana, aside from home cultivation, leaving demand that will continue to fuel a market for illegal grows such as the one police busted in Proctor.

There are roughly 80,000 Vermonters who use cannabis, and it’s unlikely that even half will suddenly take up gardening in July.