"Has ERJ ever been tempted to grow the Devil's Lettuce?"

There may be lingering questions after the last short-story with regard to the ERJ position on growing "weed". Not that my opinion matters but sometimes folks like to have a glimpse at the thought processes that led a person to a given position.

While I gave consideration to the growing of the Devil's Lettuce I never grew any.

There were many reasons. The primary reason is that growing the stuff seems to attract a lot of attention from all of the wrong kinds of people. That is not baseless paranoia. Ask any retired, law-enforcement officer how often "drugs were involved" in the percentage of people who gets burgled, shot or assaulted. In the eyes of violent people Drugs = Money + Judgement impaired people + Drugs

Another consideration is that growing it outside is almost impossible to hide. For a while we had a lot of drones whizzing over the property on a weekly basis. Coincidence?

It is hard to keep a low profile (i.e. Gray Man) if you grow weed. The stuff is embarrassingly productive. A semi-proficient grower can produce a pound of "bud" in 25 square feet four times a year in a grow-room. If you are marketing it then a lot of people end up knowing about your operation. 

In the story, if Braden was growing 200 square feet of weed, then he was looking at 8 pounds or 128 ounces. The current price at the local dispensary is between $100 and $120 an ounce. That pencils out to $13k gross, retail for a three-month grow period. That is a lot of temptation and a lot of "customers" who might get ideas.

Another factor is that purchase/ownership/possession of a firearm while indulging in or carrying or "addicted to" Schedule One drugs is a Federal felony, even if you otherwise legally possess the firearm. Logically Cannabis could be dropped to a Schedule Two or Three status because Schedule One includes the language "...no legitimate medical use.." and weed is now commonly accepted as a legitimate drug for end-of-life pain/anxiety reduction.

I do not expect that happen because the people in power seem to like the ambiguity because it gives them the ability to charge different "classes" of people favorably or unfavorably based for arbitrary and capricious reasons. The LOVE the power to reward their minions and punish the others. One way to deny them that power is to not play the game. Don't go there.

So even though the idea is intriguing all of the arrows point in the direction of NO!

At least for Eaton Rapids Joe.