GPS-equipped turtle runs into reefer farm, gets high-fives from police
By Darren Murph 
posted Aug 23rd 2008 11:18AM
posted Aug 23rd 2008 11:18AM
Though not quite as bad as toting the GPS module around with you, one particular marijuana farmer had to be mighty embarrassed / wondering what he ever did to deserve such bad luck when a GPS-equipped turtle meandered into his crop. As the story goes, a close friend of the police -- a box turtle with no fear of Big Brother -- just happened upon a pot stash on US park property. Clearly, Mr. Isiah Johnson (the culprit) was heavily stoned when choosing US land to farm his ganja, and now he's in custody until he's "extradited back DC to face drug charges." And you thought all you had to do was dodge those CCTV cameras...[Via TechDigest]
you've been brought down by a turtle, what a shame.
I'm conflicted by the unfairness of marijuana laws and the complete awesomeness of a turtle fighting crime.
How is this not 'breaking' news? Am I missing something? I must be, because here's how I see it...
A frickin' GPS-COMPLIANT TURTLE just assisted a DRUGS BUST and (if the headline was to be [stupidly] taken seriously) proceeded to HIGH FIVE nearby police officers.
Just look up 'Dupont nylon hemp' on the Google for the origin of the current meme you nice yanks are stuck with.
Heroes in a half shell.
Turtle power!
Puff Puff Pass
that's why u have to grow your ganja inside the house away from big brother turtle
lol, just lol.
He must have been like wtf! Still, i dont think turtles are the future of drugs prevention so please look gordon brown.
that's just bad luck. It's not like the police sent out a drug-sniffing turtle or anything, the little bastard just stumbled into it.
...very slowly.
It is pretty sad that the citizens of the world have found it appropriate to let the government tell them what they can and cannot put into their own bodies... especially something as natural as hemp. I find it especially funny in the United States "the home of the free" it should now read "home of the slaves"
Home of the slaves?
What have you been smoking?
"especially something as natural as hemp"
...wow... so if I told you to eat some poison mushrooms or rub a brightly colored south american tree frog on your face or ignore the warning signs around an active volcano, you'd do that too?
"because its natural" is about the worst argument for pot legalization I've ever heard...
Home of the slaves?
Because its illegal to do drugs?
I'd much rather live here, then home of the stoners... which in some parts of the country...
Home of the slaves? You are a pompish little turd. People in the other parts of the world are dying because their government seizes relief food and water, or will shoot anyone that takes help from the UN... and you are b1tch1ng about an illegal drug? Seriously, no one feels sorry for you. As a matter of fact, I laugh at you and I hope things stay they way they are just so spoiled little turds like yourself all move out of this country.
I see the point to this comment, and I think some of you may have taken it out of context. This comes down to personal choice. If you chose to do something that is known to be dangerous to you, and only you (which is key), the government shouldn't stop or try to prevent you from doing that other than to put out the FACTS, not the misinformation they spew about many drugs. In a free nation, people should be allowed to do as they please, provided those actions don't molest another person's freedom. When your actions affect another person's freedoms, then, and only then, should the government intervene.
So if you chose to rub tree frogs on your face, or attempt to ski down molten lava, go right ahead, but don't cry to me, or look for help when things don't go well.
Policy such as this, is not only simple to maintain and enforce, it would be great for humanity. It might even slow down the reproduction of replication of stupid people, which seem to be breeding at alarming rates.
Didn't mean to rant, but I'm for the legalization of all drugs, and much stricter penalties on activities dangerous to others while under the influence.
My argument is that your body is your own and you should be able to do anything you want to you. It is called liberty. This is what America was founded on. Oh you haven't heard about the CIA shipping in drugs and then arresting the idiots that use them? How come this 'war on drugs' leads to more drugs? I don't even do drugs. I just believe in liberty and freedom - something this country used to stand for.
" I wish they would legalize marijuana......so stoners have nothing to talk about ever again!
grow up and do coke like an adult"
-Daniel tosh
@rusty 5 and the others.
"if I told you to eat some poison mushrooms or rub a brightly colored south american tree frog on your face or ignore the warning signs around an active volcano, you'd do that too" -rusty 5
.... Sooo people are now telling you to smoke pot? I think not, also, it is not illegal to do ANY of thoes things mentioned above, while it is illegal for people to make the choice to smoke.
i support jroc, hes arguing the fact that we cannot use something natural like hemp, and it should be a legal choice for people.
I totally agree with jroc, it is your own body and you should be allowed to do what you want to it. I think Marijuanna should be legalized but with conditions. And did you seriously call him "a pompish little turd??" Wow your cool man.
Marijuana isn't addictive and won't kill you though, unlike those other things mentioned. It's been proven to be less harmful than caffeine.
Hah. Dude, if you wanna go grab some cannabis hemp and smoke it, eat it, whatever, be my guest. It won't do anything for you, and no one is going to bust you for it, they'll just laugh at you. I think cannabis sativa is the one you're looking for.
Geesh. You'd think weed advocates would know which frickin' plant is which.
can any of you idiots give a good reason why weed SHOULD be illegal?
and if you think weed should be illegal, but you drink alcohol, you are a hypocrite
I totally agreee with jroc, it is your own body and you should be allowed to do what you want to it. I think marijuanna should be legalized but with conditions. And did you seriously call him "a pompish little turd??" Wow you're cool man.
FIRST AND FOREMOST: you guys have no idea what you're talking about.
Rutsy5, hemp and marijuana are two completely different plants. It's like saying Koi are goldfish. Hemp is an industrial/household product godsend if we weren't so brainwashed with false drug propaganda and actually used the damn thing in the USA.
Furthermore, cannabis (the OTHER plant, not hemp) has NEVER been linked to cancer or any increased death rates, ever. There has also never been an OD on pot, and there have been studies proving it to be impossible. Can you die from smoke inhalation? Yeah, if you can't breathe you'll die. Can you OD on THC? No.
Here in the US, we have spent almost 33 BILLION DOLLARS on the drug war thus far in 2008. (http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm)
And over 44% of ALL drug arrests have been for marijuana.
Even worse, we're spending ridiculous amounts of tax money to stop wild pot operations (which apparently we should hire turtles for) and yet 99% of the plants destroyed were Hemp plants; this is stupid, because the whole plant does not even contain enough THC (active ingredient in marijuana) to get an ant stoned.
(http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7033)
Marijuana prohibition is doing FAR more harm than it is good in this country, never mind the violence and cartels it creates. (Al Capone, anyone?)
That's not even touching on the positives of revenue generated from civil possession fines (with decriminalization) or the tax and economic revenue of legalization, regulation and taxing it.
So, how's that for an argument to legalize pot?
VOTE YES ON #2 IN MASSACHUSETTS- DECRIMINALIZE 1oz. or less!
Some Americans are too stupid to make the right decision on their own so the government has to step in to help them because nothing would get done if everyone smoked pot all day.
Really... whats the point?
It seems like people are doing it JUST so they can fight about why it should be legal...
I won't touch any Alcohol, Tobacco or illegal drug... and I think I will survive.
I will also have more cash to blow on crappy gadgets.
I know its not "addictive", but you should try going other places to get your needs met...
Low rank me if you must... just stating my uninformed opinion...
I'm for legalization of all drugs. In the netherlands fewer teens get high than in the US.
BUT, there are a small set of people who have panic attacks from THC. And it may be a trigger for psychosis in latent schizophrenics. No it won't kill them, but it can have a long lasting negative impact on their lives.
It's your liberty to move out of America. Please, go ahead.
Do drugs somewhere else.
Just to help clarify, In most areas of the U.S. it is perfectly legal to injest/smoke/inject/snort/etc any drug you want, since it is, in fact, your own body. What IS illegal however, is possession of illegal narcotics. It does not matter if you have them in your pocket, bloodstream, stomach, etc... It still counts as possession.
jroc, it's illegal because it's a) bad for you and b) because the use of it can endanger others. It's not just your health and safety you endanger when smoking marijuana, but that of everyone around you. When it affects others it most certainly within the government's power to regulate or even ban.
yeah, it's a freaking tragedy the gov't says not to smoke pot...
c'mon... clearly the ganja affects judgment if the idiot got busted by a turtle...
and about the poster regarding the drug war.... i'd rather put taxpayers money on that to protect my kids to some degree than to give my money to welfare and social security... i don't need welfare but the government has no problem taking my money and giving it to someone else... that's a freakin' waste...
vote no and say yes to exercising intelligence!
poop is natural
nobody said pot was bad for you, its just that its bad for all the people you run over in your car.
fozzy there is absolutely no reason for marijuana to be illegal while alcohol is legal alcohol is much worse for you, people tend to violent when drunk and there is way more people who die in car accidents due to someone being drunk than stoned, though you shouldn't drive when intoxicated on anything, Marijuana is less harmful than caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol, so yes it is ridiculous for marijuana to be illegal while these others remain legal. i do not believe all drugs should be legal some others suggest, Crack, LSD, PCP, Heroine should never be legal, ive done my share of Acid (LSD) yes it is a extremely fun drug if your mentally stable enough to handle it but it should never ever be legal.
Imagine how much slower a stoned turtle would go.
Turtles with GPS devices?
What's next? Sharks with frikkin' lasers?
don't give them ideas.
Monkey with machine guns?
women with rights?
It's easy to read this article and think the USA is full of fascist morons who make reptiles commit heinous crimes against nature loving hippies...but let me remind you...it's not just the USA who has backwards marijuana policies. It's like the whole freakin' world minus Holland and Jamaica.
Yeah and all the cops have to do once they find the field is wait for you to come back and get it then BAM! You're in jail faster than your favorite rocker.
sucks for that guy, why not behind your house or in the woods some where but in a state park, what a dumb a$$!!!
Uhh, this made the news like a month ago.
That was a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" attack.
Homeboy got caught, and now he'll have to face the "piper." lol ....
I wonder if the turtle felt like a pizza afterwards....
I am sure all that "turtle green" marijuana gave him munchies, he must have had several pies.
Haha, the title was frikin' hilarious.
Hah, you should've seen what the truncated title on http://i.engadget.com made it look like:
"GPS-equipped turtle runs into reefer farm, gets high..."
P.S. Engadget: Fix the i.engadget commenting system! I tried posting this twice already from there.
That might be the case with the state owned land but, if I'm not mistaken, if you do it on the Government land that makes it a federal case and as far as I remember the consequences are more severe.
The guy shouldn't have grown it on US property.
Is it just me or is this story missing one key piece of information. What the heck is a turtle doing with GPS strapped on its back?
Sniffing out weed, presumably.
simple, he was hired by the cops to find gies. they have finally admitted they need help, and well, find natural things with nature. besides, he's gettin paid. he got half the bust
BEST. HEADLINE. EVER.
Time to start killing turtles.
OMG, Turtles are the Best thing to happen to Earth since, well if not Chocolate milk, then Ever
i like turtles
I hate turtles.
I for one welcome our amphibious cyborg Drug Enforcement Overlords.
I wonder if that turtle ate any of it...and if so, did he crave pizza?
Am I the only one that immediately thought about Stephanie Colbertle the Turtle?
i don't know, but i immediately thought of the arrested development episode where buster unwittingly makes a home for his turtle out of uncle oscar's stash of weed. i'm surprised no one else mentioned it...
So you have smoked weed? The police will be at your door in five minutes.
Oh my mistake
The turtle will be at your door.
As usual, the turtle is assumed innocent and the black guy goes to court.
What do you call a turtle with a hard on?
http://cackl.com/joke/view/508/What+do+you+call+a+turtle+with+a+hard+on?
It also happens to be easier to guard and less likely to be stumbled upon.
And it wasnt even a mutant ninja turtle...
"home of the slaves" is about right, slaves to the special interests, namely big -tobacco, alcohol distributors, and pharmaceutical companies. There's never been a single death caused by smoking pot, and its a treatment for a variety of illnesses. How many times has your Dr. told you to drink more alcohol or start smoking more cigarettes; and those are legal in this country
of course ppl would smoke less if it were legal! dont be fooled by the governments attempt to keep us all sedated and not rioting! see through the bullshit!
Yeah, but you've got about a 12 hour head start until the turtle makes it there.
@becu55
mari-juana is everywhere, where was you brought up?
Heroes in a half shell, GPS power!
yea i know it was a joke
JUST LEGALIZE WEED DUMB MUTAFU*****
I just don't get it I can smoke a cigarette drink till I start pissing on people and not get in trouble well maybe for the pissing on people part but I can't smoke a duby and chill at the house. The war on weed has to be the dumbest load of bullshit I ever heard. Seriously people rape kids kill people and do god knows what and either A) Don't get caught or B) Act like they were crazy and get away with it, yet I do something that simply put is going to harm myself ( if it really does) and only affect me and and I get jail time for it. The stupid ass government puts all this money into these "I'm too good for drugs, but I probably smoked in the past or done worse) that could go back into the economy to fix the problems we're really having (i.e gas prices, ending this dumb ass war) but no instead our tax money is going to pay these bulls*** cops to go play with turtles. I hope that turtle bites their d*** off fu**ing pigs pisses me off. Despite what people say weed don't make you stupid I have 4.0 gpa, Im a honors graduate, full scholarship aka full ride, and on my way to earning my degree in college and I burn every night.... problem is 2 things one people use the shit as a excuse to why they are doing bad a crutch if you will and tend to depend on it.. if I drink every day and hit my wife a result the ac im achocol was nothing more then a excuse that I used the idea was already in my head but society tells me that it's not proper so all the sudden when drunk it's somewhat excusable....bullsh** 2) they can't control it remember long ago achocol was banned in the usa so therefore if they can't make money on it they are not going to do it and they stereotyped it so bad that they would be hypocrites if they allowed it now it's like a black person with a gold grill living in a rich white neigborhood the rich folk be peering outside waiting for this dude to steal their car when really he's a nice guy and just wants to live..... FU** THE SYSTEM, FU** THE GOVERNMENT NOTHING MORE THEN A BUNCH OF HYPOCRITES IF YOU ASK ME.....one more thing while I am on this tangent why the fu** can i have a device that would allow me to have the power of god in the palm of my hands the ability to take one's life weather it be a gun or a couple of bottles of king cobra but I can't smoke somthing that makes me hungry and goofy and I will probably pass out next to a supreme pizza with a wiimote in my hand???
I bet you abe, washington and even bush burned once or twice in their day
"HEY HEY HEY SMOKE WEED EVERYDAY"
-Nate Dogg-
You have a 4.0 GPA and cannot even use proper punctuation?
Somehow I doubt that you are even in school. Lay off the pot, Your remaining braincells will thank you.
" it's illegal because it's a) bad for you and b) because the use of it can endanger others."
So the government should decide whats bad for us?
I guess we should outlaw skating because of broken bones.
I guess we should ban the use of car audio systems because of the distraction it may cause.
I guess we should ban cell phones because of some supposed link to brain tumors.
Any meal that has over 1200 calories should be banned because heart disease is linked to improper eating
Cowabunga.
Seriously, am I the only one to think of that?
What are you, a dope? That's a tortoise!
The read link is a "print full page". I was wondering why my printer dialogue popped up...
So, apparently it's OK for turtles to like weed...
he knows it's a joke. that line is a quote from an eminem song
Next, I call to the stand the finder of exhibit "A". Mr. Turtle, do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
-from TechDigest
"Sergeant Robert Lachance of the U.S. Park Police said "He felt like he had a layer of security, but he probably never counted on a turtle with a tracking device leading us to that location and finding the field."
No. You'd never count on that. Even the most meticulously-planned crimes in history have not made allowances for what would happen if a GPS-enabled turtle stumbled into the crime scene. No one would ever commit any crimes if they had to go into that level of detail during the planning stages."
That last sentence made me smile.
Shredder must be PISSED!
um...why was a turtle wearing GPS for the cops in the first place??? i hate pigs
What I'm curious about is how did police know the turtle had found marijuana? Do they just go to the GPS's location every other day to find out what the turtle is up to, or what?
NOFX said it best. "Drugs are good and when you do em' people think that your cool, and when you do em people think that your cool. if you dont like drugs smoke a bowl next time your lame-o square girlfriend dumps your ass and see if it doesn't change your perception on things. "man, f*(&k them goddamned lights-