Switched On Gardener...
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
Forum Description: For mums, dads, parents-to-be, grandparents, friends -- you name it! And you name the topic you want to chat about!
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=33127
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Topic: Switched On Gardener...
Posted By: BuzzyBee
Subject: Switched On Gardener...
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:03pm
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So what's everyones thoughts on this whole drug operation they've just uncovered?
I'd always had an idea that the whole company wasn't 'legit' - judging by their TV ads etc ...but I pride myself on being alcohol & drug free so am very naive in that respect and gardening doesn't interest me in the slightest so not the sort of shop I'd ever step foot into anyway... Am I the only person that wasn't fully aware that this company was some big underground drug operation? Coz judging by a few comments some friends/ppl have made ...starting to wonder if I'm one of the only people left that doesn't smoke illegal substances, seems so common nowadays. My parents raised me in a smoke/alcohol and drug free household, and it's something I really pride myself on - I'd like to think I'm not in the minority! ------------- Single Mum to a darling wee boy of 3 years :) |
Replies:
Posted By: julz85
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:07pm
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I often thought the tv adds were definatly aimed towards those interseted in drugs , and they were always on very late at night, far to late for your average gardener IYKWIM lol. Altho i had no idea they were running a big drug operation , i guess it all makes sense now tho . ------------- http://lilypie.com">  
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Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:09pm
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The fact it specialised in indoor and hydroponic operations was what gave it away for me, so it came as no surprise that it was busted....there's only one MAJOR product that would keep the company in business, and that's dope.
I certainly don't smoke it, however an ex-flatmate of ours decided to refurbish his dresser into a growing room (took all the actual drawers off, but left the fronts there so it still looked like drawers). Only way we found out is he left his bedroom door open when he was away one night and I heard the fans, then saw the blue glow. He then moved it all into the top of the wardrobe, thinking we wouldn't notice, except you could see the blue glow around the edge of the doors....and I happened to walk past the bedroom one night (coming home from town, walking along the outside of the house to the door) and saw the eerie glow. He was given 48 hours notice that time. |
Posted By: Nothing
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:10pm
well considering their ads was about having a hydroponic garden in your wardrobe..... and their slogan was something like "grow anything you like and no-one needs to know", I kinda figured that it was dodgy..... lol I dont use drugs or want to but still figured that if someone wanted a garden in their wardrobe then something fishy was happening  ------------- 
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Posted By: _SMS_
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:14pm
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I knew they were dodgy. i know of people that go there for dodgy things. Not that i do anything dodgy lol.
but yes its very obvious they are doing illegal things -------------  
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Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:24pm
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Oh what! Is it confirmed? I always joked to DP that they were dodge... Hello, the plants in the adds and "hobby hydroponics" lol well... It just screamed it for me! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: minik8e
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:29pm
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Yep it was on the news today - every branch was raided at 9.30am this morning...
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3627912/Undercover-cops-bust-huge-cannabis-growing-ring - Story They confirmed it was Switched On Gardener on the news. |
Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:33pm
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I missed the news, Little miss wanted to be walked around the house lol ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: High9
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:33pm
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thanks for the link too!! ------------- http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Bobbie
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 9:46pm
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One of the leaves in the ad logo is cannabis so no surprises about who their target market was but I was surprised they were dumb enough to be linked with the actual drug supply. -------------  
 
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Posted By: TheKelly
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 10:01pm
Cant say I've never not touched weed or alcohol ,*smacks hand * but I had nooooo idea the Switched on Gardener was an undercover drug organisation ------------- 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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BuzzyBee wrote:Posted By: TheKelly
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 10:03pm
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...Im usually two steps behind tho .
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http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 10:09pm
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I'd never paid much attention either....I'm not a switched on gardener though! Decidedly black thumbs except I can't kill weeds! ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com"> 
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 10:11pm
Just looked up the logo.... ------------- Kel http://lilypie.com">
A = 01.02.04 & C = 16.01.09 & G = 30.03.12 |
Posted By: MrsH23
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 10:26pm
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Can't say that I'm surprised, they always seemed dodgy!! Not that I've ever been to a store either. ------------- Lisa mummy to Ryan http://www.alterna-tickers.com"> 
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Posted By: ?Lolly?
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 10:53pm
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yeah --- I mean who grow tomatoes in their closet? ------------- Captain Chaos (5) & the Trouble Monsters (2!) 
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Posted By: BuzzyBee
Date Posted: 27 April 2010 at 11:06pm
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I totally still don't understand why they let it carry on for two years ...I would have thought that after a year or so they would have gathered enough evidence to go in & fight with a strong case?
The part that scares me though, and I quote is "Police also seized methamphetamine, LSD, ecstasy and firearms" - so it wasn't JUST Marijuana? I must say though, it sounds like they've definitely taken a step in the right direction, in regards to nailing down on and stopping the reproduction of drugs in our community, a pretty big achievement in one foul swoop today... ------------- Single Mum to a darling wee boy of 3 years :) |
Posted By: freckle
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 12:11am
LOL!! ------------- mum to 3 lovely girls :D |
Posted By: clover
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 8:17am
| Is it odd that I've never heard of switched on gardener? |
Posted By: HuntersMama
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 8:24am
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I always thought they were dodgy and wondered about their advertising! ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: rachelsea
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 9:01am
I had no idea  but then I never do about these things! I've only vaguely heard of them, never paid much attention!------------- DD 4yrs DS 2yrs http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: jazzy
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 9:22am
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ha ha ha, how many years have they been getting away with it & laughing at everyone....so now the jokes on them, ha ha
Every time we drove past one we would make smart comments & always wondered so now we know we were right. |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 9:48am
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I did always wonder how they were able to get away with advertising for growing your own. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">   [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: NovemberMum
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 10:17am
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hmm I had seen their ads on TV but never really took any notice of them mostly cause gardending does not interest me ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
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Posted By: clover
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 10:17am
| Fleur, I'll fess up with you.... |
Posted By: Hunnybunny
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 10:23am
It's ok, I haven't either! (Not that I'm claiming to be perfectly innocent but still never heard of them!) |
Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 10:30am
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I only ever heard them advertised on the radio - they're stores must be in Akl mostly. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: kellie
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 10:45am
I don't think they found much of the other stuff though. Probally was just one persons personal stash. If they found large amounts they would definitely say that. ------------- 
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Posted By: EmDee
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 10:45am
I've never actually tried any illegal drug (even dope), but I've always thought the SOG looked dodgy. This was confirmed a couple of weeks ago when I overheard a couple of workmates talking about the advice they received from the SOG on growing dope and how to avoid getting a positive result from work drug testing  ------------- DS 8 DD 6 DS 4 DD 2 |
Posted By: TheKelly
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 10:51am
joins the rebel in the naughty corner -------------
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: kellie
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 10:53am
I'll join you guys too  -------------
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Posted By: MamaT
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 11:37am
Me three!! Although I was clueless with this whole thing. I did notice the logo on the news last night, kind of funny really -------------  
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Posted By: HoneybunsMa
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 11:40am
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Yeah I used to see the ads and put the link together and always thought it was funny, but didn't really care enough tbh. The link is fairly obvious and having brothers who are into the whole CI drug, death, gangs, and all of that other stuff, I know a little bit about what is used to grow.
Besides one of our favourite movies is How High haha.
I'll join the naughty corner too! Although that has been a few years! ------------- http://www.myfitnesspal.com/weight-loss-ticker"> 
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Posted By: lilfatty
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 11:43am
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I actually thought it was common knowledge ... ------------- Mummy to Issy (3) and Elias (18 months) I did it .. 41 kgs gone! From flab to fab in under a year  http://www.femininefitness.co.nz/category/blog - LFs weight blog
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Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 11:50am
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I'm wondering what it says about New Lynn - on one side of the road was SOG and on the other side was another hydroponics shop (which moved about 2 weeks ago to larger premises - maybe they knew clients would be coming their way?!)
I was blissfullly naive. DH is full of himself cos only the other day he was going on about how the police should monitor those shops ... ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: GuestGuest
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 11:50am
Me too! |
Posted By: TheKelly
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 11:54am
I didn't know ...guess im not very ...Switched on . Bahahaha -------------
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Hunnybunny
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 12:05pm
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Definately in the naughty corner!
It's getting full over here
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Posted By: Nutella
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 12:31pm
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I always suspected it was dodgy so not really surprised. ------------- 
 Oct 11
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Posted By: AzzaNZ
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 12:36pm
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* whistles * Grow anything you like, and no one needs to know...
Yeah, no big surprises  ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
http://lilypie.com"> 
http://intermittentblogger.wordpress.com |
Posted By: troutpout
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 12:48pm
Lol - I mean I did spend 3 years at uni!!! I think its hillarious they got caught! Whenever me and DH heard the radio advert we'd be like 'is this for real!?!'. Soooo dodgy! But if they are actually stupid enough to be directly involved with drug trafficking as well as selling growing equipment they deserve everything they get. Stoooooopid! ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: T_Rex
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 1:41pm
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I figured they were dodge too, but I guess the cops were biding their time in order to throw the net as wide as possible.
Personally I think it's sad that people seem to think illegal drugs are *cool*, or a right of passage or whatever. So not necessary, and so not cool IMO. For me it had nothing to do with my parents - I always make my own decisions and I think there are much better things to do with my time and money, not to mention my body! Each to their own though  ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: caliandjack
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 1:47pm
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I don't think I did it cause it was cool - along with underage drinking it was one of those things I did. Sometimes I liked it and sometimes I didn't. It was mostly lack of supply and fear of getting caught that put me off. ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> [/url] Angel June 2012 |
Posted By: Turtle
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 2:05pm
me too.. but maybe that's because I live in Manurewa. They have been around for so long as a store I figured they were just selling the stuff you needed for growing not the actual product? |
Posted By: TheKelly
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 2:37pm
ditto .Never thought it was "cool" to do it , its just what we did -------------
http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: M2K
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 2:48pm
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I thought they were a dodge operation all along too, ads late at night, even the guys in ad looked dodge haha. ------------- 
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Posted By: _SMS_
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 3:22pm
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Im now peeded off that i cant buy any 'good' cheap fireworks from there lol -------------
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Posted By: buzimumto3boys
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 4:29pm
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Hmmm... for a start I think I should go to the naughty corner too...
I knew there was alot of dodgyness about the place... they sold kits to help you avoid testing positive in drug tests amongst other things... but I didn't think they would be dumb enough to actually be involved in the growing etc. Now they will loose everything... proceeds of crimes act. I know a guy who went in and they basicly wrote down exactly what to do (sold him a book too) and helped him start off his crop... they even sold him the plant to start from.. he learnt how to do grafts and everything from the guys at SOG. Amazing detail and time goes into it all... the guy I knew was busted for it and moved on to cooking P instead... uses less power aparently (he was busted for dope due to the fact his power consumption was so high!)... then he got sprung for P... and that was the last we heard of him as once we found out all of this stuff we stopped talking to him. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
DS#1 - 8 DS#2 - 6 DS#3 - 4 |
Posted By: _H_
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 6:08pm
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i have been in the shop a lot but only because we have tropical fish and they had a lot of cheap gear (air hose, air pumps etc) the guy always asked me what i want it for and if i need advise!
we kind of guessed that they were selling drugs there was no way they could have things that cheap if it wasnt dodgy ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow"> 
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Posted By: buzimumto3boys
Date Posted: 28 April 2010 at 6:34pm
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This from their web site
The web site is currently down for maintanance and running in catalouge mode, you can still view the products but you cannot purchase anything sorry, we hope to be up and running again early next week, Switched on Gardener would like to apologise for any inconvenience cause by this outage. ------------- http://lilypie.com">
DS#1 - 8 DS#2 - 6 DS#3 - 4 |
Posted By: clover
Date Posted: 29 April 2010 at 11:49am
Agree |
Posted By: Lexidore
Date Posted: 29 April 2010 at 11:49am
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Lol *raises hand* rebel here too, and I find it funny that the police operation was only going for 2 years, coz its been longer than that since I touched the stuff yet it was common knowledge that was the place to go, for all things "green" ------------- 
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