In some areas, the growers who supply the underground, illegal marijuana industry with fresh drugs tend to their plants outdoors. In the Tampa bay area, however, police have observed a significant surge in so-called "grow houses" - indoor marijuana plant growing operations. These indoor marijuana farms may be set up in abandoned or rented warehouses (perhaps with a fake business name), rented apartments, or even the home of an entrepreneurial marijuana grower.
A grower who is familiar with the cultivation of the plant can comfortably yield about $90,000 every three months, upon harvesting the plants. Although this sounds like a comfortable lifestyle, one former grower described his "paranoia" regarding his operation: I had no friends. No girlfriend. I couldn't have family over. I couldn't order pizza," the grower-turned-informant told a local newspaper. For a period of five years, he kept the plants, but did not spend the money on lavish cars or other accoutrements of a wealthy lifestyle. Instead, he shunned other people, stayed indoors, and put on weight due to his fear of being discovered.
Tampa detectives say that the number of grow houses has been increasing. Since the economic recession hit, more regular people looking to make money have joined in. Last year, law enforcement officials located over 100 grow houses in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties alone. Statewide, police seized nearly 80,000 marijuana plants, worth about $287 million in terms of their street value. About a tenth of the total plants seized were in the Tampa bay area. Officials also arrested more than 1,000 people in connection with marijuana grow house operations in Florida in 2008.
Marijuana grown inside a grow house fetches, on average, about $3,500 per pound. Depending on the variety, however, the value can easily increase to $5,000. Marijuana grown outdoors, by contrast, is worth only $775 on average. The controlled climate conditions allow growers to cultivate more potent - and more valuable - marijuana plant varieties.
