Utility company's proposal to rat out hidden marijuana operations to police raises privacy concerns

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Privacy News

Marijuana,Law Enforcement,Maine

A Maine utility wants to be an ally with law enforcement in the crackdown on illegal marijuana grow operations — if it can overcome privacy concerns. Law enforcement officials have learned that a spike in electricity usage is a hallmark of sophisticated marijuana grow operations hidden inside rural homes in Maine.

This image provided by the Somerset County, Maine, Sheriff’s Office, shows a rural home that was converted into a sophisticated marijuana grow operation on May 17, 2024, in Norridgewock, Maine. A Maine utility wants to assist investigators by proactively providing electrical usage data to police. This image provided by the Somerset County, Maine, Sheriff’s Office, shows a rural home that was converted into a sophisticated marijuana grow operation on May 17, 2024, in Norridgewock, Maine.

“Versant has a very high success rate in being able to identify these locations, but we have no ability to communicate with law enforcement proactively,” Myrick-Stockdell told commissioners.Senate passes bill to protect kids online and make tech companies accountable for harmful contentThe proposal, to be deliberated next week by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, is being criticized by consumer privacy advocates and others who think the utility is veering outside its lane.

Jay Stanley, an American Civil Liberties Union privacy expert, compared a utility combing through customer data to an illegal dragnet. “Utilities should not be doing that. They have a duty of protecting their customers’ privacy,” he said.The U.S. Supreme Court in 2001 ruled that federal agents’ use of thermal-imaging equipment without a search warrant to detect heat from marijuana grow lights inside an Oregon man’s home was unconstitutional.

In Maine, it looks different with purchases of low-price homes in off-the-beaten-path locations, installations of power-hungry grow equipment and upgraded electrical service to support the operations. Police have taken note of that power consumption. At one of the homes busted in Maine, the monthly electric bill grew from about $300 to nearly nearly $9,000, according to court documents. There were more than 100 of them at one point.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who has aggressively pressed the FBI about the illegal marijuana operations, also supports Versant’s efforts to be an ally with law enforcement agencies. “Cooperation between Maine’s electric companies and law enforcement could be of tremendous help to the county sheriffs and other officials who have been working tirelessly to target these illegal grow operations,” she said.

 

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