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Man: Only Way To Afford Pot Is To Grow Own

Posted: 5:04 pm EST December 12, 2008Updated: 6:02 pm EST December 12, 2008

The brother of a man who had dozens of marijuana plants growing in his house said his brother was growing the pot because it's the only way people can afford to smoke during the bad economy.

Deputies broke through the door of a house on South Fork Ranch Road in Clermont (see map) and arrested Dan Urban on charges of drug trafficking and cultivation of marijuana.

His brother Mike was forthcoming about why he thought the pot was there.

"If you smoke pot, you've gotta grow pot or else it's $400 an ounce to buy it," Mike Urban said.

But Urban doesn't think his brother should be in trouble for having the marijuana. He claims deputies raided the house without a valid search warrant.

"They are… the same as criminals to go break into your house without going through time of getting a search warrant," said Urban.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office did get a search warrant, but not until 5pm. That's four hours after Urban says deputies cut the lock on the gate and barged in the house. When he asked for a warrant, he says deputies backed off.

"And then they were saying they walked up and smelled it, but his house is a thousand yards back there. How you gonna smell it from here?" asked Urban.

A sheriff's office spokesman says deputies were watching Daniel Urban's house for a week. After getting the warrants, they seized 160 pot plants and 32 guns from that house and another.

Even if Dan Urban gets off on a technicality, Mike Urban says the habit is not worth the risk.

"He should be in California where it's legal," said Mike Urban.

Dan Urban would not comment on the case.
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