Busted in Suburbia: Wild weed plant nets criminal charge and fines

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. ---Who knew one small plant, a gift from a bird passing through a backyard haven, would bring five Indiana state troopers to your door, guns on both hips, wearing body armor.

That’s what happened to Dennis “Denny” Burden and Terry Lang one August morning four years ago.

Denny Burden (l) and Terry Lang got busted four years ago for letting a marijuana plant grow in their backyard. Their cautionary tale is here.

It was just before noon. The two retirees, partners now for half a century, were taking care of emails and enjoying the beautiful day when the startling knock came at the door.

“We’re here to take your marijuana plant,” the lead trooper told Burden who answered the door. Burden looked outside and took in three unmarked Indiana State Police vehicles - a black F-150 and two silver Dodge Chargers - as he tried to collect himself.

He worried Lang might react hastily.

“I’ll meet you at the gate,” Burden told the troopers, after asking if he could have 30 seconds. He went a few steps back into the dining room off the kitchen to tell Terry the news.

“You’ve got 10 seconds to absorb all this,” Burden recalled telling Lang. “There’s five f—ing state troopers with bulletproof vests and sidearms at our front door. They’re here to bust us for the pot in our backyard.”

A minute later from the side gate, Lang and Burden watched the troopers “make a beeline” for the plant which, by this time in late August, was about eight feet tall.

“It was that noticeable,” Lang said.

The troopers immediately uprooted the herbaceous outlaw as they searched the grounds for other violators. To put the scene into context, it was a beautiful day in a completely walled-in, lush suburban garden. Gardening has been the passion for these two for a lifetime.

Before they bought their home in northeast Fort Wayne, they owned and lived on a 9-acre plot in Noble County and cultivated 15,000 trees, if that is even humanly possible. 

They were familiar with attempts to prosecute folks who grow marijuana, they said, after witnessing a Labor Day strike by the DEA ( Drug Enforcement Agency) swoop into a rural area in Noble County on suspicion of an illegal marijuana operation.

“They wore black jump suits,” Burden said. “They landed a helicopter - there were 10 or so of those guys. They went off to the east side of the road and ended up finding seven plants.”

Why They Let it Grow

Why Burden and Lang allowed the marijuana to plant grow in their garden is another story. 

“We’re gardeners. We grow stuff. It was basically just another plant for us,” Burden said. They’d had these “visitors” before in their gardens.

Earlier on in the summer of 2021, Burden had suggested to Lang that they cut down the marijuana plant, but Lang couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“It was such a beautiful plant,” Lang told him. “I said ‘I just can’t’.”

They had no intention of smoking leaves from the plant, what with Michigan 40 minutes away.

“We never sold marijuana, never have or would sell marijuana. We have grown marijuana over the years on and off. Basically, it’s a beautiful plant,” Burden said.

The 8-foot beauty was spied by the ISP’s  Marijuana Eradication Team air support that flew over their quarter-acre property. The discovery prompted the late morning visit and a search of the premises, according to a probable cause affidavit submitted by ISP Sgt. Deven L. Hostetler. 

The plant’s leaves were “stripped and submitted to the Indiana State Police laboratory,” the affidavit said.

Lang took the blame and was charged with cultivating marijuana, a misdemeanor B in Indiana. A misdemeanor B can mean up to a year in jail and a fine of $5,000.

But it was the marijuana seeds that trespassed on this paradise, arriving with the many birds that visit the garden and the bird feeder.

Indiana Has a History with Marijuana

Marijuana grows wild in Indiana.

Hemp, the mother plant to marijuana and the versatile hemp fiber used for rope, building materials and other uses, was grown commercially in this state during World War II.

It continued to grow even after the state legislature decided to outlaw the plant and is commonly called ditch weed, according to online sources.

Feral marijuana has a very low THC content and is considered useless for recreational or medical purposes.

Here’s what MMJ, a telemedicine platform promoting and aiding the procurement of medical marijuana cards, says.

“Smoking ditch weed is not commonly recommended, and for several legitimate reasons. The primary factor is its dearth of cannabinoids, particularly THC. This means that smoking ditch weed is unlikely to induce the desired ‘high.’ Moreover, since it grows uncontrollably in the outdoors, ditch weed gets exposed to numerous pollutants, pests, and mold, which makes it unsafe for consumption.

“Besides these factors, ditch weed is typically bitter in taste and is notorious for causing harsher, more unpleasant smoking experiences. The plant’s natural resistance to pests and herbicides goes to show the prevalence of defensive chemical compounds that could cause discomfort when inhaled.”

Even with its prevalence in ditches and fields and eventual legalization, the ISP has no plans to drop its surveillance and vigilance on marijuana and its eradication, a Sisyphean-like struggle. 

Poll after poll taken by organizations such as Safe and Regulated in Indiana, a pro cannabis legalization group, show that 70% of Hoosiers favor legalization.

This year between January and August, the ISP Marijuana Eradication Team destroyed 2,671 cultivated plants and eradicated 52 cultivated plots. 

Indoor seizures included 12,556 plants in 19 indoor grows.  None of the seizures were on public lands, only private property.

According to state statistics compiled by the ISP, more than 10,000 people were arrested for marijuana last year, although it’s not clear if other charges were included in the arrest. Of those arrested, 7.1% were charged with dealing and 3.4% with hash oil.

Getting Processed at the Allen County Jail

The day of the search, Burden and Lang were terrified they’d be handcuffed and shoved into one of the police cars in their driveway, but instead they were told to expect a notice by certified mail.

Two months later, a postcard arrived with a time to appear at the Allen County Jail for booking. They went to the Allen County Lock Up on Superior Street.

“The guy behind the window said ‘I’m sorry,’ because the fingerprint guy wasn’t there. We had to go back at 6 p.m.,” Burden said. That was when Terry was taken back to the holding cell and booked.

“They don’t tell you what’s going on,” Lang said. 

A young woman assigned to speak to them was able to give them good advice. 

 “I said “I’m just going to plead guilty and get it over with,” Lang told her in the meeting.

She told him to plead not guilty.

“You get the wrong judge on the right day and they’ll put you in jail,” she told Lang who was 71 at the time and taking the rap for the wild plant in his back garden. “You need more time to get representation.”

She also commiserated with the two. “I got to tell you how stupid this is,” she confided. They considered themselves blessed Lang was assigned Sean Arata as his public defender. 

When they met Arata for first time, Arata was reassuring to a point. “I’ve got good news for you guys. I got you a pre-trial diversion. Just don’t do anything stupid for a while,” he told them.

Lang was ordered to take two drug rehab classes which both of them found ludicrous.

“Nineteen out of the 21 were there for marijuana. The class was about alcohol. They didn’t even care,” Burden said. “They just wanted the money.”  The two classes cost $100 each. Fines amounted to about $1,400, which they said, “didn’t break us.” 

It also bothered them that they were the only two white people in court.

“One time there was another Caucasian. Everyone else was black or brown. Seeing it like that was really sobering,” Burden said. One woman in the class was growing marijuana purposely to take care of a friend suffering from cancer.

“She’d been growing marijuana for a neighbor for a couple of years,” to help with appetite, pain and sleeping,” Burden said.

Burden says he’d like to know how much money it cost to detain them and charge them.

“One of the issues we have with this whole ordeal is when you consider the time and money they spent to operate that airplane and have five officers, three unmarked cars and the time they spent doing out here,” Burden said. “There’s much better things our police could be doing to protect us.

Troopers Behind The Garden Gate

The initial encounter is something they will never forget. 

“The lead cop was decent,” Burden recalled. Another, the two found  “belligerent.” One officer stood on the leafy backyard and admired it.

“Your yard is just gorgeous,” he told Lang. “How much time do you spend on it?” he wanted to know.

Lang told him they spent hours every day. “We grow stuff. That’s why we didn’t cut the plant.” 

“But it’s illegal,” the officer replied.

“Yes, I know it is,” Lang told him. The troopers found two or three small marijuana plants by the bird feeder which makes sense because birds help Mother Nature plant the seeds in their droppings.

The ill-humored officer mistook the many Japanese maples for marijuana. Lang, who can get mouthy, told him “if you’re arresting people for marijuana, you should know that a Japanese maple is not a marijuana plant.”

The same officer went to a spider plant with a big purple flower on the top and cut it off. “What’s this? “ he demanded to know.

“It’s a Cleome,” Lang said. “You can go ahead and keep it since you cut it.” 

It took a couple of weeks before Burden and Lang wanted to face those living on their street.

“We started talking to the neighbors and it turned out that a bunch of them were taking gummies,” Burden said.

It may sound corny, but Burden and Lang are like many plant lovers. Ever watch your petunias die at the end of the season? Reaching up for warmth when nights grow cold? 

“I saw it in the spring,” Lang explained. “It got through subzero weather, freezing days and heavy snow that broke branches.”

“That plant survived all these hardships. It deserved to grow.”