The police got a search warrant for a Carlsbad, California family’s home because they displayed two characteristics of people who grow and sell marijuana. They had a high electric bill and they took their trash out.

When police noticed Dina Dagy’s family was spending $250 to $300 a month on electricity, they suspected a marijuana farm was flourishing under high-intensity lights inside their suburban home.

What they found when they showed up with a drug-sniffing dog and a search warrant was a wife and mother who does several loads of laundry a day, keeps a dishwashing machine going, has three electricity-guzzling computers and three kids who can’t remember to turn the lights out when they leave a room….

When authorities noticed how high the bill for the Dagy home was, they sent a police dog to the neighborhood, and it reacted as though it had smelled drugs.

They also noticed the family had put its trash out that morning, something police say drug growers often do to hide the evidence. In the Dagys’ case, however, it was trash day.

We must admit that we too are guilty of putting our garbage out on garbage day. I sure hope the Carlsbad Police don’t look at the worldwide mj corporate headquarters gas bill for last month….