Forgotten man
Steve Tucker served a 10-year prison sentence for selling light bulbs. Is America's drug war worth it?
by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry
- Jim Stawniak
- A LIFE ON THE MEND: When Steve Tucker emerged from prison a year ago, he was a 50-year-old man starting over from scratch, as reflected by his modestly furnished apartment.
His one-bedroom flat, tucked into a sprawling Sandy Springs apartment complex, is furnished sparsely: a recliner, TV, computer and a small, picnic-style table that serves as both dining hutch and desk. The stark white static of the walls is interrupted only by three small, web-like dream catchers tacked to the Sheetrock.
It's the sort of Spartan minimalism one might expect of someone who, until recently, had to content himself with staring at bare cinderblock.
"Watch out, you're talking to a notorious ex-con." Wrapped in a sharp Middle Georgia twang, Tucker's voice betrays a suppressed smile. The slight, balding, 50-year-old Atlantan is hardly an intimidating figure.
But he's only half-kidding. Nearly a decade ago, he was sent to prison as a result of a once-infamous federal drug case that sparked national outrage for its rough interpretation of justice.
In the spring of 1994, the Tucker family received lengthy prison sentences -- 10 years for Steve, 16 years for his older brother Gary, and 10 years for his brother's wife, Joanne -- without possibility of parole, for the curiously worded federal crime of "conspiracy to manufacture marijuana."
Yet federal prosecutors never charged them with buying, selling, growing, transporting, smoking or even possessing marijuana. An 18-month DEA investigation had failed to turn up direct evidence connecting the Tuckers to even a single joint.
Instead, they were locked away for selling the lamps, fertilizer and gardening hardware from the small hydroponic supply shop Gary operated on Buford Highway that enabled their customers to grow pot.
In the mid-'90s, the Tucker case became a cause celebre among libertarian activists and other advocates of marijuana legalization. It served as an oft-cited, cautionary example of the runaway powers of the federal government and the worst excesses of the War on Drugs.
And yet, in the long years since, the Tucker case has faded from the radar. No TV cameras or microphones awaited Steve Tucker when he finally shed his prison uniform and came home.
His mother would rather it remain that way. "I'm just scared to death of the federal government," she says. At the same time, Doris Gore realizes her son has an important story to tell.
And he's determined to tell it. As he reads weekly accounts of federal agents in California arresting licensed medical-marijuana growers, he's convinced he must speak out.
"The feds don't like it when you buck them, but I'll be damned if they break me," Tucker says. "What kind of American would I be if I just kept my mouth shut?"
Steve Tucker's nightmare began with the American dream.
The funny thing is, the dream initially belonged to his older brother Gary, a balding Vietnam veteran with a house in the suburbs and a comfortable marriage. For nearly two decades, he and Steve had worked side-by-side, installing commercial fire-control systems for a Buckhead company. But by the fall of 1987, Gary was 40 and he yearned to be his own boss.
Gary's choice of businesses was pioneering: a store devoted to hydroponics, the technique of growing plants without soil or sunlight, using only powerful lamps, chemical nutrients and a self-contained irrigation system. It was, Gary decided after some research, the "wave of the future."
Whose future, however, was the question. While hydroponics is highly effective at boosting vegetable growth, the systems are so costly as to be of practical use only to orchid breeders. And, of course, to marijuana growers, who are lured by the promise of high yields that could be produced in basements and attics, away from the prying eyes of authorities.
Gary wasn't naive. He knew his customer base would include few deep-pocketed tomato enthusiasts. But just as Wal-Mart doesn't ask if the handgun ammunition it sells will be used for target practice or hold-ups, the Tuckers decided it was best to adopt a "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
"Look, we weren't stupid," Steve says with a weary smile. "We figured a percentage of our customers were growing pot. But we had store rules that if anyone asked us about marijuana, we'd ask them to leave. What someone was planning to do with fertilizer or grow lights wasn't our concern. Most of the stuff we were selling, you could buy at Home Depot. We had a legitimate business."
To finance the start-up, Gary mortgaged his home in Gwinnett and, in the spring of 1988, his business opened in a small shopping center on the edge of Norcross. It was the first hydroponics store in Georgia.
The name Gary chose for his store -- Southern Lights And Hydroponics -- was a nod to a successful Mid-Atlantic chain called Northern Lights, which itself was named after a particularly potent strain of Alaskan weed.
Comments (48)
Showing 1-25 of 48
This and countless cases like it characterise the matrix of dysfunction. THere is an industry that takes good people whom it pretends is saving 'from themselves' and turns them into victims. This injustice business is done in the name of 'good health', yet principles of medicine say 'first do no harm'. Swine Pox upon those who cannot see the injustice and disgrace this brings on all citizens of the United States of America and all those who abide by the UN conventions and treaty's world wide. No good will ever come of a system that is in of itself, afraid to self examine its core principles and constitutional foundations. What happened to the Tuckers is a war crime. State sanctioned terror. The Iron Curtain's Stasi would be pressed to emulate it's efficiency.
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This story makes me wonder if the new spying laws just passed (where local authorities can use SAT imagery for homeland security) is actually meant to detect grow gardens.
Who if he's not retired should be outed (whosarat.com) or otherwise dealt with. That should be his thanks. There are some good former DEA narcs who have recanted though. www.leap.cc.
I think thats f-ing retarded and all the DEA investigators should be hung and killed for their stupid actions. If they spent more time tracking down coke dealers and less time busting innocent ppl smoking pot, i'm sure crime would be down a hell of alot more. FUCK THEM ALL.
have this article spread on multiple pages cause it's way too long to put on one page. but man, that's some sad stuff.
The only difference between the US and the USSR back then (and probably now) is that back there, we knew that a day will come and we will get f$%d. Here, your government allows you to relax, enjoy your artificial freedoms and, when the time comes and you're ripe, you'll get raped. Btw, China is probably not much different. As far as the Tucker family, sad but nothing surprising to someone who's been around the world.
Sadness prevales as I keep reading story after story of the attacks on individual rights in your country.Didn't the US represent freedom of speech,thought and expression.The current state of your government is nearing fascism.
Hello Americans, Remember, the reason America is free is that Patriots kill their oppressors. Patriots Kill Oppressors. PS. Patriots kill oppressors.
Concerning "…Fully Informed Jury Association -- a radical libertarian group that believes juries should be empowered to dismiss charges and reject unjust laws..." - I have never heard of this group, but they sound like radicals only in this time of agents of the government being allowed to act outside of the rule of law. The term is jury nullification and juries do not need to be empowered with this capacity. Its history in this country predates our constitution and the Supreme Court has upheld its validity. A simple search of the term "jury nullification" would have precluded you from tagging as radical the fact that citizens in the jury box are bound only by their collective consciences.
The whole judicial system needs to replaced along with the dictatorship of GW.This shit has gone way too far.It's all about money,and getting rich.There is no justice or democracy left. The right has created a serpent that cannot be quenched. There can be NO fair trials.If you have to be on a jury,do not convict. We must rid ourselves of the tyrants who will enslave us all,or go to work for them. But it has to be a group effort,and like was mentioned before,as long as the people THINK they are safe,then they think it won't happen to them. They have us by the balls for now.But the bigger the are,the bigger they fall. If crime didn't pay,then governments would end.
Every day makes me hate my government more and more. This is truly a story of injustice. I feel badly for the people in the story, and for anyone suffering behind bars cause they got charged with "conspiracy." That's the word for lack of evidence, you know, CONSPIRACY. I'm very patriotic, AND I HATE AMERICA'S GOVERNMENT
I began reading this article in passing, not intending to read it through. But before I knew it I was having to hold back tears at the thought that any person would involve themselves in a case against these harmless entrepreneurs. Shame on the judges, juries, agents, and witnesses that can stand, even for a moment, to put the Tuckers and others like them in prison. Anyone involved in the passing of their sentences is passing the buck on their civic duty to defend constitutional freedoms. This is harassment not only from our government, but also from our fellow man that can not tell whether or not an actual crime has been committed. This is tragic violence against non-violent non-offenders. Thank you Creative Loafing for posting this story. I hope that this article and its responses are widely available in print across Georgia and (through the internet) across the world. -FWS
So this is the great democratic country the rest of the world should look up to? It's scary.
That is soooooooo horrible and tragic ... I really need to find a way to move to Holland the little tiny country that truly understands the meaning of Freedom. I HATE THIS FREAKIN' SNAKE PIT we call home.
I am sorry for this guy and his family. If you want to prevent this thing from happening again, please listen: Ron Paul wants to end the war on drugs and he wants to get the government out of our private lives and stop telling us what to do. Please look him up and more important, pro-actively support him.
As a preface, I'll say that I am a black man that has been able to pursue the "Dream" unimpeded for most of my life without many negative effects from our country's history of oppression. For essentially all of my life, I've been a strong believer in the power of our Freedom. That being said, I can understand the strong feelings from the all of the commenters. I have a few bubbling in me right now after reading this article (despair, outrage, sadness, etc). I never experienced real injustice first hand, but my mom and my grandparents did, so I know (and love) the feeling of being given the chance to grow and contribute and really become a part of the American fabric. I think that I've just had my eyes opened, though. I love this country that is my home. I did before I read this article, and I still do now. The only difference is that now, there are tears in my eyes. I can barely believe that we've come to this. I absolutely cannot express in words how betrayed I feel at this moment. I love the US, but the fact that our ideals and our promise and our potential have been so utterly sold out to this degree is, for lack of a better word, unbelievable. Our laws have been so convoluted and twisted that our own government (of the people, by the people and for the people) can convict our citizens of a crime for which they have absolutely no evidence -- that is astonishing. And for what? Control and job safety? If only our founders, our liberators and our visionaries could see us now.
It's very interesting that they didn't go after the many other companies that sell the same merchandise. Were they afraid of the vigorous defense that could be mounted by companies with more financial resources? Or, given the recent revelations about the telcos, did those other companies collaborate with the DEA? What a monumental waste of tax dollars.
Interesting how when you question these value destroyers they usually reply that "Where just enforcing the law" (or just doing my job) that was not a vaid excuss for those during the nuremburg trials (just following orders) and it is not a valid excuss today. Justice being a immutable law of nature will see to it that avenging causality cannot/willnot be escaped. Value destroyers must be identified and ostrasized out of our civilization.
I might not agree with everything Ron Paul stands for, but he is the only one that believes in freedom. And has a 30 year track record to prove it. I want to be free, I want my children to be free, and I want to live in a free country. Please, i'm begging all of you. We need to take back our country and our freedoms.
I agree with Blair Anderson's comments on "state sanctioned terror". I am ashamed of my government!!! Connie
I hate this governemnt and all it's lies and rich people. IMPEACH BUSH. I mean, for starters.
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