Indoor Boom, Federal Focus
By the late 1980s, indoor sinsemilla cultivation had become the backbone of U.S. cannabis production. Growers were fine-tuning hydroponics, lighting, and ventilation—creating a self-contained ecosystem of innovation. The DEA took notice. In 1988, the agency launched Operation Green Merchant under the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program. Its mission: dismantle the infrastructure that powered indoor growing—equipment suppliers, magazines, and mail-order catalogs.
Ads to Arrests
Agents built their target lists from the advertising pages of High Times and Sinsemilla Tips. They went undercover into hydro stores, posing as novice growers, asking for advice on wattage, nutrients, and odor control. Under 21 U.S.C. § 863, even “intent to grow” could be used as probable cause. A simple lighting recommendation could translate into conspiracy.
Black Thursday (October 26, 1989)
That morning, coordinated federal raids swept across 46 states, resulting in 119 arrests, 22 retail stores shuttered, and 65 indoor grows dismantled. The DEA’s own end-of-year tally cited 441 total arrests, 48,744 plants destroyed, and nearly one ton of processed cannabis seized. The day became known as Black Thursday—the moment indoor cultivation went from innovation to indictment.
Records & Risk
Central to the operation was informant Raymond Anthony Cogo, connected to Nevil Schoenmakers’ Seed Bank in the Netherlands. Cogo turned over more than 11,000 U.S. customer names and addresses. Federal agents then subpoenaed shipping and payment records from hydro suppliers, cross-referencing them with known cultivation sites. It was one of the first uses of a data-driven dragnet in the cannabis world—paper trails replacing street-level surveillance.
Media Heat
The crackdown extended to the press. A federal grand jury investigated whether High Times had conspired to promote illegal activity through its cultivation ads. The case was ultimately dismissed on First Amendment grounds, but not before High Times lost over $1 million in advertising revenue as companies withdrew. Sinsemilla Tips, another influential grow magazine, folded entirely by 1990 under similar legal and commercial pressure.
Seed Scene Shake-Up
Operation Green Merchant effectively dismantled the U.S. seed trade. Breeders turned clone-only, cash-only, or fled overseas. The DEA’s reach even extended internationally—Nevil Schoenmakers was arrested in Australia in 1990 on U.S. charges related to seed sales but ultimately avoided extradition. His legacy company was later absorbed by Sensi Seeds, marking a quiet end to the original Seed Bank of Holland era.
Legacy
From 1988 to 1992, Operation Green Merchant gutted the American indoor cultivation network. It crippled hydro supply chains, forced breeders underground, and made cannabis journalism a legal risk. But it also revealed a blueprint—how easily paper records and shipping manifests could expose a movement. For every grower who went dark, another learned the value of discretion, encryption, and coded communication.
Operation Green Merchant didn’t kill indoor cultivation—it taught it how to hide.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
— Nugg Notes
sources:
• Los Angeles Times. “85 Arrested in Marijuana Raids.” Los Angeles Times, 10 Nov. 1989. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025.  — Details the Oct. 26, 1989 “Black Thursday” sweeps across 46 states, noting 119 arrests, 22 retail stores raided, and 65 indoor grows seized. • Isikoff, Michael. “Justice Dept. Targets High Times.” The Washington Post, 16 July 1990. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025. — Reports that agents built target lists from ads in High Times and Sinsemilla Tips, and that a federal grand jury probed whether the magazine conspired to aid growers. • U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Cannabis Investigations Section. Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program: 1989 Report. U.S. Department of Justice, 1990. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025.  — Credits Operation Green Merchant with 441 arrests, 48,744 sinsemilla plants destroyed, and nearly one ton of processed cannabis seized by year-end 1989. • “21 U.S. Code § 863 — Drug Paraphernalia.” Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, n.d. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025.  — Federal statute used to pursue paraphernalia and “intent to grow”–related cases tied to cultivation equipment. • Meyer, Eugene L. “Marijuana Magazine Going Out of Business.” The Washington Post, 4 Nov. 1990. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025.  — Confirms Sinsemilla Tips shut down in late 1990 amid enforcement and commercial pressure. • Pollan, Michael. “How Pot Has Grown.” The New York Times Magazine, 19 Feb. 1995. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025.  — Provides historical context on the indoor boom, the role of High Times/Sinsemilla Tips, and the post-crackdown evolution of U.S. cultivation. • “Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program.” Drug Enforcement Administration, n.d. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025.  sources 2: Official DEA program page situating national eradication efforts (context for Green Merchant’s enforcement environment). • “Australia’s King of Cannabis Nevil Schoenmakers.” news.com.au, 23 Mar. 2017. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025. — Notes Schoenmakers’s 1990 arrest in Australia at U.S. request during Green Merchant–era actions. • Sensi Seeds: Setting Up the Basis of a Success Story. Sensi Seeds, n.d. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025. — States that in 1991 Sensi Seeds purchased The Seed Bank and merged it with Sensi Seed Club (post–Green Merchant consolidation of seed companies). • (For background on Cogo’s affidavit and address handover) Public Comment Letter Referencing Cogo Affidavit, Regulations.gov, Docket DEA-2024-0059, attachment 3, n.d. Accessed 16 Aug. 2025. — Cites a sworn affidavit alleging >11,000 U.S. customer addresses tied to the Seed Bank; use as a secondary reference to the affidavit itself.
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