State lawmaker puts promotional spin on pot raid

Rep. Peter Nehr takes credit for a tip about a marijuana grow house that was just found.

By Jonathan Abel, Times Staff Writer
Published February 21, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Special to the Times] Peter Nehr e-mailed this photo to 300 people to help him stay on a weight loss program. Peter Nehr, 55, happens to be promoting a House bill that tightens state drug laws. [Ian Ware | Special to the Times (2004)] Nehr followed up with this after picture showing the results of diet and exercise.

PALM HARBOR - To Peter Nehr's lengthy resume of jobs and activities - businessman, city commissioner, state representative, bodybuilding enthusiast - add this line:

Crime dog.

The 55-year-old state representative proudly stepped forward Wednesday as the tipster who alerted authorities to a marijuana grow house near Lake Tarpon that deputies raided the day before.

Sheriff's officials said the arrest netted 29 live plants, 131 marijuana root balls and more than 136 pounds of harvested marijuana, worth an estimated $500,000. Not to mention an assortment of weapons.

The day after the raid, Nehr sent out an e-mail taking credit for the tip and promoting a bill he has co-sponsored to tighten state drug laws.

Never let it be said Peter Nehr, R-Tarpon Springs, isn't ready to call attention to himself in the service of making a point or getting something done.

After all, this is the same guy who in 2003 e-mailed a picture of himself - shirtless, flabby and pale - to 300 of his closest friends in order to add a little motivation to his weight-loss program. Months later, after a regimen of diet and weight-lifting, he followed it up with a second photo of himself, newly muscled and deeply tanned.

On Wednesday, Nehr said, "I think I got lucky to be in the right place at the right time."

And how did Nehr get so lucky?

The story starts on a January day while Nehr was walking a friend's dog.

The dog slipped out of its collar and ran off. When Nehr finally caught up to it, he found himself between two houses near a canal.

The smell of marijuana was in the air. (Nehr said he recognized the odor from his teenage years when some people around him used to partake of the leafy controlled substance.)

Nehr followed the scent to a suspicious, dilapidated house at 85 S Canal Drive.

All the windows were obscured. The air-conditioning was running in the middle of the winter. The outside wiring seemed altered.

So Nehr called Pinellas Sheriff Jim Coats, a friend from the campaign trail. One thing led to another and the grow house was raided Tuesday, leading to one arrest.

Conveniently for Nehr, this all feeds into a piece of legislation he is co-sponsoring: House Bill 173.

"The law right now basically states that if you have under 100 plants in your possession when you get caught cultivating that you can basically say that it was for your own particular use," Nehr said, "and the sentencing wouldn't be as stringent."

His bill, however, would make possession of 25 plants enough to indicate an intent to sell or distribute the drug.

Is he worried that a drug cartel will seek revenge against him?

"It crossed my mind," Nehr said. "I did it after careful deliberation. I understand there is some risk to it."

In the end, he said, it was his responsibility to speak out to let people know that dangerous grow operations can exist in any neighborhood.

And some won't be lucky enough to have the services of a state legislator on the prowl.

Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or (727) 445-4157.

[Last modified February 20, 2008, 21:28:26]