Firefighters thought it was a run-of-the-mill call -- a shed was burning behind a Wood Village home.

That is, until they got there and found what lurked in the yard: booby traps.

The fence surrounding the house had been topped with upturned nails. A pit had been dug in the yard, with sharpened spears jutting from the bottom.

had been set in the grass.

The resident, John Clinton Lloyd, 30, told authorities he runs a

growing operation out of his parents' house and had fortified it to keep out thieves interested in his pot. No one was injured, authorities said, but it did slow down -- and put in harm's way -- the firefighters.

It's not the only such house. Authorities say the Oct. 12 incident is an extreme example of a growing trend in Oregon, as medical marijuana growers move into neighborhoods and protect themselves against robberies and home invasions. In addition to fortifications, the growers are also arming themselves, and a handful of recent robbery attempts have ended in shootouts.

"Historically marijuana and guns go hand-in-hand, " said

spokeswoman Lt. Kelli Sheffer. "We certainly do see people who arm themselves to protect their grows."

Oregon has

medical marijuana cardholders, and by law they must grow their own marijuana or designate another person to grow it for them. Designated growers -- such as Lloyd -- can grow for four cardholders. The system has created thousands of small neighborhood gardens throughout the state.

The gardens become targets because they are permitted to hold between six and 24 mature plants -- and up to six pounds of marijuana. And their odor is often easily detectable from the street.

"This is one of the unforeseen problems created by medical marijuana," said

Deputy Adam Swail. "Anyone with something of value is at some risk of a home invasion. Most places, though, can conceal their valuables like jewelry or cash, but you can't do that with marijuana. It's not a secret where grows are; you can walk down the street and smell them."

Lloyd's grow had been the target of an earlier robbery attempt on Oct. 6, which resulted in the arrest of a suspect for criminal trespassing, authorities said. Lloyd said that prompted him to booby-trap the place.

"We were surprised by the depth of the countermeasures," said Multnomah County Sheriff's Lt. Mark Matsushima. "It was disturbing to say the least, but it's not at all uncommon."

The problem of growers fortifying their property, Swail said, is worsened because police have no way of knowing where the grows operate.

When medical marijuana was legalized by Oregon voters in 1998, the bill's authors created a disconnect between the

, run by the

, and law enforcement. The intention was to add legitimacy to medical marijuana as medicine.

But those intentions have created a situation where growers and law enforcement are often suspicious and unwilling to work with each other. Some growers even say law enforcement is hostile toward them, and that, combined with the ambiguity of the law, has driven growers away from accepted security measures to weapons and traps.

One potential solution was the

, which would have created a regulated dispensary system as an alternative and -- according to the measure's author, John Sajo -- safer system. Registration and adherence to a security plan would have been required for dispensaries. The system, Sajo added, would also put dispensaries on the map so law enforcement could know where they are.

Not everyone agreed. Swail was among law enforcement authorities skeptical of the measure because of concerns it would create more targets for criminals, without stopping neighborhood grows.

With the failure of the measure, law enforcement sees little more that can be done. Under current law, growers can only be reimbursed for the costs directly associated with growing; they can't be reimbursed for any extra costs that would allow them to have proper security measures.

Whatever the solution is, both sides agree on one point. Booby traps, while not illegal because they're on private property, are still a bad idea. They can be dangerous for intended and unintended victims, plus growers can be liable for injuries their traps or weapons cause.

Instead, Sajo recommends investing in a video security system and working with law enforcement.

"Part of the reason thieves think they can get away with this, is they think growers won't call the police," Sajo said. "But as they find out that the police will treat it just like any other crime -- and that they'll have to do hard time for those crimes -- we think this will become less of a problem over time."

Lloyd said that, under the recommendation of sheriff's deputies, he's removed the leg traps and filled in the pit. If thieves attempt to steal his grow again, he said he will just call the police, but he's left the nails up just in case.

"I've got to stop them from jumping my fence somehow."

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