Your activities--where you go, how you go there, what you buy, how you pay for it, who you talk to, what you say--are all things you can control. Your surroundings--your home, growroom, outside property, electrical use, air quality, and visitors--are also parts of your environment that you are able to control.
Never trust anybody, not friends, not family, not even your own children or mother! US conspiracy laws make it possible to jail victims for what they say or what is said about them.
The most dangerous places to visit or telephone include other growrooms, stores that cater to indoor gardeners, and anywhere illegal drugs are being used. Although very tempting, avoid visiting other growrooms. You never know when or how they are being monitored by law enforcement. Your presence at another growroom could tie you to it. Testimony by the grower could implicate you and your grow operation even if they've never been to your garden!
Cash tells no tales and leaves no trails. Pay for all purchases relating to the growroom in cash. If you must order something by mail or UPS, pay with a money order that was purchased in cash. Avoid the convenience of using a credit card. Even if it's someone else's, you immediately become a bargaining chip for them if they have any legal problems.
A jealous, spiteful or vindictive friend, lover or enemy has complete control over you and your future if they know you are growing. Imagine, just on the whim of a snitch, your life can be changed forever. I met a grower who was cultivating marijuana as medicine to ease the side effects of chemotherapy he was receiving. His vindictive daughter forced him to grow a bigger crop than he needed, sell the excess and pay her the proceeds in exchange for not ratting him out. I could feel the pain in the poor man's words when he told me the story.
Once law enforcement has stumbled across evidence, received solicited evidence from spiteful snitches or coerced evidence from freaked-out friends trying to save themselves, they go out and look for information by subpoena, phone records, electric records, shopping records, etc., and then deploy more sophisticated snoop tactics, most often dogs trained to sniff marijuana.
All that I've got to say is have a lawyer, be prepared. Cops are sneaky, be sneakier. Get a big dog, and have a secured property. Make sure that no one can get in unless you let them in, including cops.
