Can Google spot pot?: In seeking their answer, the folks at online cop magazine officer.com went straight to the experts: the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Department. The verdict? Not likely, says Sgt. Wayne Hanson. Google’s great for virtually wandering through Eureka a la Grand Theft Auto (though sadly lacking the options for carjacking and brutal murder), but when it comes to eyeballing the wacky tobacky, “hearsay and fly-over choppers…still prove to be king in DEA
This article appears in Elrod’s Rule.
There would be some irony in Google displaying satellite or plane photos good enough to spot pot while it can’t even give us the resolution to read house street numbers painted on curbs in photos shot 10 feet away.
I’ve tried to look at various stuff on the street view and I can’t tell what is going on. I remember when it first came out the resolution was so high that you could tell what kind of watch someone was wearing. Now I can’t even tell if I am looking at a man or a woman. So much for online voyeurism.