Pubdate: Wed, 24 Jan 2001
Source: Savannah Morning News (GA)
Copyright: 2001 Savannah Morning News
Contact:  P.O. Box 1088, Savannah, Ga., 31402
Fax: (912) 234-6522
Website: http://www.savannahnow.com/
Forum: http://chat.savannahnow.com:90/eshare/
Author: Kate Wiltrout, Savannah Morning News

Marijuana has clouded the reputation of another south Georgia
politician.

Former Bacon County Commissioner Ronald "Butch" Smith faces
arraignment today in federal court in Brunswick. He was indicted by a
Savannah grand jury last week on federal drug charges.

Smith, 55, was almost halfway through a four-year term when he
resigned his commission post last fall, saying he couldn't fulfill his
duties. After two years of FBI and state investigations, Smith was
arrested Jan. 12 at home in Mershon and indicted the same day.

He's charged with conspiring to manufacture marijuana and conspiring
to possess cocaine and marijuana with intent to distribute it. If
convicted, Smith could face 10 years to life in prison and up to $6
million in fines.

Drug charges have ended the careers -- and in one, the life -- of a
number of officials in nearby counties in recent years.

In October, the sheriff of neighboring Coffee County, Carlton Evans,
killed himself after police officers arrived to arrest him. He faced
similar charges of participating in a scheme to grow and distribute
marijuana. As with Smith, authorities found more than 1,000 marijuana
plants being grown.

Evans' former chief deputy as well as a captain in the department were
also indicted last fall, along with a half-dozen other men. They are
being tried together in federal court; the trial is scheduled to begin
in late February.

After Evans' suicide, GBI deputy director Roy Harris said the agency
would continue hunting pot growers in the region, about 100 miles
southwest of Savannah. Some cases required more surveillance, he said,
but they hoped for additional arrests.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Savannah, which is handling the Smith
case, doesn't think the Coffee and Bacon county busts are directly
related. But both counties are hard hit by drought. Harris
acknowledged that farmers' crops and profits have suffered, and some
might turn to marijuana as a result.

Danny Stanaland, the Bacon County extension agent, deals with
struggling farmers every day. Traditionally, farmers grew cotton,
corn, soybeans and tobacco. But state laws forced the county to cut
its tobacco acreage in half since 1997, which has made matters worse.

They've gotten some relief cultivating carrots and blueberries, he
said. But neither crop compares to the $1,000 to $1,500 farmers could
reap from a single acre of tobacco.

Stanaland knew Smith both as a county commissioner and as part-time
farmer. Smith didn't grow crops; he raised goats, hogs, guineas and
chickens on his land, Stanaland said.

He didn't know Smith was allegedly growing marijuana in Bacon and
Appling counties. The indictment also accuses Smith of possessing 500
grams of cocaine and 100 kilograms of marijuana, and he faces a third
count for using a Western Union wire to facilitate his illegal work.

The three men named as conspirators in Smith's indictment have already
been prosecuted in state or federal court. Smith's bail was set last
week at $35,000. Dan Drake, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Savannah
office, said cases typically go to trial within three months.

Neither the GBI nor the U.S. Attorney would comment on Smith's
case.

Stanaland was philosophical about the bust.

"As you go back in time, you always had a few people that did a little
moonshining, or things they shouldn't have," he said. "I think for the
most part, people here are trying to make an honest living."

State efforts to combat marijuana cultivation:

An array of state agencies make up the Governor's Task Force on Drug
Suppression, which combats the growth of domestic marijuana. It
includes police, Georgia National Guard and the departments of natural
resources and transportation.

The task forces focuses on outdoor plots between April and October,
and investigates indoor marijuana operations year round.

In 1999, they:

- - received 317 site reports

- - identified and arrested 66 marijuana growers

- - seized approximately 27,063 marijuana plants
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