Pubdate: Wed, 19 Dec 2001
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Hearst Communications Inc.
Page: A - 19
Contact:  http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author: Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer

BAY AREA SUMMER POT HAUL A RECORD

Authorities seized a record amount of marijuana plants this summer
from the Bay Area, which accounted for almost one-third of the
state-wide haul, said the state Department of Justice.

The 2001 California Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, a program
involving 70 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies,
discovered 101, 000 of its 313,776 plants in the Bay Area.

The Bay Area's total represented a 357 percent increase over last
year, when 28,261 plants were seized in the nine-county region. This
year, Santa Clara County led the way in the Bay Area with 47,574; San
Mateo County had 30, 409; Sonoma County had 15,662; and Napa County
finished with 8,002 plants.

Authorities said the plants were no longer mostly found in the rural
counties of Northern California. This year, 23 percent were found in
the Central Valley. Twenty-two percent were seized in Northern
California, including 54,504 plants in Tehama County south of Redding,
the most of any county. Another 16 percent were found in the "Emerald
Triangle" counties of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties, which
used to be the largest producing area in California.

"Now, the growers find they can plant anywhere there is cover and it's
desolate enough," said Mike Van Winkle, spokesman for the Department
of Justice.

The program, which ran from late July to early October, included 149
raids in 23 counties and yielded 20 arrests. About 70 percent of the
farms had ties to Mexican drug cartels, officials said. Overall, the
plants seized had an estimated value of $1.25 billion.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake