Pubdate: Thu, 11 Jul 2002
Source: High Point Enterprise (NC)
Copyright: 2002 High Point (N.C.) Enterprise
Contact:  http://www.hpe.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/576
Author: Robert Boyer

CAMPAIGN TARGETS POT CULTIVATORS

A multi-agency marijuana aerial search program is expected to double its 
number of plant seizures across North Carolina in 2002.

The initiative, called the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression 
program, the brainchild of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, began 
in 1979 in Hawaii and California. By 1985, it had expanded to all 50 states.

Funded mainly by a federal DEA grant, local and state agencies conduct the 
airborne searches and seizures.

The State Bureau of Investigation coordinates the program in North Carolina 
and received $167,500 in grant money this year, said N.C. Department of 
Justice spokesman John Bason.

So far in 2002, nearly 80,000 marijuana plants have been seized across the 
state, said George Woessner, the resident agent in charge of the Greensboro 
DEA office.

According to N.C. Department of Justice figures, seizures from aerial 
searches led to the eradication of 90,000 plants in the state in 2001 and 
43,000 in 2000.

Woessner said as many as 200,000 plants could be seized this year. DEA 
officials said the recent economic downturn probably contributed to 
increased marijuana growth.

Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said his department takes part in three 
or four flights a year.

A flight scheduled for earlier this month had to be postponed due to bad 
weather.

"We have guys who are trained as spotters," Barnes said. "We sent them to 
train at the DEA."

Spotters use high-powered scopes and binoculars and alert deputies on the 
ground if they locate plants.

Barnes said with the equipment, spotters "can read the print on a bag of 
fertilizer."

However, the reconnaissance efforts yielded only about 100 plants in 
Guilford County in 2001, Barnes said.

A June seizure in Rockingham County netted more than 1,300 plants worth 
$1.6 million.

SBI agent pilots, who fly single-engine planes, and N.C. National Guard and 
State Highway Patrol helicopter pilots conduct the searches.

Civil Air Patrol pilots participate under the direction of the DEA, but 
only on reconnaissance flights.

The SBI and National Guard weigh a number of factors when considering 
requests from sheriff's offices and police departments, including time of 
year, growing trends, weather and the results from previous ground/air 
operations.

Woessner said as enforcement efforts have gotten more sophisticated, so 
have the growers.

"It depends on what they want to do," he said. "(Marijuana) could be anywhere."

Growers tend to favor remote wooded areas, planting between trees, Woessner 
said.

"They put them in the middle of the woods. That's why aerial spotting is so 
important."

Barnes said some local growers use irrigation and hide plants among corn 
and tomato plants.

Some plant booby traps.

Others choose public lands or private areas rarely frequented by owners.

Some rely on ingenuity and audacity, cultivating potted plants on logs in 
swamps or near airport runways.

Many, authorities say, have moved indoors, which has sprouted another 
serious problem.

Some indoor cultivators now use a nutrient-rich chemical mixture instead of 
soil, which produces much more potent plants.

Despite the high amounts confiscated, marijuana is still a lucrative and 
booming crop in the state.

North Carolina ranked fifth nationwide in total plants seized and third in 
plants seized on federal lands in 2001.

Barnes said top quality North Carolina-grown marijuana can sell for as much 
as $3,000 a pound.

Most marijuana in the state comes from the west central mountains of 
Mexico, said local DEA agents. A DEA Web site says Mexican drug trafficking 
organizations pose "a significant threat to North Carolina." The agency 
said an influx in Mexican immigrants corresponds with increased drug traffic.

Barnes agreed that increased south-of-the border immigration has led to 
more drugs locally.

He said tougher penalties against large drug distributors and tighter 
immigration controls are keys to making a dent in the problem.

"We're going to have to stop it at the borders," he said.

The impressive jump in seizures are just the tip of the iceberg when it 
comes to illicit substances, said Barnes.

"If we got 2 to 3 percent of the drugs, I'd be surprised. Anybody that 
tells you we're winning the war on drugs is a fool."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth