Pubdate: Mon, 15 Aug 2005
Source: Cherokee County Herald (AL)
Copyright: 2005 Cherokee County Herald.
Contact:  http://news.mywebpal.com/index.cfm?pnpid=726
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1912

ANNUAL SWEEP NETS 6,600 MARIJUANA PLANTS

The annual sweep of the county by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation
and National Guard turned up close to 6,000 marijuana plants with a
street value of up to $18 million in a four-day run last week,
according to Cherokee County Sheriff Larry Wilson. The first two days,
a combined group that also included the county drug task force turned
up 5,480 plants, Wilson said. That number dropped considerably the
third day, Thursday, to a little more than 200 plants. Friday's sweep
was cut short by an approaching storm. With the aid of a helicopter,
the group scoured the county for the plants. "They found some tall
plants -- six to seven feet -- Thursday," Wilson said. "The first two
days, they got quiet a bit (in numbers). They must have found some
good patches." Wilson said the haul is up this year from a year ago,
but not as high as it was about four to five years ago. He believes
the climate has a lot to do with this year's increased numbers with
the rain aiding the growth of the plants. "Last year, we didn't get
near that many," Wilson said. Lower numbers in recent years actually
may not be as good a sign as one might believe. That decrease in
numbers not only is attributed to the annual raids, Wilson said, it
also relates to illegal drug dealers going from bad to worse. Wilson
explained that the dramatic increase in the use of meth probably has
cut into marijuana trafficking. "A lot of people who were harvesting
marijuana have gone to using meth," Wilson explained. "That's going
from bad to worse." Wilson said harvested plants have a street value
of about $3,000 a plant.
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