Pubdate: Tue, 13 Sep 2005
Source: Oklahoman, The (OK)
Copyright: 2005 The Oklahoma Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.oklahoman.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/318
Author: Dawn Marks
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

FLIGHT GIVES STUDENT A VIEW OF 'WAR ON DRUGS'

When Putnam City North High School student Maddye Hayes got into the 
helicopter, she knew it wasn't just any ride.

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control agents with guns 
followed behind to protect agents and visitors, including the 14-year-old, 
last Thursday during their aerial search of central Oklahoma as part of the 
bureau's annual marijuana eradication program.

"It was like the real deal," Hayes said.

Though the group didn't find any plants during Hayes' ride, she said it 
changed her perception of marijuana cultivation.

"I knew people did it but I didn't think people were growing it in fields," 
she said. "We saw some pictures. People have ... acres of it."

Hayes joined agents Thursday when the bureau invited elected officials to 
attend.

Hayes' mother, Tookie Hayes, works for Rep. John Nance, R-Bethany, and when 
she heard about the trip she asked if her daughter might go.

Woodward said bureau officials agreed to include Hayes because it would be 
a good learning opportunity for her.

Though Hayes, whose hobby is photography, didn't get to take any 
photographs of marijuana fields, she did snap pictures of the flight while 
learning about the spraying equipment and agents' jobs, which can sometimes 
be dangerous.

"They said sometimes people shoot at them," she said. "Before I thought 
they were just like on the show 'Cops' where they bust people for drugs. 
It's a lot more complicated."

During the annual search, the bureau sends out spotters in helicopters and 
planes, and agents on the ground.

Sometimes agents in helicopters spray plants with weed killer using a 90- 
foot rope and spray rig. But if that's not possible, they guide agents on 
the ground to the fields, Woodward said.

Red dye in the chemicals help agents see where they've already been, and 
spraying from the air saves the bureau time, he said.

Since the program began in 1989, the number of plants in the state has 
decreased, Woodward said. In some cases, just having helicopters in the sky 
has helped.

For example, sometimes people pull up plants when they see the helicopters 
overhead, he said.

"That's been a great deterrent," Woodward said.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman