Pubdate: Thu, 2 Oct 2008
Source: Daily Democrat (Woodland, CA)
Copyright: 2008 Daily Democrat
Contact:  http://www.dailydemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3030
Author: Crystal Lee
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)

POT A STEADY CROP IN COUNTY

Despite YONET's Efforts, Marijuana Seizures This Year Are Expected to 
Be Consistent With Years Past.

The Yolo Narcotics Enforcement Team anticipates seizures of about 
30,000 illegally grown marijuana plants in the county this 
cultivation season - consistent with previous years' numbers.

The countywide multi-agency task force will be conducting 
investigations and raids of outdoor harvests through October, the 
peak cultivation period for Yolo County's most seized drug over the 
past five years. From 2003 to 2007, YONET seized more marijuana than 
cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine.

Last month, YONET officials uncovered about 2,000 mature plants at a 
site in Capay Valley and 7,500 plants near Cache Creek.

While marijuana can be grown year-round in a controlled indoor 
setting, outdoor growers begin planting in April to get the most out 
of the spring and summer sun, said YONET Task Force Commander Bill Olson.

Growers like to plant their crops in rural, mountain fields that are 
hidden from law enforcement as well as those who would steal the 
valuable commodity, Olson said. In Yolo County, almost all outdoor 
marijuana growing occurs in the Cache Creek area, he said.

"It's rural, it's remote, it's out of the way. You don't get much 
traffic," Olson said.

Grow operations can be dangerous, however, for the unsuspecting 
person who stumbles upon a crop while hunting or hiking - grow 
operation guards are usually heavily armed in order to protect 
themselves and their crops from thieves, Olson said.

Just a couple weeks ago, YONET received a call from hikers who 
claimed they were confronted by two individuals carrying rifles, 
asking them what they were doing, he said.

"Our training experience told us that if you're carrying rifles and 
you're not a hunter, there's something going on there," Olson said. 
The report is being investigated.

Catching the culprits, however, is extraordinarily difficult, Olson 
said. He estimates that only about 20 percent of those involved in 
growing are actually caught, since the plants don't need daily 
maintenance and, in rural areas, law enforcement can be spotted from 
miles away.

Even cooperation with the county's SWAT team, trained to perform 
surveillance in such conditions, usually ends in zero arrests, he said.

"They have plenty of time to escape," Olson said. "It would take a 
tremendous amount of resources just to catch one person."

Last year, about 40 individuals were arrested in connection to 
illegal marijuana in Yolo County, according to data from YONET's 2007 
annual report. In comparison, there were just under 25 arrests in 
2003 - this gradual increase over the years is likely indicative of 
more participants in the marijuana trade than improved law 
enforcement strategies, Olson said.

However, the odds of capture might soon be changing with the 
formation in March of three specialized regional marijuana 
investigation teams, formed under the Department of Justice, Bureau 
of Narcotic Enforcement, throughout California. The Mountain and 
Valley Marijuana Investigation Team, or MAVMIT, is headed by former 
YONET commander Roy Giorgi and includes Yolo County.

Through the concentrated efforts of MAVMIT, 70 arrests were made so 
far this year within the organization's jurisdiction, which also 
covers Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer, Stanislaus, Kern and San 
Joaquin counties, Giorgi said. In July, the agency busted 20 people 
on every level of the "drug trafficking organization," or DTO, at the 
end of a four-month long investigation where an undercover agent 
infiltrated a grow operation, Giorgi said.

Marijuana trafficking persists because the profits are worth the risk 
of capture, Olson said. They will often even continue to grow in 
previously raided areas, he said.

The street value of a mature plant is $1,000, while a pound of 
quality bulk marijuana, processed for use, can run $4,000. Olson said 
the economy's slump does not seem to be affecting the supply and 
demand of the popular drug.

According to a survey of Yolo County's continuation high school 
students, conducted by the Yolo County Maternal, Child & Adolescent 
Health Program, those "at-risk" teens are more likely to try 
marijuana as they get older.

The 2005 survey found that while 10 percent of seventh graders 
admitted to having tried marijuana, 27 percent of ninth graders and 
37 of eleventh graders said they had tried the drug. Five percent of 
seventh graders, 15 percent of ninth and 18 percent of eleventh 
graders said they had used marijuana in the previous month.

The pattern is similar to statewide statistics reported in the 
survey: 8.3 percent of seventh graders, 22.8 percent of ninth and 
38.7 percent of eleventh graders said they had tried marijuana.

The drug's impact on communities is evident in increased gang 
activity, Giorgi said. Statistics are showing that communities that 
have a lot of marijuana activity also have higher crime rates, he said.

Marijuana traffickers are also often involved in the sale of other 
illegal drugs, as was found to be the case in MAVMIT's July undercover sting.

"(The agent) started with marijuana and ended up buying cocaine and 
crystal meth," Giorgi said. "We found that a lot of these 
organizations are poly-DTOs." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake