Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jul 2010
Source: Record Searchlight (Redding, CA)
Copyright: 2010 Record Searchlight
Contact:  http://www.redding.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/360
Author: Ryan Sabalow

MARIJUANA ON PUBLIC LANDS

Herger Urges Feds to Devise a Strategy

Saying federal agencies aren't doing enough to stop Mexican drug 
cartels from growing marijuana illegally on public lands, U.S. Rep. 
Wally Herger has drafted a resolution urging Congress to create a 
long-term solution to permanently dismantle the traffickers' operations.

"It's important that Congress becomes aware how serious a problem it 
is in our national forests," Herger said from Washington, D.C. "It's 
going to take a unified effort and a dedicated effort in coming up 
with a strategy that can permanently dismantle Mexican drug 
trafficking on federal lands. This is a federal responsibly."

Last week, the Chico Republican introduced House Resolution 1540, 
sponsored by six House Republicans from California, Texas and Utah.

The resolution says that although federal agencies' partnerships with 
local authorities to raid marijuana growing sites "have brought forth 
significant, but short-lived successes in combating marijuana 
production on public lands," the Office of National Drug Control 
Policy needs to "develop a comprehensive and coordinated strategy" to 
fight drug trafficking.

The resolution must first be introduced and approved by the House 
Judiciary Committee before moving on for a full congressional vote.

Herger said he decided to draft the resolution after meeting in 
January with leaders of six federal agencies who manage public lands.

Herger said they offered little in the way of solutions to stop 
growers on public lands and they didn't "indicate they needed more 
money" to fight marijuana growers.

"I think they don't have any strategy ," Herger said.

John Heil, a spokesman for the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. 
Forest Service, which includes the north state, said that in 2008, 
the Forest Service spent $15.1 million -- about 11.5 percent -- of 
its $131.9 million law enforcement budget to combat illegal marijuana growing.

In the years that followed, more officers have been assigned to help 
local and state agencies, he said.

"I would say we have been emphasizing and increasing our law 
enforcement presence and capabilities through funding and training 
and highly successful federal and state partnerships," Heil said.

In California, the Forest Service has 20 special agents dedicated to 
drug investigations as well as three special agents assigned to the 
Drug Enforcement Agency.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said it's not been nearly enough to 
help his county combat the growers flooding local public lands.

"It does not seem to be priority" for the federal government, Bosenko said.

Although most of the growing sites his agents have raided have been 
on federal land, this is the first year an agent from the U.S. Bureau 
of Land Management and another from the Forest Service have been 
assigned to help his deputies go after the growers full-time, Bosenko said.

Herger's resolution comes in what local law enforcement officials say 
is surely another record year for marijuana growing in Shasta County.

More than 300,000 illegal marijuana plants have been pulled in Shasta 
County this month.

Some 630,000 plants were pulled in Shasta County last year, a record 
haul almost six times greater than what agents destroyed in 2005.

So far this year, a record 36 people have been arrested in connection 
with the grows, and all but 10 of them were Mexican citizens working 
for drug cartels, Bosenko said.

Herger said that even if California voters approve a ballot measure 
legalizing marijuana in November -- a proposition he doesn't support 
- -- the growers will continue to exploit the forests.

The state's tax on marijuana would only encourage illegal growers, 
who would sell pot tax-free on the black market, he said.

Herger said that he believes the issues raised in his resolution 
should stretch across party lines.

He said the growers clear-cut forest land, the chemicals they use in 
their marijuana farms pollute waterways, they've shot at cops and 
killed civilians, and the money from the grows is used to fuel human 
trafficking and assassinations along the Mexican-American border.

"This is a national problem," Herger said. "It's a lose-lose-lose for 
our nation and for the north state."

[SIDEBAR]

Documents

* HR 1540 http://media.redding.com/media/static/HR1540.pdf
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart