Pubdate: Wed, 04 Oct 2017
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2017 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  http://www.fresnobee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Author: Brad Branan

CALIFORNIA MARIJUANA GROW HOUSES ACCOUNT FOR 75 PERCENT OF U.S.
INDOOR PLANTS SEIZED

If you are 21, you can grow marijuana in California. But the rules
vary by city. Here is what's legal in Sacramento if you want to grow
pot.

California's illegally grown marijuana, once largely produced in
national forests and other outdoor locations, is increasingly found
indoors, federal statistics show.

In 2016, authorities seized 313,000 plants from indoor operations in
California, which made up 75 percent of all indoor plants taken
nationwide, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration.

While the total accounts for only 8 percent of all seizures in
California, that is the highest total in at least eight years.

California voters approved the legalization of recreational use of
marijuana in November 2016. But local laws still place limits on how
it can be grown, and federal law prohibits it.

A DEA spokeswoman in San Francisco said she was "unable to speculate"
why authorities are seizing more indoor-grown marijuana. She noted
that the figures come from local as well as federal law-enforcement
agencies.

A November 2016 report by the DEA said marijuana is increasingly grown
inside because "indoor production is more difficult for law
enforcement to discover and has the advantage of not having to rely on
climate conditions or growing seasons."

Last month, law-enforcement agencies reported four separate busts of
indoor growing operations in the Sacramento area -- in Elk Grove,
Roseville and unincorporated Yolo County. Authorities seized a total
of more than 7,000 plants and arrested several suspects, including
some with ties to the East Coast.
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MAP posted-by: Matt