National and State forests become pot farms

Posted Sep 08 2009, 03:36 AM
by Kim Peterson
Comments 818

Marijuana growers are increasingly turning to a new place to grow plants: U.S. national forests.

Growers are aggressively expanding in the U.S. and have begun clearing land in dozens of forests, The Wall Street Journal reports. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125193614108781629.html So far this year, illegal pot farms have been uncovered in 61 national forests across 16 states. The operation has expanded into places like Wisconsin, Michigan and Virginia.

Bing: Pot gardens in forests http://www.bing.com/search?q=marijuana+ ... orm=MSMONY

The nascent marijuana farms are causing new worries for the safety of vacationers. Before, you might have had to worry about running into a roving bear in the woods. Now, there's the possibility of accidentally discovering a field of marijuana plants -- and the people taking care of them.

And these growers are professionals. They terrace canyons, apply pesticides, and even divert streams, the Journal reports. They run PVC piping for miles to water the plants. They guard their crops with rifles.

In the last year, authorities have seized nearly 500 pot farms on forest-service land, the Journal reports. The biggest farms were likely run by Mexican cartels.

These growers are also taking advantage of the down economy. Budget cuts across the board have resulted in fewer aerial patrols of forest land, while things like overnight stakeouts and overtime missions have been cut altogether, one agent told the Journal.

In some places, the funding is so dire that officers are simply removing marijuana plants they find and moving on. There isn't money for any further investigation.

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/topst ... farms.aspx