cannabisnews.com: A Mega Marijuana Farm A Mega Marijuana Farm Posted by FoM on August 31, 2001 at 14:38:51 PT By Monte Morin, Times Staff Writer Source: Los Angeles Times Tipped off by an anonymous caller, authorities Thursday uncovered what appears to be Orange County's largest marijuana farm hidden amid the sharp mountain ridges and desolate canyons of Cleveland National Forest.More than a dozen Orange County Sheriff's deputies hiked three hours through thick stands of beaver tail cactus and live oak before discovering some 2,000 fully grown marijuana plants in a rugged area near the Orange County-Riverside County border. The cannabis, which reaches 3 to 6 feet at full growth, in some cases had been carefully planted beneath trees for concealment. It was nurtured by a sophisticated irrigation system of plastic pipes and hoses. Officials said they were still trying to figure out how the operation worked but said pipes appeared to get water from a nearby well. Detectives believe the farm existed for some six months before deputies leveled the crop with axes and chain saws Thursday afternoon. No arrests have been made.Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino estimated the value of the plants at more than $3 million, a haul so large that it will take two days to remove the plants from the canyon by helicopter."Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing," said an undercover narcotics deputy who asked not to be named. "This is not cheap stuff and there's a lot of it. We don't make these kinds of finds very often."While authorities were shocked by the size of the farm, residents of the eclectic back country were less impressed. In a mountainous region that attracts millionaires, Love Generation refugees, hermits, artists and bikers, groves of marijuana plants come with the territory, they said."Am I surprised? No way," said Chathi Anderson, a patron at Cook's Corner, the canyon's famed roadhouse located about 10 miles from the farm. "I don't think people look at it as a crime. I'm sure there were people who hiked up through there and saw it and didn't get concerned."Bartender Rhonda Palmeri added: "This is a place where you get real different walks of life, all different types of people. You get everything from preppies to cowboys to hippies . . ."Deputies found the farm several miles from the dead end of Trabuco Creek Road, a dirt road that features a handful of dilapidated shacks and trailers, as well as a tiny airstrip for remote-controlled airplanes.As sheriff's deputies prepared to begin piling the plants into a large net that would be airlifted from the forest to the airstrip, where it would then be jammed into a truck and driven off for burning, residents shrugged at the news.Orange County is not considered a major spot for marijuana growing, and other parts of the state have recorded much larger busts. But local officials said they've never found such a large farm in the county. A 6,000-plant farm was discovered this year in Angeles National Forest. An even larger one was uncovered recently in San Diego County.Investigators are still trying to determine who grew the plants.But back at Cook's Corner, patrons had their own ideas about who made the anonymous call alerting authorities."The deal went bad, somebody got somebody else mad," Kristy Yovin said. Drugs: Anonymous tip leads authorities to what might be O.C.'s largest crop deep in Cleveland National Forest.Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author: Monte Morin, Times Staff WriterPublished: August 31 2001Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles:Crop Seizures Could Match Last Year's Record http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10546.shtmlMarijuana Growing by Acre in Californiahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10435.shtmlTotal Uprooted From Mountain Site 100,000 Plantshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10366.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by p4me on August 31, 2001 at 20:01:43 PT: I can sleep safely now I feel safe to go out on the street again knowing that our political leaders have saved us from those people maddening plants. Think of all the rapes that will not happen and the improvement it will make in our children. Yep, I sure can sleep good tonight. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by like on August 31, 2001 at 19:25:56 PT Woohoo!! another great victory! With this bust we've surely put the final nail in the coffin of cannabis use in America! Yup, this bust will go a long way to crumbling the grass market, yup, yup,... we've almost done it... yup, yup, ...just a few more billion dollars and we're there... yup, yup... just a few more billion... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Rambler on August 31, 2001 at 15:35:12 PT Tragic A moment of silence please,as we mourn the destruction of a garden of JAH.These were quite likely prime plants,but as usual,their value is estimatedby the same method used to figure a federal"budget surplus".Lemme see,2000plants,3 million bucks,I think that would be $1500.00 per plant,so let's see,figure in the tax rebate,factor in the minimum wage,divided by the drug warbudget,take a third of the remainders square root,and carry the five,hmmm,I come up with 2.8 million [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by steve1 on August 31, 2001 at 14:57:03 PT murderers the murderers, they just ripped life out of the ground, what? their lives are more important? I doubt it. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment