cannabisnews.com: County Tops List of Best Pot Farms 





County Tops List of Best Pot Farms 
Posted by FoM on January 27, 2002 at 13:03:04 PT
By Janice Podsada, Herald Writer 
Source: Herald Net
Snohomish County is the driving force behind Washington state's dubious reputation as one the nation's top producers of high-potency marijuana. "It's known as the best bud around -- second only to B.C. bud," which comes from British Columbia, said Lt. Ron Perniciaro of the Snohomish County Drug Task Force. A 2000 federal Drug Enforcement Agency report listed Washington among the five leading states for indoor-grown marijuana, behind California, Florida, Oregon and Wisconsin. 
And Snohomish County is the state's leading marijuana producer, based on the number of indoor growing operations busted by police, said Pat Slack, commander of the drug task force. In 2001, about two-thirds of the $5 million worth of marijuana seized by the regional task force was found in raids of indoor growing operations -- 3,290 mature plants and 1,112 starter plants. Marijuana seizures accounted for 41 percent of all task force seizures. Each year, the county vies for first place in the state for marijuana production, an illegal multimillion-dollar industry. "We've been the number one growing county on and off for the last 11 years, as long as I've been here," Perniciaro said. "If we're not number one, we're always in the top three counties. "We don't know if it's because of good enforcement or if it's because growers prefer it here." Other counties in the state known for pot growing are Whatcom, Skagit, King, Pierce, Thurston and Yakima. All have been designated high-intensity drug trafficking areas by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Growing conditions in Snohomish County are ideal, and much of the county is off the beaten path but with easy access to I-5, a major north-south drug distribution route that runs from Canada to Mexico. However, overall marijuana production in Washington state pales in comparison with the quantity of bud coming out of the Appalachian regions of Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia, where most of the pot is grown outdoors. Washington-grown marijuana is reputedly the Cadillac of pot, fetching up to $3,000 a pound in California and up to $6,000 a pound in New York, where it is prized for its high level of the chemical tetrahydrocannabinbol , or THC, which produces the marijuana high, Perniciaro said. Powerful indoor lights boost THC levels and contribute to the drug's reputation as Washington's finest. "The flowers are sticky and dripping with resins. The THC level is 28 percent. It borders on the hallucinogenic," Perniciaro said. Indoor-grown marijuana, a year-round crop, is usually the most potent, making it the pot of preference, and therefore the most expensive. The most potent varieties may sell for as much as $400 an ounce. Outdoor plants, on the other hand, are a warm-weather gamble, subject to natural light and temperature fluctuations that can lower the THC level, making the pot less desirable. "They're often a lower-grade plant," Perniciaro said. While some people might shrug their shoulders and say it's only marijuana, the powerful pot grown here often is traded for harder drugs, including cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, law enforcement officials say. "We don't go after the users. We only go after the hard-core commercial growers who are smugglers," Perniciaro said. High distinction: Snohomish County is a perennial challenger for being tops in the state for marijuana production - most of it grown indoors. The county is included in an eight-county high-intensity drug trafficking Area designated by federal authorities. But pot is not the county's only drug dilemma: Methamphetamine labs are also a problem. Source: Herald, The (WA)Author: Janice Podsada, Herald Writer Published: Sunday, January 27, 2002 Copyright: 2002 The Daily Herald Co.Contact: letters heraldnet.comWebsite: http://www.heraldnet.com/Related Articles:B.C.'s Top Commodity: Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10242.shtmlCanada’s Potent Cash Crop: Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10097.shtmlCannabisNews - Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by aero on February 05, 2002 at 19:56:06 PT
more b.s.
i'll guarantee you it's propaganda! cause there ain't nothing here in wisconsin! i do know that wisconsin is the first state to propose a medical marijuana bill since that foolish supreme court ruling last spring. of course, we should all know that the feds definately can not afford to give up florida, so i'm sure that's why it was thrown in there too. cause there also ain't S*%T for green bud down there either; i've been there, and every person i know that's been there agrees with me.however, i can't disagree that california, oregon, and washington do have the very best pot around!
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Comment #2 posted by markjc on January 27, 2002 at 19:47:48 PT:
propaganda
these stats sound like ant-medical marijuana propaganda to me. is it a coincidence that some of these states have medical marijuana initiatives and the dea is trying to make a correlation.
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Comment #1 posted by p4me on January 27, 2002 at 16:36:15 PT
tell me more
I would like to know how much property is seized in this county. I do not think we are hearing all that we should about the asset forfeiture situation in this country. Man, would I like to get some of that 28% stuff. All you see around here is the 5% stuff. I guess it is nice to have something to look foward to.Vote against all incumbents.
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