cannabisnews.com: Officials Say Drought Will Hurt Marijuana Growers 





Officials Say Drought Will Hurt Marijuana Growers 
Posted by FoM on August 11, 1999 at 06:51:15 PT
By Associated Press
Source: Boston Globe Online
ALBANY, N.Y. Farmers aren't the only ones hurting from the drought. So are illicit marijuana growers, according to law enforcement officials.
''The farmers have it tough, and so do the pot growers,'' Albany County Sheriff's Department investigator Matthew Campbell told the Times Union of Albany. The department has only received three tips on the location of marijuana patches this year, much lower than the two dozen that would have usually been received by now, Campbell said. Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws in Washington, D.C., predicted that growers would suffer catastrophic losses this year. ''The outdoor marijuana farmer is no different than the rest of the farmers,'' he said. The organization estimates that New York's illicit marijuana harvests are worth about $280 million annually. That makes the drug crop second only to hay, which has $302 million in sales a year, according to estimates compiled by NORML from state and federal data. With an estimated 80 percent of the state's marijuana grown outdoors, experts predict that street prices for the drug will be going up over the next year. The drug typically costs between $200 to $400 an ounce, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Last year 171 marijuana patches were discovered and pulled up, according to the DEA. The drought is expected to make this year's patches easier to spot from the air because the plant's dark leaves will stand out against the brown foliage around it, officials said. ''Mother Nature may be helping us in our efforts this year, but we still have to be vigilant in our efforts to eradicate marijuana,'' said Inspector Pedro Perez, head of narcotics for the New York State Police. 08/11/99 08:52 Boston Globe
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