cannabisnews.com: U.S. Forests in Calif. Going to Pot





U.S. Forests in Calif. Going to Pot
Posted by FoM on February 05, 2001 at 15:18:42 PT
By Thomas D. Elias. Special Correspondent
Source: Newsday 
Los Angeles-Marijuana gardens planted illegally by squatters in the national forests of California are growing steadily larger and pro- ducing ever more lucrative and potent crops, law enforcement agencies reported as they wrapped up a record season of seizures in America's leading pot-growing state. "There is a lot more growing out there," said Eric Nishimoto, spokesman for the Ventura County sheriff's department, which chopped down more than 15,000 plants with a street value of about $22 million in the Los Padres National Forest during one month last fall. 
"We're seeing more sophistication in the methods used, which can yield a much larger crop," he said. "We're not talking about the old days when some potheads grew a few plants for their own use." Overall, California authorities seized more than 420,000 marijuana plants last year, almost double the 241,000 in 1999. Agents of the joint federal-state-local California Campaign Against Marijuana Planting scored their biggest single-raid haul ever in September, confiscating 58,000 plants (street value: about $205 million) from a patch in the Sequoia National Forest northeast of Bakersfield. Most pot plants produce about a pound of smokable weed apiece, with the street value ranging from $600 to $5,000 per pound, depending on potency. That big money, says Sonya Barna, CAMP's director of operations, is the reason "we're not dealing with traditional hippie farmers anymore. A lot of them have been pushed out by pseudo-criminal organizations from Mexico who import labor and armed guards. It's more cost-effective to grow it here than to smuggle it in." Although one armed grower was killed this year by a CAMP agent-the first fatality in the campaign's 15-year history-most raids net plants but no growers. Many patches are equipped with watchtowers, which police say are principally intended to scare off poachers but also can provide warning when police approach. Forest Service officials worry that the pot patches are affecting wildlife in national forests, as growers kill animals for food, cut away natural vegetation, litter and leave human waste lying about. "Birds and animals are dying because of the pesticides they use," complained Kathy Good, a Forest Service spokeswoman. "They're also a big fire hazard because they use stoves and campfires unsafely." Nevertheless, some law enforcement officials believe their campaign is succeeding. "It's very, very expensive to set these gardens up, and they take a big hit financially when we strike," said Barna. "And the more we take from them, the less they can put out on the street." Improved police techniques are one reason for the increased haul from raids. Authorities become more efficient at spotting gardens from cruising helicopters, then either landing on level ground or dropping officers into remote ravines by cables as long as 150 feet. But some law enforcement officials say the conflicted attitude of the California public makes enforcement complicated. The 1996 Proposition 215, aimed at legalizing medical marijuana, passed by 60 percent to 40 percent. Even state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, admits to some ambivalence. "I don't use drugs, and I don't condone drug use," he says. "I will use our authority to stamp out illegal drugs. But this is totally separate from my support of medical uses of marijuana." Note: Squatters cultivate marijuana gardens.Source: Newsday (NY)Published: February 5, 2001Author: Thomas D. Elias. Special CorrespondentCopyright: 2001, Newsday Inc.Address: 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville NY 11747Fax: (516) 843-2986Contact: letters newsday.comWebsite: http://www.newsday.com/Forum: http://www.newsday.com/forums/forums.htmRelated Articles:Marijuana Warlords Set Up Shop Beneath Redwoods http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8176.shtmlState Harvests Record in Marijuana Seizureshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/7/thread7424.shtmlMassive Pot Farm in Hills Discovered http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7140.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by Kevin Hebert on February 06, 2001 at 10:20:54 PT:
Re: the mote in the anti's eye
And of course, if we're going to quote the Bible, let's not forgot Genesis 1:12:And the earth brought forth grass, [and] herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed [was] in itself, after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good. If it's good enough for God, don't put people in jail for it.
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on February 06, 2001 at 09:26:22 PT:
The mote in the anti's eye
"Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." Matthew 7:1-5I'm no Bible-thumper, but this passage is especially relevent.Here is the Forest Service, one of the many octopoidal arms of Uncle, peeing and moaning about a few illegals puttering around in the National Parks. They bemoan the fact that maybe tens of pounds of pesticides have been leaching into the soil there, courtesy of illegal growing operations. Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, in Colombia, another arm of Uncle is busily dumping hundreds of kilos of poisonous crap - most of which has been banned in the US of A - on helpless campesinos incapable of defending themselves against this de facto chemical warfare (banned by treaties the US is signatory to!), leaching into one of the most delicate ecosystems on this planet, and threatening the food supply of tens of millions of people who are already on borderline starvation due to the unsettled political situation, there. The 'beam' of the DrugWarriors is their crusading for something that can never be. They are willing to remove the dust speck they perceive in the eyes of their foes - and in their zeal, taking out the eye as well. But they have a huge beam of hypocrisy sticing out of their own eye. Typical, so typical.
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Comment #5 posted by 55m on February 06, 2001 at 08:57:28 PT
hay
siezed 420,000 plants.....hmmmm
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Comment #4 posted by Dan B on February 06, 2001 at 01:40:05 PT:
Great Documentary
"Birds and animals are dying because of the pesticides they use," complained Kathy Good, a Forest Service spokeswoman.Below, you will find a link to "Cannabis Rising," a 40-minute documentary on POT-TV about cannabis in the Netherlands. One of the many important aspects of the cannabis-growing industry there is its care to treat the environment with respect. The show clearly documents that environmentally-safe, biodegradable, natural, organic fertilizers and pesticides are used in growing some of the best cannabis in the world there in Holland. So, those of you who claim that it is not cannabis itself, but prohibition that causes the environmental damage are absolutely correct.Were it not for prohibition, the growers would not need to set up easy-to-disassemble, dangerous cooking and heating equipment. They could grow in their own backyards, and nobody would have any cause to use a National Park as a garden. Dan B
Cannabis Rising
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Comment #3 posted by legalizeit on February 05, 2001 at 21:16:23 PT
Barna needs to be keel-hauled
Of course it's Barna's livelihood, so she can't say anything else and still keep her job, but I can't imagine how anyone in good conscience could justify this worthless operation, which has resulted in a person being killed over a plant!!Clinton always called himself the Environmental President, but MJ prohibition during his (and his bumbling Drug Tsar's) watch escalated to the worst ever, and was directly responsible for any and all environmental damage caused to National Forest resources by clandestine pot cultivation. Wake up politicians, pot is NOT going away, so you might as well get used to it and quit fighting (and killing) over a plant!
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Comment #2 posted by Narcoleptic on February 05, 2001 at 19:36:58 PT
Truly Shocking
Gee, you make it a criminal offense to grow cannabis, and suddenly the cannabis growing industry gets taken over by criminals! Who would've thought THAT would happen? If the state wants see sweet hippie farmers growing pot instead of crime syndicates then they're going to have to LEGALIZE and REGULATE the product, just like every other consumer good. 
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Comment #1 posted by aocp on February 05, 2001 at 19:24:45 PT:
Uh-huh
>That big money, says Sonya Barna, CAMP's director of operations, is the reason "we're not dealing with traditional hippie farmers anymore. A lot of them have been pushed out by pseudo-criminal organizations from Mexico who import labor and armed guards. It's more cost-effective to grow it here than to smuggle it in."You don't have to be able to get blood from a stone to read more into this. Ok, sonya, WHY aren't we dealing with "traditional hippie farmers" anymore? Could the prohibition of MJ have ANYTHING to do this appearance of "pseudo-criminal organizations"? Ya think?Where are the "pseudo-criminal organizations" pushing booze or smokes? What's that? Please stop mumbling and speak up so the audience can hear you. You say they don't exist?Do you suppose if we were to ban booze and/or smokes for everyone in this country, we wouldn't have "traditional breweries" and/or "traditional tobacco farmers" anymore? Well?YOU morons are the ones at fault of believing you are bigger than market forces aimed at consenting adults. Find some humility.
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