Huge pot farm bust in Calif. national forest

UKIAH, California - Law enforcement officials said Friday they struck a major blow against illegal marijuana cultivation on public lands in the heart of Northern California pot country.

The two-week operation to purge the Mendocino National Forest of illicit pot gardens uprooted 460,000 pot plants and led to more than 100 arrests, U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said.

About 1,500 pounds (680 kilograms) of processed marijuana, 27 guns and 11 vehicles were also seized.

The 900,000-acre (364,225-hectare) forest — larger than Rhode Island — spans six counties in a region of mountains and forests known as the Emerald Triangle for its high concentration of pot farms. Agents raided more than 50 gardens teeming with trash, irrigation pipes and chemicals that damage forestland and waterways, authorities said.

"The Mendocino National Forest is under attack by drug traffickers," Haag said.

The operation was part of an annual summer effort to eradicate marijuana from public lands across the state. Six sheriff's departments, the state anti-narcotics bureau and at least a half-dozen federal agencies took part in the effort in the forest.

Spearheading the raids was Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman, who in his years on the job has had to balance county medical marijuana ordinances with state law and the complete federal ban on the drug. Allman said none of the gardens busted showed any sign of being used to grow medical marijuana.

Each summer for the past several years, authorities report seizing millions of pot plants from local, state and national parks, forests and other wilderness areas. Public lands are often favored by clandestine growers for their remote locations and rugged terrain.

In previous years, officials have blamed Mexican drug cartels for some of the state's largest growing operations. Haag declined Friday to comment on where those arrested in the current operation were from but said 25 are already facing federal charges.

The decision to focus on Mendocino National Forest this year stemmed from citizen complaints a year ago about an increasing number of confrontations with armed guards protecting pot grows, Allman said.

Forest Service officials and county leaders have also long complained about the environmental consequences of illegal marijuana farms on forest ecology.

[wolfmann4u-2009]

How do you expect me to make a living as there are no regular jobs left in california

[Hala_c]

Earlier this year, former Secretary of State George Shultz, former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve and of the Economic Recovery Board Paul Volcker, and former Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Anan, among many other notable world leaders presented a report on the failure of the Global War on Drugs. It presented the argument that the "war on drugs" has morphed primarily into a war on marijuana and its users (as opposed to the organized crime that supports its commerce along with all the hard drugs like cocaine, heroine, meth, ecstasy, and all the new and exotic chemical formulas that people keep coming up with). The U.S. government has responded by ramping up enforcement against... wait for it...
POT. That damned evil weed that they just can't stop from growing on God's green earth, never mind that god put it here.

You can see the report at http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/
It RIPS the U.S. government on the war on drugs.

HELP SAVE OUR ECONOMY AND END THE WAR NOW!

[Harden_Tar]

A drop in the bucket of California's pot supply.

[ludvig1-2009]

What a waste of money the war on people is. I'm a nuclear engineer. I had my car searched twice in 4 days by the Highway Patrol in the state I went to college in because I had California license plates so I must be a drug dealer. They should legalize the damn drug and fire all these over paid cops. I know 4 police sergeants in the town I live in make more money than the Supreme Court Justice of the United States and then the Federal government wants to step in give money to California so they can hire more cops. They've got to be insane. No more money for California cops. The ones we have do nothing other than harass innocent people. I've had my picture taken 2 times for legally riding a bicycle down the street. After the first time, they put a decoy car in my walking path trying to get me to steal it. Stop the war on people! Legalize marijuana.

[Overruled1]

1st things first.
CBS is wrong to desecrate the California State flag.
That being said, it's a nice change though...

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As for the bust. I'm hopeful that mary jane gets legal since it is the smuggling and distribution that has caused harm to our society with violence.

Our forests are not for anyone to profit by other than human visitors and the resident species of animals.

It's classified as a level 1 drug, which should never have been done.
The law enforcement authorities that made it an illegal just because they needed a source of income, doing this gave them a reason for funding.....in all reality, the illegitamcy of pot was a conspiracy.
When it was first stated that it was a gateway drug, in order to prove it, NYC Mayor LaGuardia was tasked with a research project to see how many potheads had become more heavy drug users.
The results showed this was not the case, the results were ignored simply because they were contrary to dogma.

[gadfly65]

Our national forests are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and are available for exploitation by many profit-oriented businesses, including timber harvesting, ranching, and mining. Of course, such exploitation requires approval of USFS officials, but your basic assertion is mistaken.

[Overruled1]

by gadfly65
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So, all they need is a permit?

[edwardjune]

we dont have to grow it the state and feds are doing it for us.
when they pull it out they leave behind pot holes. now they seed these pot holes with more pot seeds that fall off these plants. thank you goverment . how dumb can you be. ask johny appale seed

[mendomonk]

um, your innocence is refreshing, but no serious grower lets pollination occur; even one stray male plant ruins the whole crop 'cause fertilization causes blowsy buds that don't fetch a decent price and are hell to process anyway. Serious growers start with all-female rooted cuttings ("clones"); this isn't the sixties anymore, but you knew that...

[gadfly65]

I'm so glad to hear that law enforcement is spending my tax money to suppress this dangerous drug; otherwise more users might turn out like this guy:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/30/sportsline/main20085847.shtml

[Hala_c]

I'm sayin'... that guy is a WORLD CLASS LOOOOOOSSSSSSSSSEEEEEERRRRRR!!!

Only in the booze depleted brains of the so-called "leaders" that are currently driving US off a cliff.

Fortunately they can't ever take his world class achievements away from him!

[bajajohn1]

Unbelievable. Unbelievable that drug cops actually busted something major, while Mexican police and military make huge busts daily. Unbelievable too, because there are not photos to prove what they say is true. Legalize marijuana and quit wasting our tax dollars on enforcement. Some skulls are just too thick to understand this.

[stupa5]

roll another one!

[royrogers1948]

Just like the other one, and pass it over to me

[_MrMike]

Just make it legal, and tax the hell out of it. The drug war is a failure. Let's end this nonsense once and for all........

[Rocksman]

Agreed