Pubdate: Mon, 06 May 2002
Source: Pensacola News Journal (FL)
Copyright: 2002 The Pensacola News Journal
Contact:  http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1675

SANTA ROSA EARNS PRAISE FOR ERADICATING POT PLANTS

The Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office deserves high marks for its 
concerted effort to crack down on pot growers.

Despite being one of the smallest counties in the state in terms of 
population, Santa Rosa ranked second only to Miami-Dade County in the 
number of marijuana plants eradicated last year, according to a report 
released last month by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

That should be good news for Sheriff Wendell Hall, who made the marijuana 
eradication program a top priority when he took office last year. He 
assigned a licensed pilot to fly a single-engine Cessna throughout the 
county to spot marijuana plots.

The result: a 251 percent increase from the previous year in the number of 
plants destroyed.

For too long Santa Rosa has been considered a haven for marijuana 
cultivators. With thousands of acres of undeveloped land, Northwest Florida 
has earned the dubious distinction for having prime real estate for growing 
illegal crops.

In Escambia County, deputies seized only 63 plants, ranking the county 48th 
in the state. But with two new helicopters and a recommitment to the 
marijuana eradication program, the Sheriff's Office expects to see those 
numbers increase this year.

The combined efforts of the two-county area could very well result in a 
record year for marijuana busts, which is good news for law enforcement and 
bad news for area pot growers and users.

Even though some believe that marijuana is a harmless drug that should be 
legalized, the fact is that it is against the law to grow it or possess it.

Given the increased surveillance by both sheriffs' offices, the two- county 
area may well lose the unwanted title as a paradise for pot growers.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens