Pubdate: Sat, 12 Nov 2005
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2005 San Jose Mercury News
Contact:  http://www.mercurynews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/390
Author: Elise Ackerman

POT PLANT HAUL TOPS 1 MILLION IN '05

California narcotics agents seized more than a million marijuana 
plants worth more than $4.5 billion during this year's growing season 
- -- more than double any other year -- according to new figures 
released by the Department of Justice.

In Santa Clara County, sheriff's deputies working with state 
narcotics agents confiscated 37,811 plants, worth at least $114 
million, ranking Silicon Valley ninth among the Top 10 counties where 
marijuana gardens were found and destroyed.

An additional 17,000 plants were seized by Santa Clara County 
deputies working alone, said Sgt. Joe Waldherr, supervisor of the 
Santa Clara County sheriff's marijuana suppression team. Waldherr put 
the value of the total numbers of plants seized in Santa Clara County 
at $165 million or more.

Shasta County led the state with 214,319 plants seized as part of the 
state-led Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, a multi-agency task 
force. Shasta was followed by Lake, Tulare and Fresno counties, where 
marijuana seizures topped 100,000.

"Our achievements are dampened by the sober reality that armed 
criminal growers are more willing than ever to use public lands and 
put outdoor enthusiasts at risk and damage California's environment," 
Attorney General Bill Lockyer said in a statement.

Michael Johnson, special agent supervisor of the state Bureau of 
Narcotic Enforcement, said law enforcement agents have become more 
skilled at spotting marijuana gardens, but at the same time, it 
appears more gardens are being planted.

Some narcotics agents attribute the increase to a post-Sept. 11 
crackdown on border traffic, while others say the legalization of 
medicinal marijuana may have made it less risky and cheaper to sell 
pot grown locally.

"The drug trafficking organizations see the potential for a large 
profit," Johnson said in an interview.

Johnson said many of the marijuana gardens, and particularly large 
gardens that are becoming more common -- appear to have been set up 
by Mexican drug cartels who are increasingly moving marijuana growing 
operations to California's public lands.

Nearly 75 percent of the confiscated pot plants were found in public 
lands, including state and national parks and forests. That's up from 
about 60 percent last year.

In Santa Clara County, marijuana gardens have been found during the 
past year in Henry Coe State Park, as well as in Castle Rock State 
Park (Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties) and Big Basin 
State Park (San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.

Waldherr said the most popular places for growing marijuana in the 
county are in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains and near the 
Gilroy Hot Springs.

Waldherr said if he had additional manpower, his team would probably 
find more gardens. His team is part of the sheriff's special 
operations division; currently, there are two deputies assigned to 
the team full-time for roughly eight months a year. Those positions 
are funded by a state grant from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.

Often, deputies find marijuana gardens simply by taking a map and 
imagining where a trafficker might plant. "You obviously can't have 
two guys hike every ravine in the county," Waldherr said.

The work is also dangerous. A state Fish and Game warden was shot in 
the legs during an August raid on a marijuana farm near Mount Umunhum.

Statewide, 76 weapons were seized during 237 raids in 31 counties. 
Forty-two people were arrested.

In Santa Clara County, a total of four weapons were seized, including 
a rifle, a shotgun and two semiautomatic pistols. Four people were arrested.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman