Pubdate: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 Source: Porterville Recorder (CA) Copyright: 2006 The Porterville Recorder Contact: http://www.portervillerecorder.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2887 Author: Sarah Elizabeth Villicana, The Porterville Recorder Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) STATISTICS SHOW PROGRESS IN THE WAR ON DRUGS Law enforcement agencies and statewide drug enforcement programs are reporting major strides in the war against drugs in the Central Valley. According to statistics provided by the Tulare County Sheriff's Department, the number of methamphetamine labs disassembled by county authorities dropped significantly in 2005. Meanwhile, the number of drug seizures reached new highs. The data on drug activity was collected by the California Multi-Jurisdictional Methamphetamine Enforcement Team program, or Cal-MMET. The program is run in conjunction with the Central Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Programs and administered by the Governor's Office of Criminal Justice Planning. For the 2000-01 period, 27 meth labs were seized by county law enforcement agencies, according to Cal-MMET. Compare that to a total of two clandestine laboratories seized during the 2004-05 period. During the same time, only one meth "super lab" was located by officials. A "super lab" is a production site with the capacity to manufacture 10 pounds or more of the illegal substance in one production cycle. There were 61 dump sites from meth production found within the county in 2000-01, with just 17 dump sites located in 2004-05. Additionally, seizures of currency reported for 2004-05 jumped from $63,000 in 2003-04 to $300,328 in 2004-05. Putting a halt to the manufacture and abuse of methamphetamine in the region remains a top priority for law enforcement agencies, as do state and county efforts to combat marijuana gardens. In 2005, the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting seized 133,038 marijuana plants in Tulare County, with the state total in excess of 1 million. The state CAMP program recently received an award for distinguished service in 2005, according to a Jan. 19 news release by California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Last year, CAMP unified marijuana eradication efforts in 31 counties. "The largest increase in illegal marijuana seizures over the past seven years is a reflection of the skill and commitment of each law enforcement agency that participates in the program," Lockyer said. Since 1999, CAMP has seized a total of 3.5 million illegal marijuana plants worth an estimated $13.9 billion; made 203 arrests and seized 274 weapons. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D