Pubdate: Sun, 01 Sep 2013 Source: Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, CA) Copyright: 2013 Appeal-Democrat Website: http://www.appeal-democrat.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1343 WE DON'T WANT LARGE GROW SITES IN OUR COUNTIES Good. Get them out of here. Whether or not states and the nation need to re-evaluate marijuana laws doesn't matter. It's illegal to have large grow operations; they should be stopped and taken down. Anything illegal with this much money at stake is bound to be dangerous. Yuba-Sutter agents arrested two men Thursday and seized marijuana worth a million or more from six grow sites in Yuba, Butte, and Nevada counties. In another case, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento filed a forfeiture action against a Brownsville property where agents earlier in August had seized marijuana in a large grow operation. At least one of those charged in the cases, according to the complaint, has a history of violence, drug sales and weapons charges. We think that's a common trait amongst large illegal grow sites and distribution operations. If our area continues to develop as a center for this sort of activity - - cultivating marijuana for illegal sales around the country - we lose. There's nothing about these types of operations that makes them as idyllic as regular agriculture and nothing so simplistic as doing a little gardening. These are large-scale operations with millions in illicit profits and that makes it likely that somewhere along the line someone gets hurt. They don't care about the environment; they don't care about the homes or the hikers or the workers out and about where their operations are located. This isn't some Cheech and Chong comedy. It's a serious matter, and we don't want them here. If you're out and about and see something suspicious, back out and stay out of harm's way. And call law enforcement. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt