Pubdate: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA) Copyright: 1998, Richmond Newspapers Inc. Contact: 775-8072 Website: http://www.gateway-va.com/ Author: Shannon Brennan, staff writer for The News & Advance of Lynchburg. AUTHORITIES TARGET MARIJUANA GROWERS Demand For Drug As Strong As Ever The dope smoking days of the '60s have been replaced by the dope smoking days of the '90s. Marijuana is more popular than ever, according to law enforcement officials who are in search of growers, dealers and users. "If anything, I think [demand] is going up," said 1st Sgt. Mark Petska, coordinator of the marijuana eradication program for the Virginia State Police. "There's a lot of pot everywhere." Lt. Jerry Stokes, who heads the Narcotics and Vice Unit for the Lynchburg Police Department, agrees. "Cocaine seems to be maintaining its own, but marijuana is growing by leaps and bounds," he said. Stokes noted that those convicted of selling marijuana generally receive lighter sentences than those pushing other drugs, and dealing is highly profitable. A pound of marijuana sells for between $1,000 and $2,000 in Virginia and one plant can produce up to a pound. "If you're a good grower . . . you should be able to easily yield a half pound out of a plant," Petska said. Statewide this year, law enforcement agencies have arrested 116 growers and seized 13,545 marijuana plants, according to Petska, who noted that some localities have not yet reported all their busts. Petska said that, three years ago, police arrested only 25 to 50 pot growers, but efforts to catch and arrest growers have stepped up in recent years thanks to joint efforts among a variety of agencies, with the state police taking the lead. In addition to daytime helicopter fly-overs, police have infrared radar devices aboard the choppers that can detect marijuana at night. The night fly-overs help detect marijuana being grown indoors, Petska said. The infrared cameras pick up heat released from the plants late at night after radiational heat from a building has disappeared. The plant heat makes the building glow. "It really sticks out," he said. Petska said that while police used to concentrate their efforts on eradicating marijuana plants, they now emphasize nabbing the growers. Using hidden cameras around a field, police can catch a grower on camera "and make a movie star out of him," Petska said. A wireless sensor triggers the video camera when it senses body heat or a ground disturbance. The quality of Virginia and U.S.-grown marijuana has come a long way since the 1960s, according to Petska. "U.S. dope is good dope," he said. "It used to be junk." Thirty years ago the level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, was 2 percent to 3 percent. Now it's 18 percent to 25 percent. THC is what produces euphoria in users. While August and September are prime harvesting months for marijuana, the season may be pushed back this year because many growers wait until the first frost locks the THC in the leaves, Petska said. In central Virginia, Nelson County has the most prolific pot crop. During this summer's eradication program, officials found 347 plants throughout the county, according to Sheriff Ron Wood. "This year we got $347,000 worth of marijuana," he said, adding that no growers have been arrested yet, but he hopes that some will be. The Nelson County plots of marijuana were spotted from helicopters doing fly-overs. Most of the plants were in the Schuyler area, although they were found throughout the county, Wood said. While the haul was significant, it doesn't match that of two years ago when 500 plants were confiscated in Nelson County, Wood said. The sheriff attributes the rural nature of the county and its location - --on a straight shot from Washington, D.C., to Florida via U.S. 29 -- to its popularity as a pot cultivation spot. Fly-overs in Bedford County, however, revealed nothing this year or the year before. Lt. Rick Wiita said patches of two to four plants have been found and that 50 plants have been have confiscated this year. The tiny patches make eradication by air very difficult, he said. While large patches of marijuana are seldom found, he said, drug arrests of all types are up this year and may increase 200 percent to 300 percent from last year. Marijuana is still popular in Bedford County, he said, and users of all ages -- from pre-teens to those in their 60s--have been arrested for possession. In Campbell County, authorities only found seven plants this year during the eradication program, according to Investigator Kristin Keesee. Last year the sheriff's office found 47 plants during eradication, but also bagged 927 plants and made two arrests thanks to a report from a resident. Law enforcement officials depend on citizen help to nab growers. Any suspicious activity, including vehicles repeatedly parked in out-of-the-way places, people walking in fields and woods dressed in camouflaged clothing and not hunting and the sound of power saws and water pumps in secluded places might indicate pot-growing activity. - --- Checked-by: Patrick Henry