MENDOCINO HAPPY TO GIVE UP MARIJUANA-GROWING CROWN

Mendocino County, heart of the infamous "Emerald Triangle," has been
toppled as the state's top marijuana producer by Kern County, better known
for its raisins and cotton fields.

Attorney General Bill Lockyer said that after 18 years of Mendocino and
marijuana being synonymous in the public perception, Kern was actually
where the action was this pot-growing season.

Lockyer on Monday released state statistics showing that nearly twice the
number of marijuana plants -- 59,015 -- were seized in Kern as in Mendocino
County. In fact, he said, more dope was hacked down this year in Kern than
in Mendocino, Sonoma and Lake counties combined.

"As far as I'm concerned, that's good news. We've had the honor too damn
long," Mendocino County Sheriff Tony Craver said.

He cheered Kern's seizure of the pot-growing crown, saying he's sick of
Mendocino's national reputation as a dope grower's haven.

"Sure we have a marijuana problem here, but this goes to show that the
problem is everywhere. And I keep saying over and over that it's a bigger
problem than only law enforcement can handle," Craver said.

Kern's eclipse of Mendocino and other traditionally top marijuana-producing
counties on the North Coast underscores a dramatic shift in illicit pot
production that continues statewide, Lockyer said.

He detailed the shift in a lengthy statement he issued Monday during a news
conference in the Central Valley town of Madera. Lockyer said a record
345,000 pot plants, worth an estimated $1.3 billion, were uncovered
statewide, but for the first time more than half of the plants were found
growing not on the North Coast but in Central Valley and Sierra foothill
counties.

Unlike the traditional "owner-operated small business gardens with a few
hundred plants" typically found in Mendocino and other coastal counties,
Lockyer said state and local agents this year routinely came across
marijuana plantations with 8,000 to 15,000 plants in Kern and other Central
Valley counties.

Lockyer said there's mounting evidence that Mexican drug cartels are behind
the big dope-growing operations.

"They utilize a corporate approach with different branches for production
and distribution," he said.

He said the Mexican drug cartels are using profits from widespread
methamphetamine production to finance the more profitable marijuana-growing
operations.

"These marijuana operations are so lucrative that a large organization can
lose 15 of its 20 garden sites and still make a large profit," he said.

He said the reason is the continuing high demand for marijuana and the
price users are willing to pay.

"Just to show the value of marijuana, gold currently sells for about $4,400
a pound, just a bit more than the $4,000 per pound that is commonly paid
for California-grown marijuana," Lockyer said.

He disagreed with critics who say the state's anti-pot efforts are
ineffective because they drive marijuana prices up, attracting
commercial-style growers.

He conceded that when the supply is down, the price goes up on the street
but said that is good. "We hope that the price continues to rise so as to
discourage many children and teens from using the drug," he said.

Lockyer admitted he has no reliable estimate of how much marijuana is grown
or sold. "But we believe that our CAMP program, combined with year-round
narcotics efforts by law enforcement agencies throughout California, has
had an effect on the amount that is available," he said.

Kern County sheriff's spokesman Hal Chealander said local law enforcement
isn't enamored with the dubious distinction that more marijuana was
uncovered in Kern County this year than anywhere else.

"We're very troubled by the size of the operations we've found. These are
mega-production facilities. We're not talking mom-and-pop operations," he said.

Craver said he's happy Mendocino is, for now anyway, rid of a chronically
embarrassing distinction.

"I guess I could be cute and urge our growers to try harder to regain our
title, but no thanks. Any easing of the problem here is welcomed," he said.