RED POT ALERT ISSUED

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs has issued its annual
warning against smoking red marijuana.

Bureau agents, along with the Oklahoma National Guard troops and several
sheriff's departments' deputies, are eradicating wild-growing marijuana
crops by treating it with weed killer.

They are using backpack spray rigs to coat the marijuana with Round Up, a
weed killer made of glyphosate. In order to warn the public that the plants
have been treated, red dye has been added to the chemical, which turns the
plants red. More than 4 million plants have already been killed across the
state, and more spraying is planned throughout the summer and fall.

"The herbicide has been tested, found to be environmentally safe and has a
very low toxicity to wildlife," said Mark Woodward, an agency spokesman.
"It is the exact same product most of us buy at the store to kill weeds in
our own back yards."