KEEP UP GROW HOUSE CAMPAIGN

Let's hope this week's statewide crackdown on indoor marijuana growing
is just the beginning of coordinated action against what is no doubt a
coordinated and growing threat.

Lee County has earned the unwelcome distinction as the No. 2 county in
Florida for indoor pot production, behind only Miami-Dade. Local law
enforcement is eagerly pursuing this campaign, but it clearly needs
state resources and teamwork.

Raids Wednesday involved 45 counties, with 9,200 marijuana plants
confiscated with a value of almost $37 million. The 10 arrested in Lee
ranked third-highest in the sweep; the county was fourth in houses
closed and plants confiscated.

Good for the authorities for attacking this plague
vigorously.

Southwest Florida could easily become South Florida's indoor marijuana
field, but the activity is reaching epidemic proportions all over
Florida. Welcome legislation is on its way to the governor making
prosecution of indoor growing easier and tougher.

This industry brings with it violence and fear, corrosive influences
in communities already struggling with a weak economy and blight. Lots
of big, tough-to-police subdivisions like Lehigh Acres with scattered
housing - including some empty because of the housing crisis - make
Lee attractive to growers. All 10 houses closed Wednesday in Lee
County were in Lehigh. Charlotte County also figured prominently in
Wednesday's raid.

This battle is only beginning.