SECRET MARIJUANA CROPS A GROWING THREAT, OFFICIALS SAY

With local law enforcement agencies constantly on their tail,
marijuana growers are finding more creative ways to produce their
crops, said Ventura County Sheriff's Department officials.

In one case, a farmer's curiosity was sparked when he noticed low
pressure in a water line to his citrus trees. Authorities investigated
and found a hose running from the water line down into a barranca,
where a drip-irrigation system sustained a marijuana crop, sheriff's
Sgt. Bret Uhlich said.

In 2006, the Ventura County Sheriff's Department raided mountainous
wilderness, public waterways and backyards to seize 11,952 plants - worth $1,000 to $3,000 each - a potential total market value of $12
million to $36 million.

The department's statistics include the cities of Camarillo, Fillmore,
Ojai, Moorpark and Thousand Oaks. Unincorporated parts of the county
are split into east and west sections.

Marijuana cultivation isn't only a Ventura County problem. According
to a recent study, marijuana is America's top cash crop, with a value
of $35.8 billion in 2006. That exceeds the combined national value of
corn ($23.3 billion) and wheat ($7.45 billion).

The same study identified California as the top marijuana producing
state, with 2006's crop accounting for 38 percent of the country's
total. With a value of $13.7 billion, California's marijuana crop is
more than double the state's number two crop, vegetables ($5.7
billion). Of the $13.7 billion, more than $12.3 billion worth was
grown outdoors.

The Sheriff's Department reported that marijuana cultivation-related
arrests jumped from 16 in 2005 to 20 in the first 11 months of 2006.

In 2006, nine of thosearrests were made in unincorporated areas of
west Ventura County.

Uhlich said the people arrested on suspicion of cultivation usually
are illegal immigrants, sometimes armed with semi-automatic weapons.

They are hired by South American drug cartels to care for the crops in
exchange for being smuggled into the U.S., he said.

Arresting a higher-up in the cartel has proved to be difficult for
local officials.

Any connection between the grower and the top boss is murky. Police
often hear the same story when questioning a suspect.

"They tell us, 'all we have is a cell phone number,' or a first name
of someone who dropped them off," Uhlich said. "The whole situation is
very secretive."

When suspects might have useful information, they rarely cooperate
with authorities, out of concern for the safety of their families.

The immigrants know they will be arrested if they are discovered
growing the crop.

"They know, but it's the price they pay to come here," sheriff's Capt.
Ron Nelson said.

Local areas most frequently associated with marijuana cultivation are
secluded parcels found in the Los Padres National Forest and the Santa
Monica Mountains.

Nelson said large-scale growers, referred to as drug trafficking
organizations if their crops have 1,000 plants or more, prefer to
plant in backcountry areas.

Sheriff's narcotics deputies routinely search for and find marijuana
crops in specific locations.

Nelson would not disclose those locations but did say growers prefer
areas with natural water sources.

Sheriff's Department drug busts can range from dealing with
small-scale operations, such as patches only a few feet wide in river
bottoms, to multi-acre crops deep in the forest, Uhlich said.

Marijuana isn't dangerous only to users, but also to the ecosystem and
community in which it grows, officials said.

The land is cleared of animals, including endangered ones, by shooting
or poisoning them. Endangered plants are also damaged or killed when
brush is cleared.

Materials used in growing, such as phosphate and fertilizers, flow
into streams, causing pollution and poisoning fish, Uhlich said.

"They don't care," he said. Uhlich declined to specify the
department's strategies in fighting marijuana cultivation, but said it
will "continue using the same techniques that have been effective."

Despite the progress gained from those techniques, he considers
marijuana cultivation in Ventura County a "big problem."