WEED? STATE TELLS NATURE LOVERS TO TAKE A SECOND LOOK

During World War II, hemp was planted in Michigan for use in making
rope. Remnants of those plantings still grow in the state's fertile
soil, but it's the cultivated plants that state police are asking
outdoor enthusiasts to watch out for.

Those cultivated varieties of marijuana are specially selected for
their high amounts of the hallucinogenic drug THC, said Michigan
State Police Detective First Lt. Dave Peltomaa, who works with the
Michigan Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program,
formerly known as Operation HEMP. The targets range from people who
grow just a couple of plants in their backyards for personal use to
organized drug rings that grow hundreds or even thousands of plants,
often on land owned by others so they can avoid forfeiture.

One plot, found on the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin border last
month, contained 9,000 plants, he said.

Because of the tendency to plant on state land, or large land tracts
owned by utility and oil companies, officials are asking hunters,
campers and travelers to report any outdoor plots they come across.

"Michigan licenses more than 750,000 hunters each year, and there are
countless outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy the natural resources found
in the nearly seven million acres that make up our state and national
forests," said Capt. Thomas Courchaine, acting assistant chief of the DNR.

The trick, Peltomaa said, is to report the plots as soon as you come
across them without investigating them on your own. It's a safety
precaution that could save your life.

Think of it this way: Worth about $1,000 per plant, marijuana is an
investment growers want to protect.

Law enforcement officials in western states have reported various
injuries due to booby-trapped plots, and even a 10-year-old boy who
was squirrel hunting was shot after coming across marijuana plants,
Peltomaa said. National Forest agents have been killed. He said law
enforcement officials know there's a tendency for what happens in the
western areas of the country to move east, and officials are watching for it.

"Just over the Fourth of July holiday we got three or four calls from
around the state," Peltomaa said, adding many tips his office
receives are from people who go to a neighbor or family member's
house and are asked to check out the plants growing in the yard for
personal use.

"We do get a lot of tips," he said. "Most of the ones we get actually
turn out to be marijuana."

In the spring, it can be hard to tell the difference between
marijuana and other weeds. Midland County Sheriff's deputies were
called by residents throughout May and June to check if plants that
were found were the drug. None panned out.

Earlier in the year, a deputy seized 10 marijuana plants that were
being grown inside a Jerome Township home, and more recently,
Michigan State Police and Clare County Sheriff's deputies found 366
plants that were being grown on land at a cell phone tower in that county.

Chuck Martin, a horticulturist at The Dow Gardens, said cinquefoil,
also known as potentilla, is the most common weed that is mistaken
for marijuana. Cinquefoil is shrubby and can grow to be about 3 feet
tall. The number of its leaflets varies from three to seven.

They do look similar, but there are ways to tell the pair apart.

As the season wears on, Peltomaa said, it gets pretty easy to tell if
a plant is marijuana due to its height.

Marijuana is an annual plant that is sown from green or brown seeds.
It can grow up to 20 feet tall. Each main leaf has five to nine
sawtooth-edged leaflets, the number of which can vary on the same
plant, but always an odd number. The upper leaf surface is dark green
and the other side is a dull light green.

Indicators of outdoor grow operations include heavy traffic; use of
camping gear or recreational vehicles on wooded property where
recreational activities don't appear to be occurring; people with
little or no farming experience who purchase fertilizer, PVC pipe,
chicken wire, camouflage netting and clothing; irrigation or PVC
piping in wooded areas; and even patrolled or guarded woods, swamps
and remote areas.

Peltomaa said incidents of indoor grow operations have been
increasing in recent years due to the pressure put on outdoor grow
operations, and it's not uncommon for drug rings to purchase homes in
suburbs and convert the entire structure to growing the drug using hydroponics.

Signs to look for in the latter cases include messy, unmowed yards,
people frequently coming and going, fertilizer, blacked-out windows,
ventilation fans constantly running, or no snow on the roof in the
winter due to the home's high heat.

To report a marijuana grow site, call 1-800-235-HEMP (4367), or the
Department of Natural Resources Report All Poaching hotline at 1-800-292-7800.

The Michigan Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program is
a partnership of the Michigan State Police, local law enforcement
agencies, the DNR, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Forest
Service, National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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WEED VS. JUST A WEED

* Marijuana characteristics:

It can grow up to 20 feet tall. Each main leaf has five to nine
sawtooth-edged leaflets, the number of which can vary on the same
plant, but always an odd number. The upper leaf surface is dark
green and the other side is a dull light green.

* Cinquefoil characteristics:

Shrubby, can grow up to 3 feet tall. Leaflets, which also have
sawtooth edges, number from three to seven. The plant has yellow flowers.