HAWAII MARIJUANA FARMS MOVE INDOORS

HILO, Hawai'i -- Large-scale marijuana cultivation in Hawai'i and
particularly on the Big Island is moving indoors, and in the past two
years police have uncovered increasing numbers of sophisticated
indoor farming operations believed to produce millions of dollars
worth of illegal crops.

The number of police raids on indoor growing operations on the Big
Island nearly quadrupled from 2005 to 2006, and is on a course to
increase again this year, according to statistics provided by Big
Island police Vice Division.

"Instead of just setting up plants out in the yard and growing, or in
a greenhouse and letting the sunlight come through, guys are building
roofs and buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment to
grow marijuana plants inside," said East Hawai'i vice officer John
Weber, a veteran of more than 150 marijuana investigations.

Statewide, the National Drug Intelligence Center also reports the
number of indoor marijuana grow sites appears to be increasing, with
the number of plants seized in indoor grow operations jumping sharply
from 3,950 plants in 2005 to 12,358 plants in 2006.

There have been notable marijuana seizures on other islands,
including the seizure of more than 6,000 plants on Kaua'i earlier
this year, but the Big Island is believed to account for most of the
state's marijuana crop. The island's large tracts of open land and
isolated rural subdivisions offer privacy for growers that may not be
available on other islands.

This year Big Island police have discovered a number of homes and one
Puna warehouse devoted to marijuana farming. Some operations featured
grow lights equipped with timers, watering systems connected to the
plumbing and growers who use sophisticated plant cloning technology,
according to police and court records.

The controlled indoor environments allow growers to produce a new
crop as often as every 90 days, according to the newest Hawai'i High
Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Drug Market Analysis.

HIDING SMELL, POWER USE

Farmers have been using air filters to try to mask the pungent smell
of the plants, and fans to circulate air within the farming
operations. In some cases the growers tamper with their electrical
connections to steal electricity from the power grid and hide how
much power their grow lights and other equipment are consuming.

To create more room to grow, marijuana farmers often toss up
unpermitted additions to homes or additional buildings, police said.

In one case last year, police say an alleged Big Island marijuana
grower would set up other farmers in business, going so far as to
erect greenhouses on other people's properties and provide the
seedlings to get new farmers started. The participants would then
either split the profits or divide up the harvested marijuana, Weber
said.

"It's a business. You can make a lot of money from marijuana, guys
are making a lot of money," Weber said. "When you have an indoor grow
with 500 plants in it, that's not some poor guy who has a medical
condition and has a permit and needs to have his marijuana to make
himself feel better. That's some guy who's trying to make money off
selling dope to our kids and our family members."

Big Island Vice Detective Steven Correia said marijuana farmers have
been moving indoors mostly because helicopter eradication missions by
state, county and federal authorities have been successful in
uprooting a large share of the outdoor crops.

In one case in 2006, police yanked up about 50 adult plants from the
boundaries of a lot in Hawaiian Paradise Park, and then received a
tip earlier this year that the couple living at the property had
moved the operation indoors.

When officers raided the same property in June, they found another 75
plants and an indoor growing operation, according to court records.

Court records show police frequently identify indoor growers simply
by flying over properties and spotting marijuana plants. In other
cases, informants tip off the authorities.

EASIER TO PROSECUTE

Indoor operations may be harder to find than outdoor marijuana
patches, but authorities say it is much easier to identify and
prosecute the owners of pot plants being grown indoors.

It is also easier for prosecutors to file forfeiture proceedings to
seize land used for indoor growing operations, said Big Island Deputy
Prosecutor Mitch Roth. With indoor grows, it is difficult for pot
farmers to invoke the so-called "innocent owner" defense and claim
they didn't know the plants were there, he said.

"It shows they are in this for the business, they're in this to make
money," Roth said of the large-scale indoor operations.

Court records show it is not uncommon for police to raid a home and
seize plants, and then return to the same address later, arrest the
same people, and seize more plants.

Farmers may go right back to growing after a raid, but when they lose
land, money and other property in forfeiture proceedings "it does
make an impression on people," Roth said.

'$500,000' RANCH HAUL

One forfeiture pending in Hilo Circuit Court involves Volcano
resident David Finley Jr., 65, who was arrested in 2006 after police
allegedly seized 290 plants from Finley's 29-acre Volcano ranch.

Finley was arrested a second time on Jan. 29 in another raid on his
Volcano property that turned up what police say is the largest
seizure of dried marijuana and hashish "in recent memory."

Officers allegedly found three indoor growing operations on the
property, including a greenhouse attached to Finley's home, equipment
for manufacturing hashish and more than 75 pounds of dried marijuana
and other drugs.

The dried marijuana found in a bedroom included 127 sealed 1-ounce
packets labeled with prices of $280 to $300 each, according to court
records.

Authorities estimated the haul was worth $500,000, although Finley
told police he considered the marijuana to be worthless. He told
police that "I have been having a very hard time selling this,"
according to court records.

Finley was charged with two counts of first-degree commercial
promotion of marijuana, which is punishable by up to 20 years in
prison, and also faces other drug and drug paraphernalia charges.

Authorities also filed to seize the Volcano ranch property. That
forfeiture is being opposed by Finley's wife, Mary, who said in court
records that she "did not know such alleged activities were taking
place on our property."

SEIZING CASH, 'TOYS'

Since there is big money involved, police frequently seize large sums
of cash and "toys," such as off-road vehicles, cars, trucks and
watercraft in raids on growing operations, according to police and
court records.

More ominously, police frequently seize firearms when they raid the
farming operations.

"A lot of them arm themselves, because they're going to protect their
livelihood ... so they protect themselves against the competition, or
people coming to rip off their marijuana," Weber said.

There are critics of the long-running campaign against marijuana,
including longtime pro-marijuana activist Roger Christie, who is
running for mayor of the Big Island. Christie's Hawai'i Cannabis THC
Ministry advocates use of marijuana for religious purposes, an
activity Christie argues is protected under the Constitution.

Christie contends the overflights police use to spot the illegal
plants amount to unconstitutional searches.

"We've got to bring back respect for the constitution and the right
to privacy, or tyranny becomes the law of the land," he said.

Such arguments do not impress Weber, who served 46 search warrants
last fiscal year and was chosen the Hawai'i Police Department's 2007
Officer of the Year by the Hawai'i State Law Enforcement Officials
Association.

Weber said police have to keep illegal drug trafficking in check for
the benefit of the entire community.

"They can say whatever they like out there, but my job as a law
enforcement officer is to enforce the law, and marijuana ... unless
they have a medical permit and under seven plants, is against the
law, and as long as it is, that's my job and that's what I'm going to
do," he said.