POT GROWING GOING INDOORS

The U.S. Justice Department has now confirmed what
marijuana-legalization activists have been saying for years: Pot
eradication efforts such as California's Campaign Against Marijuana
Planting (CAMP) are driving pot growers to move to indoor sites,
including suburban homes.

According to the DOJ's National Drug Assessment 2008, released Nov. 8,
the trend is likely to continue. "DTOs [drug trafficking
organizations] and criminal groups ... will adapt to the increasing law
enforcement pressure ... associated with outdoor sites and will most
likely shift operations indoors."

Although CAMP seizures are way up, thanks to the presence of large
grows run by Mexican drug cartels, "marijuana availability is
widespread," the report notes. Indoor operations can produce highly
potent pot year-round, it continues, "allowing for an exponential
increase in profits derived."

Marijuana legalization advocates charge that efforts such as CAMP's
are a waste of money. They say marijuana should be legalized and
regulated, as wine is.