WAYNE CRACKING DOWN ON MARIJUANA

WAYNE -- Law enforcement is in the air and on the hunt -- for
marijuana, that is. The marijuana growing season is at its peak during
the months of July and August, making this time of the year a prime
opportunity for police officers and other law enforcement to crack
down on the growth of marijuana. As reported previously by the
Herald-Dispatch, nearly every year West Virginia is ranked among the
top 10 states in the nation for the number of marijuana plants
eradicated. The value of the marijuana destroyed by police surpasses
the value of any other single cash crop in the state, according to the
Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a division of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy.

The eradication effort started Wednesday, but with the rain, said Sgt.
Mike Watts, it's been tough to get the helicopters up in the air. "We
started two days ago, but we've kind of had two days of nothing but
rain, so we didn't do it at all yesterday," Watts said Friday. Watts
said Friday's effort, while only a half day of searching, uncovered
some marijuana plants.

"(Friday) we found some plants, but (we) don't anticipate going in and
pulling them until tomorrow," Watts said. "We anticipate quite a few
plants in the area."

Watts said this is a state-wide effort.