POT SEIZURES SOAR AT HEIGHT OF SEASON

In Just A Month, Police Destroy More Plants Than In All Of Last Year

In one month this year, West Virginia state police have eliminated 41,000
marijuana plants.

HUNTINGTON -- It's harvest time in West Virginia, and the West Virginia
State Police and other law enforcement agencies are trying to cut into this
year's crop and reduce to zero the revenues of marijuana farmers.

The marijuana growing season is at full peak during the months of July and
August, making this the time of year when police officers take to the air
and scour the rolling hillsides of the Mountain State searching for patches
of the plant.

Nearly every year, the state is ranked among the top 10 states in the nation
for the number of marijuana plants eradicated, according to information from
the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The value of the marijuana
eradicated 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.

This year, after only a month of eradication efforts, police have seized and
destroyed more than 41,000 plants -- 10,000 more plants than all of last
year, said Sgt. Steve Jones, eradication coordinator for the West Virginia
State Police. The seizures have potentially taken more than $82 million out
of the pockets of marijuana cultivators around the state.

"This is looking like the best year we have had in 10 years," he said.

From July to September police officers go hunting for marijuana armed with a
helicopter, a pair of binoculars and a handful of tips from area residents.
The aerial view of the landscape makes spotting the plants a little easier.

"It usually just doesn't look like the other natural vegetation that
surrounds it," said Sgt. Mike Watts of the West Virginia State Police. Watts
has been spotting the plants from the air for 15 years.

Once a location is identified, the ground troops are deployed, the plants
are cut down, a sample is collected and then the plants are destroyed. Any
evidence at the scene is collected and then the police attempt to find the
owner.

Each year about 100 people are arrested in connection with the summertime
eradication efforts, Jones said. So far this year, there have been few
arrests, according to Watts. So far one arrest has been made in Wayne County
and two in Mason County. Jones said he does not know how many total arrests
have been made across the state.

The crime of cultivating marijuana carries a sentence of one to five years
in prison.

The aggressive approach has led growers to alter the approach to growing,
Watts said.

As recently as 10 years ago, the police would frequently find large
marijuana patches with thousands of plants at one location, he said. Since
that time, the patches are usually much smaller and more difficult to spot.

In July alone more than 4,500 plants have been seized and destroyed in Wayne
County and nearly 10,000 in Mason County.

"Marijuana likes hot, humid conditions to grow," said Kenny Burner, deputy
director of the Appalachia HIDTA program in West Virginia. "This year's rain
could have helped in some areas."

He believes the rainy conditions the area has experienced has contributed to
the success in finding the plants this year.

At the same time, the heavy rains could have damaged crop production in
other areas, he said.

Flooding and overly saturated soil might have hampered growing efforts in
Wayne County this year, Watts said. Wayne County is typically among the top
marijuana producing counties in the state, he said.

The fact that Wayne County is among the state's top marijuana producing
counties is no surprise to 34-year-old Janet Collins of Wayne. She said drug
usage is high, which makes the eradication effort important to the
community.

"Marijuana leads people to use other drugs," she said. "Other drugs means
more crime."

She wishes the State Police could do more.

"If they could spend more money it could do a lot for this county," she
said.

Searching for marijuana is not cheap.

The State Police use more than $125,000 in HIDTA grant money. That money is
designated specifically for marijuana eradication, Burner said.

Each region in the state is allotted a set amount of time to complete
eradication projects, he said.

The money is used to pay officers and purchase flying time in helicopters if
necessary, Burner said. When figuring out how to spend the money, the State
Police target areas that have historically produced more marijuana than
those that have not, Jones said.

The hours spent seeking and destroying marijuana are hours worked in
addition to officers' regular police duties, said Sgt. A.H. Arnold of the
State Police. The grant money pays for the extra hours the officers work,
Arnold said.

The State Police also receives money from the Drug Enforcement
Administration to eliminate marijuana, Arnold said.

The money spent on marijuana eradication could be better spent on something
else, said Shawn Amory, 21, of Teays Valley.

"They should look at finding a way to funnel that money into the school
system," he said.

Amory believes that marijuana laws should be repealed.

"If alcohol is legal then marijuana should be as well," he said.

The drug's prevalence in the area is too great for the police to make a
difference no matter how much is spent to stop it, said Steven Price, 26, of
Huntington.

"Marijuana is everywhere and I don't think it can be stopped," he said. "But
I'm glad to see the police still trying."

With about another month go, much more marijuana could be recovered as
police begin to explore new areas, Burner said.

Flights around Cabell, Wayne and Mason counties will likely come to an end
within the next few weeks, Watts said.