AS POT GROWS, SO DO CRIMES

RegionA-s Farmland Makes Growing Marijuana Easy

The three people burst into the apartment with masks on, quickly
overwhelming the woman inside. One held her down on a bed while the
others ransacked her home.

The quarry the three robbers sought at the Lake Luzerne home that
warm June night was marijuana and/or the cash that was generated by
its sale. They made off with a little of both, police said, and were
arrested within the last few weeks.

The June 8 heist was one of two home invasion robberies in the Glens
Falls area that night. And when police investigate home invasion
heists these days, they typically find the root of the case to be on
one drug and the money it produces that draw would-be thieves: Marijuana.

"Historically we've seen more home invasions robberies for marijuana
than for any other drug," said Glens Falls Police Detective Sgt. Lloyd Swartz.

While proponents of the drug argue it should be legalized and that
its effects on society are far less troublesome than so-called
"harder" drugs like cocaine and heroin, local police see the trouble
it causes daily.

Among the recent problems;

* An August car crash that seriously injured three teens in Minerva
was blamed on a teen driver who smoked marijuana.

* Three Argyle High School students were arrested last month on drug
charges in connection with alleged marijuana sales at the school. It
was one of four felony marijuana sale arrests in Washington County
last month.

* Local police have raided at least three homes in the region the
past two months and found elaborate indoor growing operations. Most
recently, police said a Wilton man was arrested Wednesday on a
felony charge after 4 pounds of marijuana grown at his home was
seized. That man was already facing charges in a home
invasion burglary in Saratoga Springs.

* A man with a gun forced his way into a West Glens Falls home last
month and made off with more than $1,000 in cash from a reputed
marijuana dealer.

It all stems from the fact that marijuana is by far the most
prevalent drug in the region, and recent school surveys show the
area's young people use it more often than their counterparts in
other parts of the country.

"Kids tell us its easier for them to get marijuana than alcohol,"
said David Saffer, executive director of the Hudson Falls-based
Council for Prevention.

While the 2006 survey of high school students in Warren and
Washington counties by the Council for Prevention showed a slight
decrease in drug use, it showed that 52.5 of the high school seniors
who replied admitted using marijuana. That compares to a nationwide
average of 44.8 percent.

It's no surprise to police.

"I can go out and buy marijuana all day long, it's that prevalent,"
Cambridge/Greenwich Police Chief George Bell said. "It's everywhere."

A number of factors play a part in that abundance, police said.

With tens of thousands of acres in farmland, Washington and Saratoga
counties have long been believed to be among the state's biggest
producers of illicit marijuana.

So every fall, pot activity seems to pick up as growers harvest
their crops. And instead of having to risk buying drugs from a
dealer, users can just grow their own locally.

"In this area, a lot of people just go out and grow their own
stash," Swartz said. "Right now is the big time of year."

The advent of the Internet has made it possible for anyone with a
computer to quickly research how to grow it. That, said Warren
County sheriff's Investigator Kibby French, has led to more people
experimenting with growing it on their own.

The Glens Falls region also has a place in the middle of a national
marijuana pipeline, thanks to its proximity to the Northway.

The interstate highway is a major conduit to and from Indian
reservations on the Canadian border that officials believe supplies
a lot of the Northeast's marijuana.

State Police and federal agents have seized hundreds of pounds of
the drug in recent years and made dozens of marijuana possession
arrests at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Essex County

In December 2002, that spot on the pipeline may have played a part
in the killing of a New Jersey man in a Saratoga Springs hotel room.
The victim was a large-scale marijuana dealer who police believe was
killed after he crossed one of his suppliers or partners. No arrest
has been made.

"It (marijuana trafficking) has become more sophisticated and much
more businesslike, with bigger quantities being sold and younger
people doing it," Warren County Sheriff Larry Cleveland said.

Enforcement

Because it hasn't been deemed as dangerous as drugs like crack
cocaine, crystal meth and heroin, local police don't put as much
time into confronting the local marijuana trade as they do with
so-called "harder" drugs.

"With everything else going on, it's hard for us to dedicate the
time to it," French said.

Marijuana's lack of physically addictive characteristics means it
doesn't lead to the high-profile property crimes that addiction to
crack or heroin, though.

Police have seen a number of marijuana-related burglaries and home
invasion robberies in recent years, heists motivated by knowledge
that large-scale dealers will have either drugs or money on hand.
And French said many drug-related thefts go unreported.

"The price has risen so a pound of pot goes for $2,400 to $3,400,"
French said. "They (thieves) know dealers are going to have either a
lot of pot or a lot of money."

Local police do go after marijuana dealers when the opportunity
presents itself, particularly when the dealer is selling to teens or
moving large quantities.

They have been able to seize a number of big seizures in recent
years, including a 92-pound shipment from Arizona this spring that
police said was sent to a Kingsbury man.

Swartz said the Capital District Drug Task Force has also been
working to interrupt the flow of marijuana and cash to and from the
Indian reservations to the north.

"We know the money has to move through here on the way to the
reservations," he said.

'Blatant'

Saffer, of the Council for Prevention, said surveys show marijuana
use among teens doesn't seem to be increasing.

But he said it seems there's been a rise in "more blatant use" by
teens who know the law doesn't bring serious sanctions.

Those over 16 who possess a small amount of the drug -- generally
less than an ounce -- for personal use are typically charged with
the non-criminal violation of unlawful possession of marijuana. It's
as weighty as a traffic ticket, punishable by up to 15 days in jail
and a $250 fine.

However, a person under the age of 16 in New York faces no sanctions
for possessing a small amount of marijuana.

Juvenile offenses typically result in a trip to Family Court or a
diversionary program for those under 16, but under state law those
under 16 can't be charged with anything less weighty than a
misdemeanor. Unlawful possession of marijuana is a non-criminal violation.

Saffer said that's a loophole in the law that is troublesome

"They're not hiding it because the laws are not very stringent," he
said. "The kids know it. They know the penalties better than we do."

Many don't realize that the marijuana grown and sold today is far
more potent than the weed on the street 20 years ago. Growers have
been able to focus on varieties with greater concentrations of the
compound that makes users high, known as THC.

"The THC content is much higher now," Saffer said.

Hudson Falls Deputy Police Chief Randy Diamond said he and Swartz
recently spoke to students at Hudson Falls High School after a
district survey found above-average rates of drug use.

He said they reinforced that marijuana is considered a "gateway"
drug that often leads to use of drugs considered more addictive, and
tried to get across a message that it's not harmless, as some believe.

"Nothing good is going to come of it," he said.

MARIJUANA ARRESTS

County 1996 2000 2003 2004 2005

Warren 20 29 23 27 29

Washington 16 21 18 31 14

Saratoga 50 55 149 49 73

Essex 5 17 26 52 18

Statewide 23,189 67,089 50,846 40,591 42,088

Note: The state does not track arrests for unlawful possession of
marijuana, the non-criminal charge filed against those who possess
small amounts of marijuana.

Source: State Division of Criminal Justice Services