NEARLY $1 BILLION IN POT PLANTS SEIZED

ARCADIA - California's pot raiders seized about a quarter-million marijuana
plants this year worth an estimated $1 billion wholesale - nearly double the
amount they seized last year, and far higher than the previous 1985 record.

Authorities said Wednesday the seizures reflected a shift in marijuana
growing from the traditional North Coast to central and southern parts of
the state.

State Attorney General Bill Lockyer said 241,164 marijuana plants were
confiscated during 1999 by dozens of law enforcement agencies as part of a
program called the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting.