NATIONAL FORESTS ARE BECOMING HIDING PLACES FOR MARIJUANA CROPS

ASHEVILLE (AP) -- North Carolina's national forests, where mountain
residents in the past often hid to make moonshine, is now a cover for
marijuana growers.

North Carolina's federal forests were fifth in the nation in 1998 in the
amount of marijuana removed by law enforcement officers. Of the 10,802
plants seized in the state, all but about 100 plants were in the Pisgah and
Nantahala national forests, said Jenny Davis of the U.S. Forest Service.

"A lot of the old moonshining families are now growing dope," said Davis,
law enforcement supervisor for the national forests in North Carolina.
"It's more lucrative."

The combination of North Carolina and Tennessee forests put the southern
Appalachian Mountains that abuts the North Carolina state line second only
to the Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky in the amount of marijuana
removed from the government forest land.

The 143,000 plants seized from the Boone forest is more than the rest of
the top 10 forests combined and is a key reason the Forest Service's
Southern Region is at the top of the marijuana statistics.

While law officers say many marijuana growers are moving their operations
inside, public lands like the national forests still hold appeal.

It's harder to catch the grower when the illegal crop is on public land,
said Kim Thorsen, assistant director for U.S. Forest Service Law
Enforcement and Investigations. There also isn't the risk of property
seizure that often accompanies a marijuana raid on private property.

"Most of the old-time growers have learned the trick: Don't bring a new
truck, bring an old, beat-up pickup, and don't plant it on your property or
near your house," said Malcolm Jowers, one of two Forest Service special
agents investigating crimes in North and South Carolina forests.

While the lack of law officers also means there is less chance of being
caught, penalties in federal court are tougher than state court, said
Buncombe County Sheriff's Detective Capt. Pat Hefner.

The U.S. Code mandates a penalty of 10 years to life in prison for growing
1,000 or more marijuana plants. With 100 plants, the penalty is still a
mandatory five to 40 years in prison.

Madison County, with more than 400 square miles and a population of only
about 15,000 people, is a prime location for commercial growers. Forest
Service officers and sheriff's deputies on a marijuana hunt last week
arrested two people on charges of growing 65 plants on private property
near the Pisgah National Forest.

Madison County Sheriff John Ledford doesn't believe illegal growers have
suddenly discovered his county and the remote areas it offers.

"I think they've been here awhile," he said. "It may be being worked (by
law enforcement) a little harder than it has in the past."

Occasional booby traps protecting marijuana gardens also pose a threat to
public safety, although sightings are rare in western North Carolina
compared to Kentucky.

But Asheville resident Steve Rasmussen, a proponent for the legalization of
marijuana, said the plant can actually benefit forests because it provides
hemp -- an alternate, stronger fiber than timber that can also make paper.
There has been research into converting marijuana into methane gas for
fuel, he said.

"We don't like the fact that it's (being) pushed into the black market,
(it) forces it into the depths of the forest," Rasmussen said.