TINY NORTH COAST TOWN SITE OF UNUSUAL PUBLIC HEARING

REDWAY, Calif. (AP) -- Local residents in the heart of California's
marijuana-growing region, angered at pot raiders' tactics during "Operation
Greensweep" nearly a decade ago, are gathering for an unusual public
hearing to advise drug agents on future raids.

Organizers of the two-day event, complete with a court reporter to provide
a stenographic record and a retired appellate judge with the authority to
issue findings, want residents to have a say-so in a new handbook that
authorities are writing to govern agents' conduct.

The book will serve as a bible for authorities during the annual raids
targeting marijuana plantations in California's northern coastal hills,
particularly in Humboldt and Mendocino counties. The two areas, scenic,
rugged and isolated, are the richest marijuana-growing areas in the nation.

Federal authorities, concerned about security and other issues, were
uncertain whether to attend the hearing, which begins Monday on a federal
holiday.

But the Bureau of Land Management said Friday the period for public comment
had been extended to allow testimony from the hearing to be included in the
official record.

The hearing is the latest legal wrinkle in a lengthy legal battle over
"Operation Greensweep," a joint federal-state-local campaign in August 1990
that included agents with semiautomatic weapons, low-flying Blackhawk
helicopters and Army troops that traversed the hills hunting down marijuana
plantations. In one area known as the "Emerald Triangle" authorities
reportedly seized 1,100 marijuana plants and more than eight tons of
cultivation gear.

Shortly after the raids, which received national attention, local residents
backed by civil liberties groups said in a lawsuit that the raiders
violated federal law by conducting warrantless searches, used excessive
force, damaged the environment and illegally detained suspects. They also
contended that use of Army troops violated the Defense Authorization Act.

Two years after "Operation Greensweep," U.S. District Judge Fern M. Smith
called the allegations "serious and troubling" and allowed the case to
proceed. Over the years, the constitutional issues were partly resolved,
but the question of the raids' environmental impact remains.

Last June, Smith approved a settlement that requires the federal government
to be sensitive to environmental concerns during raids on BLM land in
Northern California.

The Redway hearing stems from that settlement, under which an array of law
enforcement agencies that participate in the raids, such as the Drug
Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms,
will be required to come up with formal guidelines governing future raids.

A related action filed last year in state court in Humboldt County contends
that the use of state funds in marijuana raids violates California
environmental laws.