POLICE APPEAL TO PUBLIC TO NAB MARIJUANA GROWERS

Late summer in rural Pennsylvania brings with it the image of farmers
sweating to get the crops in before the first frost.

Yet police in Indiana County are hoping to beat the farmers to the harvest -
when the crop in question is marijuana.

"We're willing to go out and seize the marijuana that people are growing in
Indiana County," said Detective Sgt. Russ States. A member of the Indiana
Borough police department, States also works as part of the county's drug
task force headed by the District Attorney's Office.

"We know that people come across it. So we need them to call us if they see
it."

States said people grow marijuana by using seeds they saved from past crops
or pot they bought for personal consumption.

Typically, the plants are grown in fields used for other purposes so the
other crops will obscure the marijuana from passers-by, States said.

Because the growing season is coming to an end, catching marijuana farmers
in the act becomes a priority in late summer, States said.

The pot-growing season "is basically like tomatoes - from the first frost
'til the last frost," States said. "It's a weed - all you need is a little
sunlight and water to grow.

"By this time the plants are big, they're 5, 6, 7 feet tall. And if (a
tipster's) not sure it's marijuana, it's easy enough for us to check out, so
call anyway," States said.

States said the county routinely makes between 20 and 30 busts each growing
season, for a total of 100 plants or so.

One healthy 7-foot plant will produce about one pound of marijuana worth
approximately $1,300 if bought in bulk. If the marijuana is sold in ounce
quantities at the going rate of $120 an ounce, a plant will earn the grower
more than $1,900,

States said Indiana County pot farmers are becoming more sophisticated.

"What they're doing now is they're not planting it in plots," States said.
"It's one plant here, one there. You might search an entire acre and find 10
plants."

States stressed that even the sketchiest information is helpful because
police are primarily looking to destroy the crops.

"It's not that we're looking to make arrests as much as we are to get it
eradicated," States said.

Although police have to develop probable cause of ownership to arrest
someone for growing marijuana, they can seize marijuana plants on sight
because it is illegal to grow the crop in Pennsylvania.

Police don't have to ask for permission to destroy the plants, even on
private property, States said.

In those cases where police can link the plants to an individual,
cultivating marijuana is a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven
years in prison, State said.

"You get charged under the same section as if you sold it, manufactured it,
possessed it with intent to deliver or delivered it. (The law) covers the
whole thing," States said.

States suggested several ways to tell if someone in the area is growing
marijuana:

"If you see in the middle of a field a plant with all the growth pulled away
from it, that's a good sign. They don't want to let the weeds grow up and
choke it so they keep the area clear," States said.

"We're also looking for that neighbor who, like during that dry spell we had
a while back, was disappearing every now and then with buckets of water into
the middle of his field," States said. "Where was he going?"

"Hey, we're looking for dealers, too. High traffic. If your next door
neighbor has lots of traffic in and out and they stay only for five minutes,
that might mean something," States said.

Sidebar:

Numbers to call

Indiana County residents with information on marijuana crops can report them
to any of the following agencies. Tipsters can remain anonymous. Indiana
County Sheriff's Department at 465-3930. Indiana County District Attorney's
Office at 465-3835. Indiana Borough Police at 349-2121.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst