CALIFORNIA AIMS TO WEED OUT POT FARMS ON PUBLICLY OWNED PROPERTY

California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer has announced the kick-off
of California's 2006 Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) eradication
program.

"State, local and federal agencies worked together last year to seize more
than 1 million illegal marijuana plants growing on public lands, which set
a new CAMP record," Lockyer said. "The nationwide drug trafficking
organizations that oversee these large-scale operations use marijuana
profits to fund their other ventures to produce and distribute other drugs,
such as methamphetamine. The CAMP program is a key component of our state's
anti-drug fight, and we look forward to another record-breaking season."

Managed by the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotic
Enforcement, CAMP is made up of local, state and federal agencies who work
together to find and eradicate illegal indoor and outdoor marijuana
cultivation and trafficking throughout California.

In addition to the bureau, participants in CAMP include: the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S.
Forest Service, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the U.S.
National Park Service, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services, the
California National Guard, the California Department of Fish and Game,
California State Parks and dozens of local police and sheriff's departments
from across the state.

In the 23-year history of the CAMP program, agents have eradicated more
than 5.2 million plants with an estimated wholesale value of more than $20
billion. In the 2005 season, CAMP seized a record 1,134,692 plants worth
$4.5 billion. The average 2005 raid netted 4,800 plants.

Seizures have dramatically increased over the last five years due to a
variety of factors, including an increased number of deployment teams, more
aggressive techniques such as aerial surveillance and transportation of
officers, and larger garden sizes.

"Last year's success is a direct result of a law enforcement cooperative
effort and the hard work of the individuals who work on the CAMP teams and
sheriff's departments," said CAMP Cmdr. Michael Johnson. "It is CAMP's
mission to effectively impact illegal marijuana production, take back and
make safe public lands and do this in the safest manner possible."

The marijuana growing season starts in mid-April, with harvests ending in
late September or early October. Pre-season enforcement this year already
has resulted in the seizure of more than 50,000 plants, the eradication of
nine gardens and the arrest of three individuals.