MARIJUANA TIPS DECLINING

Officers Say Seizures Down As Fewer People Report Plants

Local law enforcement officials know marijuana is being grown in the
Orangeburg area, and are concerned that they are getting fewer tips
reporting the plants.

Lt. Todd Williams of the Selective Enforcement Division of the
Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office said information on marijuana
growth has been diminishing for some time.

"We started noticing about two years ago that we were not getting as
many tips on marijuana grows," Williams said. "Last year this time,
we had confiscated more than 100 plants. This year, we're just under
50. We know that marijuana is still being grown in the area, but our
problem is the indoor growers."

Williams said law enforcement depends solely on informants to report
the indoor growers. He said officials will get tips from utility
companies when they notice a sudden spike in a customer's electricity use.

"When we get that information, we get suspicious because indoor
growers have to use growth lamps all the time when they're growing
marijuana indoors," Williams said. "That's why the utility company
sees the spike in electricity. Growth lamps use a lot of electricity."

Williams said he has found marijuana growing in fields, in gardens,
in pots outside and some growers will even use other people's
property for the crop.

"And they love to grow it in state parks," Williams said. "But when
they grow it outdoors, it's easy to spot because marijuana has to
have sunlight. So the growers have to clear any other plants from
around it that might block the sun. We go on marijuana eradication
flights with the State Law Enforcement Division and occasionally we
fly with the RAID (Retaliation Against Illegal Drugs) Team from the
National Guard."

The marijuana confiscated in the Orangeburg area is generally
commercial grade, Williams said. It has tetrahydrocannabinol level of
above six percent and the plants are usually five to eight feet tall.
The active ingredient in marijuana is THC and the higher the
percentage, the more potent the effect.

"THC is a schedule I drug," Williams said. "That means that it has no
acceptable medical use in this state and has a high potential for abuse.

"We generally find about a dozen plants here and there. We haven't
found a large grow in a long time. Last year, we found 200 plants in
one grow. That was a big find. When we find an outdoor grow, we
collect the plants and get Global Positioning System coordinates on
the grow to try to find out who planted them."

Williams said one marijuana plant can yield up to a pound of salable
product and one pound of marijuana has a street value ranging between
$500 and $1,000. He said it is still one of the most accessible street drugs.

Growing marijuana is called manufacturing marijuana and is classified
as a felony. On the first offense, a grower can get up to five years
in prison. The second offense carries a penalty of up to 10 years and
the third carries a mandatory sentence of five to twenty years.

"Growing even one plant is a felony," Williams said. "And because of
the nature of the business, we do depend heavily on tips from
informants. We want people to understand that marijuana is a
dangerous drug. Most heavy drug users started out using marijuana.
That alone makes it dangerous.

Williams said the anonymity of informants is protected. And he urges
anyone having any knowledge of someone growing marijuana to call
either the Sheriff's Office at 803-531-4647 or CrimeStoppers at 1-888-832-7462.