POT SEIZURES AND ARRESTS UP SHARPLY

SACRAMENTO - Drug agents this fall seized a record haul of nearly 3
million marijuana plants, more than two-thirds of them from state and
national forests and other public lands, authorities announced Wednesday.

The tally from the annual marijuana eradication campaign by state and
federal drug agents represented a 25% increase over 2007. Lake County
yielded the most pot, with nearly 500,000 plants uprooted. The
counties of Tulare, Shasta, Mendocino and Humboldt rounded out the top
five.

Law enforcement officers also arrested 143 people, nearly triple the
number from last year, and seized 142 weapons during raids conducted
over the last two months.

The effort marked the 26th year that state and federal law officers
and other agencies have combined efforts during the fall harvest
season in a bid to put a dent in California's illegal marijuana crop.