BINTF ANNUAL REPORT SHOWS MANY ABUSED PROP. 215 STATUS

CHICO -- More than half of marijuana related arrests made last year by
Butte Interagency Narcotics Task Force agents were of people who held
valid Proposition 215 recommendations, but abused them.

Pot was involved in 21 percent of total arrests, according to an
annual BINTF report just released.

Most charges were for possession for sale and cultivation.

BINTF officials said individuals were using their recommendations as a
"blind shield" to profit from selling the marijuana.

The agency said it confiscated 559 pounds of processed pot in 2008, up
125 percent from the year before.

Officials are concerned the dramatic increase in marijuana available
in Butte County has led to home invasion robberies, running gun
battles, and at least one homicide.

The current street price for processed marijuana is about $4,000 per
pound. One healthy plant can produce between one and four pounds of
pot.

Methamphetamine, however, remains BINTF's No. 1 focus.

In 2007, the year new California laws severely controlled the sale of
key meth ingredients, BINTF seized just 10 clandestine labs. Last year
the number jumped to 22, placing Butte fourth in seized labs among all
California counties.

Officials have noted a recent dramatic increase in the street price of
crystal meth, now generally at $150 per gram. The price of drugs is
usually proportionate to the types of crimes users are willing to
commit in order to afford it.

Also concerning is a pronounced increase in the use of opiates --
generally found in prescription medications -- being abused by
high-school-age teens. Since 2007 their use has jumped 200 percent in
Butte County.

The bright spot for 2008 is that BINTF made a bigger dent in the drug
community, racking up 316 arrests, with 53 percent of those involving
methamphetamine. It served 122 search warrants, took 76 firearms off
the street, and rescued 62 drug-endangered children.

The highest proportion of arrests, based on population, were made in
Gridley, followed by Paradise.

BINTF, formed in 1985, is comprised of officers from eight Butte
County law enforcement agencies who usually put in a three-year commitment.

Gridley-Biggs Police Chief Gary Keeler said officers with his
department who have served with BINTF account for the high drug arrest
rate in his jurisdiction.

"The BINTF officers are on the front line of drug enforcement," Keeler
said. "They're out in the blazing heat and bitter cold doing a tough
job, but they come back to their departments with a lot more knowledge
and experience," he said. "They come back changed."

District Attorney Mike Ramsey said BINTF helps officers get over an
inherent fear of obtaining and serving search warrants, which can be
one of the most valuable tools for law enforcement.

Among arrests made last year, Ramsey said 35 were documented gang
members, and the majority of crimes they allegedly committed were
related to drug possession for sales. "Gang members tend to be in the
distribution end of drugs, rather than manufacturing," said BINTF
Commander Carl Sturdy.

Ramsey said the Chico and Oroville offices of the California Highway
Patrol have recently made commitments to BINTF. The agency is also
adding a physician's assistant to its investigative team, increasing
its ability to recognize immediate medical needs among children who
often suffer neglect and severe health problems from living in
drug-infested homes.

Butte County's pioneering Drug-Endangered Children program, a model
for similar programs nationwide, has inspired a documentary film that
will soon become part of standard police officer training in
California. Additional Drug-Endangered Children investigators are also
being added to BINTF teams in the north and south county regions.

Drugs with an estimated street value of $8.3 million were seized by
BINTF in 2008. Assets seized by the agency last year totaled just over
$250,000, with interest.