HERE'S THE DOPE: IT'S OPEN SEASON ON POT

The Army helicopter Boise 83 hovers 500 feet above Adams County farm
country, making circles and loops.

Boise is military code for a helicopter aiding in a drug-enforcement
operation; 83 is the number of the helicopter that would help
eradicate 300 marijuana plants -- an estimated $600,000 in street
value -- on Wednesday alone.

The crew, Capt. Ernie Carlson of the Pennsylvania Army National
Guard and state police Cpl. Kenny Hassinger of the Troop H vice
unit, scan the fields below for bright-green stalks of marijuana,
sometimes up to 7 feet high.

At first, it seems impossible to tell pot from sumac weeds, but
Hassinger promises, "Once you see the first one, it's gonna stand
out like a neon sign."

After about an hour in the air, Boise 83 makes a sudden, sharp right turn.

"There's the dope," Carlson says.

Minutes later, he adds: "Holy crap. There's a lot more."

Targeting two plants

It's high season for eradicating marijuana, and the Pennsylvania
National Guard Counterdrug Program, based at Fort Indiantown Gap,
predicts it will surpass last season's haul -- more than 8,000
marijuana plants seized between June and October.

While there is a medical marijuana industry in California and a
grass-roots push to decriminalize possession there, similar efforts
are stalled in Pennsylvania.

For Carlson, who spends six hours in the air, five days a week,
scouring for pot, and National Guard Lt. Col. Robert Hepner, the head
of the counterdrug program, marijuana is not up for debate.

"It's an illegal narcotic. It is a gateway drug," Hepner says. "I
always get asked why the National Guard does this. ... We bring
unique military skills to bear in supporting eradication."

The counterdrug operation typically targets two types of plants:
"corn dope," or plants grown in corn fields, and "scrub dope," or
plants grown in the woods, typically marked off by barbed wire.

The plants sport bulbs at the bottom, similar to potted tomato
plants. That's because most of the marijuana grown in Pennsylvania
starts as potted, indoor plants. Seeds are typically purchased
online, Hassinger says.

The National Guard's counterdrug operation spends about two weeks
with each state police post. Local and state police get tips about
where marijuana is being grown, but the state troopers and Guard
members often know from years of experience that pot likely is being
grown in a particular area.

It's eradication time

That's the case Wednesday.

Once the men in the helicopter spot the stalks, neon green dots in a
cornfield, they signal to six state troopers in cars.

"Boise 83. We have a specific on one of these residences around
here," Hassinger signals.

The troopers pull up to a large, rural residence, letting the
homeowners know they'll be going through their cornfields with
machetes. Property owners often are unaware that marijuana is being
grown on their land, Hassinger says.

Then it's eradication time. Hovering 500 feet above, Carlson directs
the action on the ground: "In the middle of the field there ... go
one row up. Now skip 10."

Sometimes the troopers will spot someone on a nearby ATV, and follow
them for questioning. Today, there is no such suspect. The troopers
take their haul to a nearby airport, where Carlson and Hassinger land
just before an evening thunderstorm begins. At the end of the day,
the 300-plant haul is logged into evidence at the state police
barracks in Gettysburg.

Eventually, they'll take a torch and diesel fuel to the plants.

"Not a bad haul for today," Carlson says.