PROP. 19 RAISES THORNY POT ISSUE, DRUG CZAR SAYS

Proposition 19, a November ballot initiative, would legalize
recreational marijuana use for California residents over 21 and allow
small residential cultivation -- but also would put the state in
conflict with federal law that says the drug is illegal.

"The [Obama] administration opposes legalization of any drugs,
including marijuana," Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House's
Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in an interview Thursday.

Kerlikowske was in Fresno to announce the results of an ongoing
crackdown on marijuana-growing operations known as Operation Trident.
It is focused on pot farms on public lands in the foothills and
mountain areas of Tulare, Fresno and Madera counties.

What is unclear is what the administration would do if California
voters approve the initiative.

Kerlikowske, however, pointed to how state and local jurisdictions
have dealt with the state's legalization of medical marijuana, saying
they are "doing a really good job of licensing, land use, those kind
of regulations."

But in announcing the marijuana-growing crackdown and in comments by
Benjamin Wagner, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of
California, it is clear where the federal government's priorities are
- -- squarely on large-scale marijuana operations.

On Thursday, authorities said the crackdown on marijuana-growing
operations in the central San Joaquin Valley has resulted in nearly
100 arrests and the seizure of more than 430,000 pot plants.

Authorities estimated the confiscated marijuana plants had an
estimated street value of more than $1.7 billion, though such
valuation is debated. Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims put the
value at $4,000 per plant.

Operation Trident combined close to two dozen local, state and federal
law enforcement agencies, including the Fresno, Madera and Tulare
county sheriff's departments.

In addition to the arrests -- most involved Mexican nationals --
authorities also said they found close to three dozen weapons, as well
as cocaine and methamphetamine.

Most of the efforts have been concentrated in the foothills and
mountains of the Sierra Nevada. The marijuana farms, authorities said,
are run by Mexico-based drug cartels and are watched by armed
individuals who destroy the environment to set up the grow sites.

Kerlikowske said he was hopeful that as Operation Trident continues
and as California voters learn more about Prop. 19, "they won't vote
for it."