POT FARM TENDERS POSE THREAT TO RECREATIONISTS

PHOENIX -- The state's top cop said there's a good reason police time and
money are spent raiding "pot" farms in national forests: It keeps the
family vacation or picnic from being ruined by folks with assault rifles.

"These are dangerous individuals," said Roger Vanderpool, director of the
state Department of Public Safety. "They will do harm to people, they will
do harm to law enforcement."

Vanderpool's officers were involved in a multi-agency task force which
raided a marijuana field earlier this week just north of Strawberry in the
Coconino National Forest.

That marks the sixth marijuana grove found on national forests just this
year -- and the third in less than a month. Those last three -- the other
two in the Tonto National Forest -- resulted in seizure of over 100,000
plants which Charlton said has a street value of $150 million.

Authorities also arrested 11 people, all in this country illegally, who
were tending the plants on drug cultivation conspiracy charges.

But Vanderpool said the police operations are more than simply preventing
illegal drugs from hitting the streets.

"We have very dangerous criminals moving into those state and government
lands, lands that we enjoy," said Vanderpool at a Thursday press conference.

Paul Charlton, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona, said the fight against
illegal drugs goes beyond seizing some plants and making some arrests.

"If you go out into the national forest and you encounter individuals who
are guarding those groves with AK-47s, that is an issue that the federal
law enforcement agencies, the local law enforcement agencies, the state law
enforcement agencies should very much be involved in," Charlton said.

"There is absolutely every reason to emphasize eradicating those groves,"
he continued. "Why? Because they're dangerous."

Charlton said the increasing use of national forests for marijuana
cultivation means that hikers and others need to be aware of their
surroundings.

"The best thing to do is to back out the same way you came in, and to
report the grove to law enforcement," he said.

"We've been fortunate that no one has been injured in these encounters,"
said Gila County Sheriff John Armer. "And we would really like to keep it
that way."

Vanderpool provided an additional enticement for blowing the whistle: He
said his agency will pay for "credible information" about not just
marijuana cultivation sites but drug labs. Pressed for an amount,
Vanderpool said it depends on how big is the operation.

Charlton said he believes that, even with these six busts, there are other
groves out there.

Vanderpool also said the arrests remind Arizonans that the problem of crime
caused by illegal entrants is not confined to the border. He said police
agencies need to realize "that we have crime going on elsewhere in the
state and it's our sworn duty to protect our citizens."

Charlton said he does not know whether the people arrested were simply
field hands or members of the gangs that were profiting.