COUNTY IN TOP 10 FOR POT

San Benito County was ranked as one of the top 10 counties in the state for
the illegal production of marijuana, according to newly released statistics
from the Attorney General's office.

Only nine counties in the state had more marijuana plants seized by agents
with the state's Campaign Against Marijuana Production program than were
seized in San Benito County in 2002.

CAMP agents, along with members of the Unified Narcotic Enforcement Team, a
local drug task force, and the San Benito County Sheriff's Department
seized 9,599 illegal pot plants with an approximate street value of $38.4
million. That was nearly 3,300 more marijuana plants than what was seized
in Santa Clara County and about 6,300 more than what was seized in
neighboring Monterey County.

Despite the number of plants discovered in the county last year, it was
considerably less than the 18,700 marijuana plants seized in 2001.

Sheriff Curtis Hill said that was a positive step forward as the county
moved down from the sixth-largest producer of marijuana a year ago.

"It's good to see that we are moving down that list," Hill said. "We are
already beginning to work on seizing more plants this year."

Hill said the sheriff's department's focus is not solely on

seizing marijuana plants, but growers as well.

"We are going to continue to work those cases and hope to catch these
people who are responsible for this," he said.

Hill said deputies will work along side CAMP agents just as they have in
the past.

Under the direction of the state's Department of Justice, the CAMP program
brings together officers from nearly 70 local, state and federal law
enforcement agencies to locate and eradicate large outdoor marijuana
operations in remote areas during the height of harvesting season. The
marijuana growing season starts in mid-April, with harvests ending in late
September or early October.

"With each season we are perfecting techniques to locate and eradicate
large marijuana planting operations," CAMP Director Val Jimenez said in a
written statement. "It isn't that there are more plants out there, we're
better at finding the gardens."

During the past few years, CAMP agents have been finding more illegal
gardens on public lands. Last year, 56 percent of the plants seized were
from national forests and other public recreational areas. Operations
hidden on public lands put California's outdoor enthusiasts in danger of
stumbling upon gardens protected by armed sentries.

In its 20-year history, agents with the CAMP program, have eradicated more
than 3 million plants with an estimated street value of $12 billion. In the
2002 season, CAMP seized a record 354,164 plants worth more than $1.4 billion.