KSP USING FLIERS TO GATHER INFORMATION ABOUT SUSPECTED POT GROWERS

Marijuana growers are planting seeds for what they hope will be a bountiful
crop this summer. At the same time, the Kentucky State Police is planting
seeds of its own across the state in the form of fliers authorities want
residents to use to tip them off about illegal growing operations.

The unusual approach allows tipsters to remain anonymous and allows officers
to build solid cases with fieldwork based on the tips.

The flier, printed on standard paper and available at the state police post
in Elizabethtown, features a pair of pot leaves, between which the words
"Wanted: Marijuana Growers" appear. Residents are asked to fill in the
blanks provided with the name, address and description of anyone believed to
be growing pot.

An investigation will be conducted on every tip. No raids or arrests will be
made without evidence and proper search warrants through the court, said
Sgt. Ronnie Ray of the agency's marijuana suppression unit in Lexington.

When the KSP last circulated fliers five years ago, it gathered dozens of
useful tips that led to busts, Ray said. This time, officers are hoping for
100.

"I want to do a big sweep through the state this year," Ray said.

In 2002, there were 373,117 pot plants seized in 7,803 outdoor plots
statewide. That led to 352 arrests and 612 pounds of processed marijuana
being seized, Ray said. Forty-one indoor plots found by troopers led to the
arrests of 55 growers and the seizure of an additional 4,919 plants and 61
pounds of processed pot, he said.

Collectively, those seizures amounted to $7.5 billion in marijuana taken off
the streets, according to figures based on current federal Drug Enforcement
Agency numbers.

Ray said with aerial reconnaissance, tips, troopers on the roads and
undercover detectives, additional information turned in on fliers can help
bring down large quantities.

"We even have had growers turn in other growers, since it's anonymous," he
said. "A good bust is a good bust."

With recent federal limits placed on police in using thermal imaging
equipment to search for "hot spots" where indoor growers use high-powered
lamps to grow pot out of sight, tips could be one of the best ways to catch
growers, Ray said.

KSP Lt. Lisa Rudzinski said the dangers of marijuana as a gateway drug to
other harder drugs is undeniable. In addition, pot use promotes other
criminal activity, she said.

"Theft, assaults, burglary, and other crimes are often directly linked to
the marijuana trade," she said. In 1981, a KSP detective was killed during a
bust in Bowling Green.

By supplying fliers to the public, the KSP hopes to get information about
drug activity they previously had been missing.

"We want and need the public's help," Rudzinski said.