NEIGHBOURS' HOMES WENT TO POT: COURT

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Two women accused of growing marijuana in their homes
made so much money they bought three neighbouring houses so they could grow
more, prosecutors allege.

In court documents, prosecutors contend Kathleen Jenny and Virginia
Erickson were the brains behind a $1-million pot growing operation that
began in 1994.

The women, both 59, have agreed to plead guilty to money laundering,
authorities said. They face up to six years in prison.

The women eventually involved their husbands and bought three other homes
in which to grow more marijuana, the documents allege.

Authorities learned of their activities last summer when a bank teller
called police to say the women's cash deposits smelled like pot.

Drug agents found more than 500 marijuana plants, $110,000 in cash and
psychedelic mushrooms. Investigators said as many as 4,000 plants were grown.

The women's husbands pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture more than
1,000 marijuana plants, and face prison sentences.