MORE SECURITY AT BORDERS BELIEVED TO BE ONE REASON FOR MORE MARIJUANA FOUND
THIS YEAR

The changes in the last year have been countless.

But finding more illegal drugs probably isn't one of the changes that comes
to mind. More security at the borders might be one of the reasons more
marijuana plants have been found this year during the annual statewide
eradication. The number of marijuana plants found this year in Alabama well
exceeds the number found in the last several years.

And the year isn't over. Statewide, eradication teams had found more than
52,000 plants by the end of August. The teams will search for and destroy
the plants until it frosts. From May to October 2001, 37,484 plants were found.

"I believe it's due to 9-11," said Cpl. Jay Howell, who is heading one of
the statewide eradication teams for the Alabama Bureau of Investigation.
The borders were shut down and security has become much tighter since Sept.
11, Howell said. Veteran helicopter pilot Chief Warrant Officer Robert M.
Culpepper of the Alabama National Guard, which flies for eradication, said
the number of plants has been up a lot this year, but he isn't convinced
it's because of tighter borders. "They're still stopping trucks on the
intestates which are loaded down," he said. Even this year, with the
numbers so much higher than the past few years, it still isn't as high as
the number of plants many years ago, Culpepper said. The bright green
leaves of marijuana plants are not hard to spot from the sky, Culpepper
said. Over the years, he has learned to look at certain areas which have
potential. Some plants are seen growing among timber, he said.

"Some of it's in places you wouldn't ever think about," he said. Howell
said he doesn't know if less marijuana is crossing the border, leading
those in the illegal trade to grow their own, or if more people are just
afraid less will be imported. "We've definitely seen more this year," he said.

Most of the marijuana plants pushing the numbers higher have been found in
Northeast Alabama, he said. Culpepper said south Alabama, near the Florida
line, was the biggest area in the state several years ago. "Northeast
Alabama has been pretty big for a few years now," he said. Cleburne County
leads with 21,855 plants found so far this year, followed by Cherokee
County at 10,787. Cleburne County also led in 2001, but the number of
plants found was 7,424. In Cherokee County, 4,907 plants were found. The
number jumped drastically in Etowah County, from 327 in 2001 to 1,395 found
so far this year. Statewide totals for 2000 was 42,618 and 48,700 in 1999.
In 2001, 5,373 plants were found in DeKalb County. At the end of last
month, though, only 99 plants had been found this year. But the eradication
team had only one chance in May to fly before last weekend, when pilots
spotted more than 1,000 plants growing behind a house near Dogtown. After
those plants were found, the eradication came to a halt when the officers
tried to get the man to come to the door, without success.

Officers were familiar with the man, who had been charged previously with
trafficking in marijuana.

An ABI agent trained as a negotiator was with the eradication team and
talked to the man throughout the day, by phone and on a loud speaker, to
try to get him to come out. A seven-hour standoff followed before agents
with the state trooper tactical team went into the house, where it was
discovered the man had taken some poisonous liquid, believed to be brake
fluid, authorities said. He remains in critical condition. For the most
part, the jobs of those on the eradication team are not eventful.

Saturday's find was an exception. The ABI heads the statewide eradication
team, said Brent Thomas, spokesman for the state troopers and ABI. Across
the state, the ABI is assisted by National Guard pilots and ground crews
and teams for refueling helicopters used in the searches. Schedules are
made for each county, where local officials assist the eradication team
with manpower and knowledge of the area and of suspects, such as the
situation Saturday. Local officers knew the man had caused problems before
and exercised all caution. The pilots begin flying by 9 a.m., while agents
wearing bright orange T-shirts identifying them as members of the
eradication team wait, either at the airport, or any shaded parking lot
near where the pilots are flying. When a pilot spots the plants, he radios
to the agent commanding the team with coordinates and ground crews drive to
the area. Agents on four-wheelers usually go into the woods where many of
the plants are spotted.

The plants then are loaded and hauled out of the woods to be destroyed.

Many times the plants are in the woods and no houses are around.

If the plants are near a house, the officers knock on the door and attempt
to find out who lives there to make an arrest. In Jackson County last week,
at least 13 arrests were made during eradication. In Cherokee County on
Sunday and Monday, three arrests were made and more than 200 plants were
seized. Last week was a sort of a "blitz," Howell said. Three teams,
utilizing six helicopters, concentrated their efforts in Jackson, Cherokee
and DeKalb counties.

The crews spent two days in each county.

The "blitz" was completed earlier this week in Cleburne County, where more
than 4,200 plants were found. Marijuana is not the only drug that has seen
an increase. More methamphetamine labs are being found, DeKalb County Task
Force Commander Darrell Collins said. "We've found between 50 and 60 meth
labs since October," Collins said. "We've only seen two cocaine cases." The
first meth lab found in DeKalb County was in 1986, but another was not
found until 1998, Collins said. By then, the meth problem in this area
already was surfacing, but few labs were found, he said. But since January,
only one case of imported meth has been worked, Collins said. "In January,
we've had five pounds of imported meth that was being brought in to
distribute," he said. People have become so addicted, small-time dealers
have turned to making their own, he said. Collins said he, too, feels
heightened security at the borders has made a difference in the drugs
coming to the area. More marijuana is being grown and more meth labs are
turning up, he said. "I never thought we'd see more meth cases than
marijuana," he said. "We're seeing a combination of both."