ERADICATION EFFORTS FIND CLEBURNE COUNTY IS LARGE MARIJUANA PRODUCER

BIRMINGHAM The wooded hills of rural Cleburne County produced almost half
of all the marijuana plants seized and destroyed in Alabama this year
through the state's eradication program.

Having destroyed a total of 45,000 plants, valued at $90 million,
throughout Alabama, authorities say they are ahead of last year's pace.
About 37,000 plants were destroyed in all of 2001.

Marijuana production in the United States. has increased since Sept. 11,
because tighter border security has cut down on the quantity of foreign
drugs coming into the country, said Trooper Sgt. Keith Kelley.

"It hurts the smugglers from Mexico," Kelley said. "Less gets in and it
comes at a higher price. It forces them to grow more of it here." Agents
from the ABI and state troopers joined Jefferson County sheriff's deputies
and National Guardsmen Thursday for a two-day airborne assault in Jefferson
and Tuscaloosa counties.

Helicopters flown by Guard and trooper pilots roamed the countryside,
looking for the distinctive green shade of the plants.

Trooper pilot Michael Gross said that despite flying over thousands of
acres of green fields and forests, the plants are easy to spot.

"Once you know what you're looking for, there it is," Gross said.

When marijuana crops are spotted, the searchers radio directions to ground
units who sweep in to destroy the plants and make arrests.

Technology has made the job easier. With Global Positioning System
receivers, pilots simply call out the coordinates of the find, saving
tedious directions on rural county roads.

"If I've got a map and a GPS, I can go anywhere I want," said Trooper Cpl.
Jay Howell.

Kelley said most growers plant on patches of land owned by the government
or lumber companies, which have vast tracts that are rarely patrolled.

"They don't want to do it at their homes, because they're afraid of their
land being seized," Kelley said.

But the plants must be tended, and that's when agents are able to make arrests.

Seventy-four arrests have been made so far this year, compared with 100 for
all of last year. The annual campaign continues until the first frost,
which kills most marijuana grown outdoors.

Kelley said officials have put more emphasis on arrests than just
destroying plants.

"If you're in jail, you're not going to be able to grow it next year."