CAMPAIGN TARGETS POT CULTIVATORS

A multi-agency marijuana aerial search program is expected to double its
number of plant seizures across North Carolina in 2002.

The initiative, called the Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression
program, the brainchild of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, began
in 1979 in Hawaii and California. By 1985, it had expanded to all 50 states.

Funded mainly by a federal DEA grant, local and state agencies conduct the
airborne searches and seizures.

The State Bureau of Investigation coordinates the program in North Carolina
and received $167,500 in grant money this year, said N.C. Department of
Justice spokesman John Bason.

So far in 2002, nearly 80,000 marijuana plants have been seized across the
state, said George Woessner, the resident agent in charge of the Greensboro
DEA office.

According to N.C. Department of Justice figures, seizures from aerial
searches led to the eradication of 90,000 plants in the state in 2001 and
43,000 in 2000.

Woessner said as many as 200,000 plants could be seized this year. DEA
officials said the recent economic downturn probably contributed to
increased marijuana growth.

Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said his department takes part in three
or four flights a year.

A flight scheduled for earlier this month had to be postponed due to bad
weather.

"We have guys who are trained as spotters," Barnes said. "We sent them to
train at the DEA."

Spotters use high-powered scopes and binoculars and alert deputies on the
ground if they locate plants.

Barnes said with the equipment, spotters "can read the print on a bag of
fertilizer."

However, the reconnaissance efforts yielded only about 100 plants in
Guilford County in 2001, Barnes said.

A June seizure in Rockingham County netted more than 1,300 plants worth
$1.6 million.

SBI agent pilots, who fly single-engine planes, and N.C. National Guard and
State Highway Patrol helicopter pilots conduct the searches.

Civil Air Patrol pilots participate under the direction of the DEA, but
only on reconnaissance flights.

The SBI and National Guard weigh a number of factors when considering
requests from sheriff's offices and police departments, including time of
year, growing trends, weather and the results from previous ground/air
operations.

Woessner said as enforcement efforts have gotten more sophisticated, so
have the growers.

"It depends on what they want to do," he said. "(Marijuana) could be anywhere."

Growers tend to favor remote wooded areas, planting between trees, Woessner
said.

"They put them in the middle of the woods. That's why aerial spotting is so
important."

Barnes said some local growers use irrigation and hide plants among corn
and tomato plants.

Some plant booby traps.

Others choose public lands or private areas rarely frequented by owners.

Some rely on ingenuity and audacity, cultivating potted plants on logs in
swamps or near airport runways.

Many, authorities say, have moved indoors, which has sprouted another
serious problem.

Some indoor cultivators now use a nutrient-rich chemical mixture instead of
soil, which produces much more potent plants.

Despite the high amounts confiscated, marijuana is still a lucrative and
booming crop in the state.

North Carolina ranked fifth nationwide in total plants seized and third in
plants seized on federal lands in 2001.

Barnes said top quality North Carolina-grown marijuana can sell for as much
as $3,000 a pound.

Most marijuana in the state comes from the west central mountains of
Mexico, said local DEA agents. A DEA Web site says Mexican drug trafficking
organizations pose "a significant threat to North Carolina." The agency
said an influx in Mexican immigrants corresponds with increased drug traffic.

Barnes agreed that increased south-of-the border immigration has led to
more drugs locally.

He said tougher penalties against large drug distributors and tighter
immigration controls are keys to making a dent in the problem.

"We're going to have to stop it at the borders," he said.

The impressive jump in seizures are just the tip of the iceberg when it
comes to illicit substances, said Barnes.

"If we got 2 to 3 percent of the drugs, I'd be surprised. Anybody that
tells you we're winning the war on drugs is a fool."