FROM LITTLE PLANTS, BIG PROBLEMS

The marijuana plants discovered during last week's eradication efforts
didn't look like a bumper crop. The plants ranged from the size of the
tomato plants you put in the ground in the spring to a couple of feet tall.
As far as photo opportunities go, the plants didn't make much of a show.
But to really evaluate the importance of this round of eradication, just
think about what might have been. Barring some agricultural disaster, these
plants easily could have become those six-foot-tall stalks that make for
better news photos. And if they had not been found at this early growth
stage, the plants might have made it to harvest - more than 700 plants,
which would have yielded marijuana worth $2,500 and $3,500 per plant.
Someone could have earned a healthy profit in an illegal enterprise and
unleashed even more unhealthy substances on the streets. This effort won't
eliminate marijuana in Etowah County, not even for a short time. But the
continued pressure of eradication efforts should make marijuana farming a
riskier proposition, where finances, not to mention law enforcement, are
concerned. While the stature of the plants found may not seem like much to
show for the tough work of eradication, keeping this crop from reaching
maturity and showing up for sale in Etowah County is worthwhile.