FOLLOWING THE MARIJUANA HUNTERS

ALTOONA - The trees and bushes in the thick woods were still wet from an
early morning rain Friday when drug agents cut a trail to patches of
marijuana spotted from the sky.

Crossing a creek, one agent driving a four-wheeler got stuck in the mud and
had to be pulled out. While some agents pulled him out, others continued in
the direction where the helicopter pilot hovered and directed.

After riding four-wheelers part of the way and hiking the rest, agents
found and pulled up marijuana plants in six different plots.

The plants ranged from seedlings to about two feet in height. Most of the
plants were found in large planters and probably had been planted a few months.

After agents retrieved the plants, it took them awhile to make their way
back to Warrior Valley Road, where trucks and trailers for the
four-wheelers were stopped. By then the helicopter pilot had spotted at
least one more plant on the other side of Warrior Valley Road.

The trail to that area was easier, high atop a hill, just off a power line
access trail. Agents had to abandon four-wheelers and walk only about 100
feet this time before they found not one, but a few dozen plants, mostly
about two-feet high.

A weathered, but empty, package of Miracle-Gro was on the ground, along
with a hoe and watering buckets. An agent used a machete to split the
bucket, making it impossible to be used for more watering.

The plants had been well tended and one plant was a variety new to this
area called Afghanistan marijuana, agents said.

Just as agents made their way back to the four-wheelers, the pilot spotted
another patch. Agents retraced their steps and found a few more dozen
plants, just a few feet away from the first bunch.

"That's how thick this brush is," Cpl. Jay Howell of the Alabama Bureau of
Investigation said. "We weren't five feet from where we were standing the
first time."

Howell is heading the marijuana eradication program in this part of the
state and spent Thursday and Friday in his home county. The ABI, Alabama
National Guard and Etowah Drug and Major Crime Task Force participated in
the search. By noon, the count of plants was at 463, he said.

Even though the plants were small, it still is important to destroy them
before they mature, he said.

Mature plants, which would most likely be six feet high, are worth between
$2,500 and $3,500, Howell said.

A search in the eastern side of the county Thursday netted 272 plants,
found mostly in the Ball Play community. The plants were scattered in more
than 50 plots, Howell said.

Since eradication began two months ago, 27,764 plants have been found
across the state and 55 arrests have been made, Howell said. That compares
to 37,484 plants found statewide for the entire eradication period last year.

At least 116 arrests were made, he said. "We still have three months to
go," he said.

Weather conditions this year have been more suitable for growing the plant,
he said. Last year was much drier and plants did not grow as well, he said.