Mo. US - Police are seeing, and seizing, a lot more marijuana this year

[Hash]

Police in Missouri say they've seized enough marijuana to roll about 26 million joints so far this year, a signal that the drug is thriving in the Midwest.

From January to mid-March, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration confiscated more than 29,000 pounds, either seized from traffickers in Missouri or found growing in the state.

With a street value between $30 million and $43.5 million, the haul is almost 3,000 pounds more than authorities have seized in any of the past five years. The largest among those was 2001, with 26,494 pounds.

"It's probably a combination of hitting a couple of big loads and more aggressive tactics by police," Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Clark said.

DEA officials say it is too early to explain this year's spike. "I don't really know why that is," said Shirley Armstead, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis office. "We compile the numbers from various state and local agencies, so it's hard to tell."

The 29,000 pounds does not include marijuana taken from people arrested for possession.

"And for everything we catch, just think of how much still gets by," said St. Louis Police Drug Task Force Sgt. Michael Deeba.

Missouri and Illinois police seize thousands of pounds of marijuana in transit to somewhere else. Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland and St. Louis are big destinations. Officers also find hundreds of growing plants. Illinois State Police officials say Madison County is their busiest area for indoor and outdoor production statewide.

Officials say some police put greater emphasis on marijuana interdiction. For example, the Missouri Highway Patrol's Troop D in Springfield, Mo., has a reputation for being especially diligent along busy Interstate 44.

"It's not necessarily that more marijuana is passing through there than in other places," Clark said. "I think it's because the officers in Troop D have dedicated themselves to really cracking down and making seizures."

Troop C, including 11 counties around St. Louis, had one full-time officer assigned just to taking tips and finding marijuana gardens.

St. Louis police made two large seizures at the end of February. Working with other jurisdictions, they arrested a Mexican man Feb. 21 who they said had 200 pounds of marijuana in his truck. He faces a trafficking charge. Two days later, they found 800 pounds in an abandoned trailer parked on a downtown street. They still don't know whose it was.

Police and the public realize that marijuana remains readily available.

"It's very easy. If I wanted to, I can go up to 10, 15 people I know who could buy for me easily," said Roberta Gordon, 31, a student at the University of Missouri at St. Louis.

About 75 percent of illicit drug users have smoked marijuana, according to a 2002 report by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Its report said 40 percent of all people 12 and older had used marijuana or hashish at least once.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that men 18 to 25 are the most active users.

The drug's effect remains the topic of much debate. Studies have reported that smoking it impairs short-term memory, attention span, coordination, balance, reaction time and other cognitive functions.

However, Chris Conrad, a court-qualified cannabis expert in Oakland, Calif., compares the mood-altering effects to having a glass of wine or playing soft music. He rejects the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's notion that people driving under the influence of marijuana are more likely to have crashes. "But the studies have shown that they do get lost more often," he said.

"To me, marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol," said Shad Menard, 29 another student at UMSL.

Officials acknowledge that despite their best efforts, marijuana trade not only remains pervasive but lucrative.

Sgt. Kurt Eversman of the St. Clair County Sheriff's Department said, "Because a lot of traffickers get involved in it with the sole purpose of making money, an upscale person selling marijuana can do it for years and not get caught."



Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch (MO)
Copyright: 2005 St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Contact: letters@post-dispatch.com
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