T
The420Guy
Guest
In California, marijuana is a huge business, raking in an estimated $5
billion to $10 billion a year. California grapes only bring in around $3
billion and tomatoes, just $1 billion. Some communities turn into boom towns
when marijuana growers harvest and sell their crop. 60 Minutes II's Vicki
Mabrey reports.
But it's not acceptable to state officials, who have declared war - not just
on dealers and growers - but on the plant itself. Leading that war is Sonya
Barna, called by some The Patton of Pot. She commands a state program called
the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP, with the mission of wiping
out every pot plant in California.
Her team includes three dozen foot soldiers. For 11 weeks of the year around
harvest time, they search for California's pot crop.
Since the leaves of the plant are almost an iridescent green, "it stands out
from the air," she explains.
To avoid detection, growers have gone deep into the public lands of
California's national forests and parks. In some places CAMP has found
massive farms with as many as 59,000 plants, worth millions.
The plants Barna finds today are 10 times as strong as the pot of the '60s
and '70s, she says.
"They'll get a pound and a half," she estimates of one plant. "Each pound is
worth $4,000 on the street."
Small-time entrepreneurs have been joined by drug gangs, many from Mexico.
"This is about big, big money," says John Gaines, a special agent. "This is
about making a profit, taking the profit out of the United States, taking it
back to Mexico. This is organized crime, bottom line."
In October, Gaines and officers from the state narcotics bureau finished a
three-year investigation that culminated in the arrests of 41 people, all
allegedly working for the Maganyas, a Mexican crime family. The Maganyas
have realized over five years a profit estimated at $40 million to $50
million, he says.
"There's less risk to getting caught coming across the border with a large
load of marijuana," Gaines explains. "Our marijuana laws in the state of
California are not real strong." In Mexico marijuana laws are much tougher,
he says.
In August, a Mexican citizen allegedly working for the Maganyas opened fire
during a CAMP raid on a 7,000-plant garden. He was shot and killed by
sheriff's deputies.
"Whenever you take these types of people moving into that industry and
taking such large efforts to make their money, they're going to protect it,"
Barna says. "They're going to take care of it. And that means more guns,
more violence, and people getting hurt."
Increasingly Barna encounters huge operations, with irrigation systems and
armed guards. Mexican farm workers are brought in blindfolded and paid a few
hundred dollars a month to live with the crop. Barna points to some evidence
of habitation, including a kitchen, popane tanks for cooking and canned
goods, corn oil, tuna, tortillas.
As the growers become more sophisticated, the pot police have adapted.
There's an Short Term Airborne Operation, or STABO, Barna says. "The
helicopter drops (a) 150-foot-long line down, and we're hooked up to that
line and get inserted into the garden."
A mother of three, Barna is committed to fighting drugs. She went undercover
at age 21 as a drug-dealing student, who "purchased everything from
marijuana, methamphetamine, LSD."
Under Barna's direction, CAMP is weeding out more plants. Last season's take
was 345,000 plants, enough marijuana for 310 million joints: one for every
American and an extra for every Californian.
"The people of the state of California have decided that they don't want
this for their state. So that's what we're here to do, not to judge whether
it's just pot, or not as strong as cocaine," Barna declares.
CAMP has been trying to wipe out California's marijuana crop since 1983.
Some critics say that the group is fighting a losing battle.
"Marijuana is more prevalent than ever, and what does that tell us?" asks
former U.S. Congressman Dan Hamburg, who says CAMP's plant seizures may be
up, but they're barely scratching the surface.
"There's another six or 800,000 plants that they haven't touched," Hamburg
says. The commercial growers have learned very well how to deal with CAMP.
And they're willing to sacrifice, a certain amount of their crop...because
marijuana is literally more valuable than gold."
Mendocino County is one of three northern counties where pot is so rich and
plentiful the area is known as the Emerald Triangle. There CAMP's pot
commandos aren't considered heroes; they're the enemy. Restaurants refuse to
serve them. The local radio station broadcasts warnings when CAMP's troops
are patrolling.
"It's just like a terrorist operation," says Richard Littlefield. "You have
that helicopter over your head,...and circling around you for no reason; you
will feel intimidated."
CAMP intimidated Littlefield when its helicopters spotted 120 marijuana
plants on his property. He and his brother say they're allowed to have the
plants, thanks to a 1996 law that lets Californians have marijuana for
medical use.
All 10 of the Littlefields claimed that their pot was purely medicinal. Law
enforcement didn't buy it. Barna and her team eradicated all but seven of
the plants.
But using marijuana for medical reasons is not uncommon. The former
congressman grows six plants for his mother, 76, who has cancer. Hamburg and
his wife turn their crop into butter to make Rice Krispie treats to ease his
mother's nausea and increase her appetite. What they are doing is completely
legal, he asserts.
Voters in Hamburg's county recently passed Measure G, making Mendocino the
first county to legalize marijuana not just for medical use, but also for
personal use.
"The people of Mendocino County are really leading the way for the entire
nation, in saying we're grownups, we're big kids and we can decide what the
laws should be around marijuana," Hamburg says.
But California has already decided marijuana is against the law. Despite the
medical marijuana exception, the drug remains illegal in the state. So Barna
will continue waging war against individual entrepreneurs and gangs in every
California county.
RELATED LINKS
* CBS HealthWatch.com:Multiple Sclerosis Researchers Have High Hopes for
Cannabis-based Drug
https://www.cbs.medscape.com/medscape/p/G_Library/article.asp?RecID=232239&Co
* KOVR 13 Online: Nov. 15 2000: Measure G causes confusion in
https://www.kovr13.com/11nov00/111500b.htm
* Californians United Against Drug Abuse
https://www.noonprop36.com/news.html
* The National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Law
* Medical Marijuana
Erowid Cannabis Vault : Medical Use
* California Narcotic Officers' Association
California Narcotic Officers' Association | Law Enforcement Training
Here's a link to a piece on tv last night, tuesday night, cbs
sixty minutes TWO
https://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,269478-412,00.shtml
There's a link there you can watch about 3 minutes of federal agents cutting
down a crop and loading it into a pickup truck.
billion to $10 billion a year. California grapes only bring in around $3
billion and tomatoes, just $1 billion. Some communities turn into boom towns
when marijuana growers harvest and sell their crop. 60 Minutes II's Vicki
Mabrey reports.
But it's not acceptable to state officials, who have declared war - not just
on dealers and growers - but on the plant itself. Leading that war is Sonya
Barna, called by some The Patton of Pot. She commands a state program called
the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting, or CAMP, with the mission of wiping
out every pot plant in California.
Her team includes three dozen foot soldiers. For 11 weeks of the year around
harvest time, they search for California's pot crop.
Since the leaves of the plant are almost an iridescent green, "it stands out
from the air," she explains.
To avoid detection, growers have gone deep into the public lands of
California's national forests and parks. In some places CAMP has found
massive farms with as many as 59,000 plants, worth millions.
The plants Barna finds today are 10 times as strong as the pot of the '60s
and '70s, she says.
"They'll get a pound and a half," she estimates of one plant. "Each pound is
worth $4,000 on the street."
Small-time entrepreneurs have been joined by drug gangs, many from Mexico.
"This is about big, big money," says John Gaines, a special agent. "This is
about making a profit, taking the profit out of the United States, taking it
back to Mexico. This is organized crime, bottom line."
In October, Gaines and officers from the state narcotics bureau finished a
three-year investigation that culminated in the arrests of 41 people, all
allegedly working for the Maganyas, a Mexican crime family. The Maganyas
have realized over five years a profit estimated at $40 million to $50
million, he says.
"There's less risk to getting caught coming across the border with a large
load of marijuana," Gaines explains. "Our marijuana laws in the state of
California are not real strong." In Mexico marijuana laws are much tougher,
he says.
In August, a Mexican citizen allegedly working for the Maganyas opened fire
during a CAMP raid on a 7,000-plant garden. He was shot and killed by
sheriff's deputies.
"Whenever you take these types of people moving into that industry and
taking such large efforts to make their money, they're going to protect it,"
Barna says. "They're going to take care of it. And that means more guns,
more violence, and people getting hurt."
Increasingly Barna encounters huge operations, with irrigation systems and
armed guards. Mexican farm workers are brought in blindfolded and paid a few
hundred dollars a month to live with the crop. Barna points to some evidence
of habitation, including a kitchen, popane tanks for cooking and canned
goods, corn oil, tuna, tortillas.
As the growers become more sophisticated, the pot police have adapted.
There's an Short Term Airborne Operation, or STABO, Barna says. "The
helicopter drops (a) 150-foot-long line down, and we're hooked up to that
line and get inserted into the garden."
A mother of three, Barna is committed to fighting drugs. She went undercover
at age 21 as a drug-dealing student, who "purchased everything from
marijuana, methamphetamine, LSD."
Under Barna's direction, CAMP is weeding out more plants. Last season's take
was 345,000 plants, enough marijuana for 310 million joints: one for every
American and an extra for every Californian.
"The people of the state of California have decided that they don't want
this for their state. So that's what we're here to do, not to judge whether
it's just pot, or not as strong as cocaine," Barna declares.
CAMP has been trying to wipe out California's marijuana crop since 1983.
Some critics say that the group is fighting a losing battle.
"Marijuana is more prevalent than ever, and what does that tell us?" asks
former U.S. Congressman Dan Hamburg, who says CAMP's plant seizures may be
up, but they're barely scratching the surface.
"There's another six or 800,000 plants that they haven't touched," Hamburg
says. The commercial growers have learned very well how to deal with CAMP.
And they're willing to sacrifice, a certain amount of their crop...because
marijuana is literally more valuable than gold."
Mendocino County is one of three northern counties where pot is so rich and
plentiful the area is known as the Emerald Triangle. There CAMP's pot
commandos aren't considered heroes; they're the enemy. Restaurants refuse to
serve them. The local radio station broadcasts warnings when CAMP's troops
are patrolling.
"It's just like a terrorist operation," says Richard Littlefield. "You have
that helicopter over your head,...and circling around you for no reason; you
will feel intimidated."
CAMP intimidated Littlefield when its helicopters spotted 120 marijuana
plants on his property. He and his brother say they're allowed to have the
plants, thanks to a 1996 law that lets Californians have marijuana for
medical use.
All 10 of the Littlefields claimed that their pot was purely medicinal. Law
enforcement didn't buy it. Barna and her team eradicated all but seven of
the plants.
But using marijuana for medical reasons is not uncommon. The former
congressman grows six plants for his mother, 76, who has cancer. Hamburg and
his wife turn their crop into butter to make Rice Krispie treats to ease his
mother's nausea and increase her appetite. What they are doing is completely
legal, he asserts.
Voters in Hamburg's county recently passed Measure G, making Mendocino the
first county to legalize marijuana not just for medical use, but also for
personal use.
"The people of Mendocino County are really leading the way for the entire
nation, in saying we're grownups, we're big kids and we can decide what the
laws should be around marijuana," Hamburg says.
But California has already decided marijuana is against the law. Despite the
medical marijuana exception, the drug remains illegal in the state. So Barna
will continue waging war against individual entrepreneurs and gangs in every
California county.
RELATED LINKS
* CBS HealthWatch.com:Multiple Sclerosis Researchers Have High Hopes for
Cannabis-based Drug
https://www.cbs.medscape.com/medscape/p/G_Library/article.asp?RecID=232239&Co
* KOVR 13 Online: Nov. 15 2000: Measure G causes confusion in
https://www.kovr13.com/11nov00/111500b.htm
* Californians United Against Drug Abuse
https://www.noonprop36.com/news.html
* The National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Law
* Medical Marijuana
Erowid Cannabis Vault : Medical Use
* California Narcotic Officers' Association
California Narcotic Officers' Association | Law Enforcement Training
Here's a link to a piece on tv last night, tuesday night, cbs
sixty minutes TWO
https://cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,269478-412,00.shtml
There's a link there you can watch about 3 minutes of federal agents cutting
down a crop and loading it into a pickup truck.