-Caveat Lector- From http://www.gatewayva.com/rtd/dailynews/virginia/pot0726.shtml > Going to pot: Weed making comeback / Marijuana growing on rise in > Va. > > > > Monday, July 26, 1999 > > BY REX BOWMAN > Times-Dispatch Staff Writer > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ROANOKE -- Some speak about the moonshining that goes on in the > western hills of Virginia as if the illicit trade defines the > state's lawless spirit; but bootleg whiskey is only half the > story. The other half is marijuana. > > In Virginia's cornfields, in roadside ditches, greenhouses and > national forests, on back porches and mountain slopes, alongside > railroad tracks, beneath power lines and around the muddy banks > of swimming holes, marijuana plants are growing tall and in > abundance. > > More than ever, law enforcement officials say, pot growers are > staking their claim to the commonwealth's fertile soil. But > they're becoming as wily as the secretive moonshiners: Police say > the trend over the past few years is for professional pot growers > to spread their lucrative crop out over many plots, reducing the > chances that agents will find and seize all their plants. > Consequently, while arrests are up, seizures are down. > > "You used to have large plots with 2,000, with 3,000, or with > 6,000 plants, and commercial airliners could look down and see > them from 20,000 feet," said state police 1st Sgt. J.C. Lewis, > statewide coordinator for marijuana eradication. "Now, instead of > putting all their eggs in one basket, they may have five or six > plots with 100 or 200 plants each." > > Agents are also turning up more small operations where growers > lavish their attention on no more than 20 plants, said state > police Lt. Mark Petska, deputy assistant director of the Drug > Enforcement Division. > > Baby boomers who learned to roll joints and toke on bongs in the > tie-dyed '60s are beginning to grow their own, keeping some for > themselves and selling the rest to an intimate circle of friends, > Petska theorized. > > Marijuana use among teen-agers, meanwhile, is up from a decade > ago, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. > > It all adds up to one thing, say proponents of legalizing > marijuana: Time for the law to cry uncle. Despite the millions of > dollars spent to stamp out Virginia's massive marijuana crop, > they say, the legions of pot smokers and growers have been > undeterred, and as things now stand, the "war" against this > particular drug is a quagmire of wasted resources. > > "You can only fail so much before people start questioning the > public policy, and the policy is a failure," said Lennice Werth, > a Crewe resident and head of Virginians Against Drug Violence. > "And it's not even a policy, it's a crusade. We're against > prohibition because the prohibition of drugs is what causes > drug-related violence." > > A House of Representatives subcommittee recently turned back > various drug-legalization proposals. Werth conceded that > Virginia's General Assembly will likely be as unreceptive to any > legalization plans. > > "Legislators are followers, not leaders," she said, "so it's up > to the public to lead on this." > > Though Virginia law enforcement officials claim to arrest more > pot growers per capita than most other states, it's tough to make > a dent in the unlawful trade because the Old Dominion is such a > large producer. The state agriculture department keeps no > statistics on marijuana, but the Washington-based National > Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws estimates that > marijuana is the commonwealth's largest cash crop, surpassing > even tobacco. > > Saying that its numbers are conservative and based on DEA's > eradication data, NORML estimates that Virginia pot growers in > 1997 harvested more than 121,600 plants worth $197 million. > Nationwide, pot wholesale revenues ranged between $15.1 billion > and $26.3 billion. > > Lewis, the state police marijuana eradication coordinator, said > he couldn't begin to estimate the value of Virginia's crop. > > "It's grown throughout the whole state, in back yards, in > gardens, on mountain tops," Lewis said. "It's everywhere." > > No more so than in western Virginia, which has two contraband > capitals, according to Petska. If Rocky Mount is the center of > the state's moonshining trade, he said, then Roanoke is the heart > of pot country. The Allegheny highlands north of the city feature > vast forests and hidden hollows that make it difficult for agents > to spot marijuana fields. The rugged terrain south and west of > Roanoke is largely rural and ideal for pot growers looking to > stay out of sight. > > And where once the area around Wytheville was the site of some of > the most high-intensity pot farming, Petska said, the illicit > agriculture in recent years has spread east, to Pulaski, Floyd, > Franklin and Henry counties, where rural landscapes and woodlands > abound. > > "Unlike Norfolk, for instance, you don't have houses on top of > each other and large subdivisions," Lewis said. "In Roanoke and > Salem, or around there, you can throw marijuana out on your front > lawn and there's a good chance nobody would see it." > > Using up to $200,000 a year in federal money since 1983, state > police every summer embark on missions to destroy pot plants. > They use state helicopters and small spotter planes to find pot > fields, visible from the air because of their unique blue-green > tint. They also assist local sheriff's departments in staking out > fields, waiting for growers to show up to tend their plants. > > Last year state police seized 15,051 plants from 409 outdoor > plots and 34 indoor groves. They made 165 arrests on > manufacturing marijuana charges. Reflecting growers' increasing > use of smaller plots, the number of plants seized is down from > earlier in the decade. In 1994, for instance, police destroyed > 39,338 plants, and the year before that they destroyed 25,672. > > NORML estimates that state police are finding only 15 percent of > the pot being grown throughout Virginia. > > But the true measure of the eradication effort's success, Petska > said, is the number of arrests, which has escalated dramatically > in the past half decade. > > "There used to be about 40 to 50 arrests per year," he said. > "We've more than tripled that. Arresting growers is more > important than seizing plants. My theory is, if you grow 1,000 > pot plants year after year after year, and I go out and arrest > you, you're not going to grow 1,000 plants anymore." > > Growing marijuana is a felony in Virginia, punishable by up to 30 > years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Last year, according to state > police statistics, marijuana accounted for 16,391, or 54 percent, > of the 30,348 drug arrests statewide. Of the marijuana arrests, > 14,284 were for alleged possession, 2,107 were for the alleged > manufacture or sale. > > To groups like NORML and Virginians Against Drug Violence, such > statistics are evidence that the state needs to rethink its fight > against marijuana. Its use is widespread throughout the state > and, indeed, a part of the culture, they argue. People of all > walks of life and ages smoke it, and many country stores > acknowledge its popularity by selling rolling papers, along with > belt buckles and bandannas with pot-leaf motifs. > > Sending peaceful pot growers into prisons with violent criminals > is part of the dark undertow of the state's drug policy, said > Mike Krawitz, president of Virginia Tech's NORML chapter. Like > many pot proponents, Krawitz said alcohol, while legal, is a far > worse societal problem than legalized marijuana could ever be. > > "We don't take and vilify someone who comes home from work and > has a martini," Krawitz said. "We've all heard of what can happen > at parties where there's alcohol. If you go to a party where > there's pot around, the worst thing you're going to find is loud > music." > > The case of Stephen Merrill illustrates how the campaign against > marijuana can damage an otherwise exemplary life. Merrill, a > lawyer in Norfolk and head of the local Libertarian Party, was > arrested July 7 on his farm in Isle of Wight County, where > authorities say they found 180 pot plants. > > "I'm the most humiliated lawyer in Virginia," said Merrill, 44, > and a lawyer for 17 years. > > Authorities have charged Merrill with growing marijuana not > intended for his own personal use, an allegation he denies. Yes, > he said, he was growing marijuana, but not for others. > > Though he wouldn't discuss his views on the state's marijuana > laws while his case is pending, he did reiterate that he is a > member of the Libertarian Party, which favors the legalization of > pot. > > "I'm no hypocrite, I'm no right-winger who goes to church and > preaches against drugs and then gets caught growing marijuana," > he said. "It's been a tremendous humiliation, but I'm determined > to retain my integrity even though I've been caught in this > embarrassing situation, doing something privately, on my own > land. > > "The government over-reaches into every aspect of our lives." > > According to DEA literature, marijuana "may play a role" in some > forms of cancer and respiratory and reproductive problems. The > DEA also cites studies linking the use of large amounts of > marijuana to problems with memory, attention span and learning > ability. > > Proponents of legalizing pot, however, point to studies that > suggest even long-term use of the drug creates no ill health > effects. > > Stan Kennedy, the DEA special agent based in Roanoke, disagreed > with those who hold pot harmless. "Ask yourself, do you want to > be driving down the road while the guy in the oncoming lane is > high on marijuana? Those who tend to use marijuana are poorly > educated about it. There's a lot of education that needs to be > done." > > For his part, Lewis said he is content to fight to eradicate > marijuana because the law is the law, and the law makes the drug > illegal. Still, he said, it's an uphill battle and the hill is > getting steeper. > > "Marijuana is coming back -- the use of it, the sale of it, the > manufacture of it," he said. "We're seeing an increase in > everything." > > > > > > > > © 1999, Richmond Newspapers Inc. 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