Pot growers having big year in California

[Auggie]

S.F. Chronicle, 7-28-09:

Mexican drug traffickers have expanded their marijuana-growing operations in California parks as state and local governments have tightened spending and slashed jobs and services.

Law enforcement officials say the traffickers, taking advantage of the fact that there are fewer sheriff's deputies and rangers monitoring parks, are cultivating more pot than ever before. This year's multibillion-dollar crop is on pace to be the largest in history, said state officials.

<snip>

The growers are so brazen that they often return to replant crops in the same plots that were recently raided, authorities said, and they don't care about the extensive environmental damage they cause by clear-cutting forests, damming up creeks and polluting public land with pesticides and trash.

Legalization is not the solution, (Michael Johnson, the statewide commander of the CAMP task force) said, given that most of the pot is being grown illegally on public parkland by foreign citizens who cannot be taxed.

LINK: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/28/MN6P18K1FV.DTL

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The last sentence hit me: If marijuana were to be legalized, wouldn't that decrease demand for the illegally grown kind? At least the environment wouldn't take such a hit.

[ixion]

1. Legalizing would solve the problem

the rest is BS WoD propaganda.

[hobbit709]

2. If they used logic

there wouldn't be this crap about pot in the first place.

[eShirl]

3. has anyone in government ever heard of Al Capone, alcohol Prohibition, etc?

[John Q. Citizen]

4. the best reply at the SG Gate site :

"...Legalization is not the solution, Johnson said, given that most of the pot is being grown illegally on public parkland by foreign citizens who cannot be taxed..."

Oh my God, what an idiot...

Can you not understand, 'commander' Johnson, that the freakin' REASON they're growing dope is because prohibition is the sole driving factor behind the immense profit to be made? Dude - have you not noticed that no one is planting illegal TOMATO patches up in them thar hills???

The Kennedys didn't make their fortune smuggling bottled water, you moron!

Damnit man - go buy some common sense on ebay since you clearly weren't born with any. Is that too much to ask?

[lunatica]

6. That's the pile more shit on the shit pile logic

If it doesn't work it must be because we didn't do more of it.

[AngryAmish]

5. In the midwest we have large expanses of very flat land

It makes for very good agricultural production. If pot was legalized there would be no reason to grow pot in a forest - with all the problems stated above.

Stupid drug laws.