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Several law enforcement agencies headed by the Chelan County Sheriff's Office converge on a marijuana grow site near Lake Wenatchee, Wash., on Tuesday morning. Kathryn Stevens / The Wenatchee World

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Chelan County marijuana seizures top $127 million, authorities claim

Friday, August 15, 2008 2:34 PM PDT

By The Associated Press

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WENATCHEE, Wash. — Marijuana plants estimated to be worth more than $127 million have been seized in Chelan County this month, and authorities say the growers are getting higher.

Placing their illegal farms at higher elevations, that is.

About 24,000 mature pot plants were seized at four sites in the county Wednesday, a day after marijuana valued at nearly $48 million was destroyed in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area in far eastern Whatcom County.

Total seizures in Chelan County this month amount to 84,873 plants, each 5 to 6 feet tall and believed to be worth about $1,500.

No arrests were reported.

On Tuesday authorities seized 20,000 plants on land owned by Longview Fibre near Lake Wenatchee.

The pot farms are mostly on public forest land and feature precise irrigation systems as well as other indications that the operations are carefully tended, sheriff’s Lt. Jerome Moore said

“These grows are in a lot higher elevation than in the past, where we’ve normally located marijuana,” Moore said.

“More than likely it’s one group that is rotating in and out of each one of these grows because they all have camps, they all have bed areas, they all have cooking areas and they usually have firearms,” he added. “There’s strong evidence that they’ll go from one camp to the next.”

West of the Cascade Range, personnel from nine law enforcement agencies destroyed 15,742 plants near Ross Lake, impounded by Seattle City Light’s Ross Dam north of the North Cascades Highway, State Route 20. More than 1,000 pounds of garbage, fertilizer, pesticide, herbicide, irrigation pipes and propane canisters were removed.

“This is the first known marijuana grow site within a National Park Service site in Washington and the first one in western Washington,” said Lt. Richard A. Wiley, narcotics chief in the Washington State Patrol.

The site, spotted by the pilot of a helicopter on a National Park Service, closely resembles marijuana cultivations blamed on Mexican traffickers at national parks in California, according to a park news release.

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bmoc wrote on Aug 15, 2008 11:29 AM:

" I say keep on growing it!!! Someday taxpayers will get sick of eradicating a completely harmless plant. "

cynic954 wrote on Aug 15, 2008 11:32 AM:

" there goes longview fibres quarterly profits. "

country gal wrote on Aug 15, 2008 12:26 PM:

" If the authorities are seizing marijuana plants, they might as well start seizing grapevines for making alcohol. "

Louie wrote on Aug 15, 2008 1:08 PM:

" If the Longview Fibre can't make money in the paper business it makes sense that they could do better by growing Marijuana!! Go for it!!
What a waste of tax dollars trying to eradicate this useful plant. I wouldn't be surprised if we could even run our vehicles on some derivative from hemp. "

Rosey Glasses wrote on Aug 15, 2008 2:46 PM:

" Not only does hemp produce more fibre per acre per year than trees, the seeds can be used to make an oil (none of which will get a person high). So Louie may be onto something... using the hemp-seed oil for fuel? Keep growing these plants Fibre!!! LOL "

MOLE wrote on Aug 15, 2008 7:42 PM:

" they should have sold it,127 million at half that look at all the school supplies,NO JOKE.besides go over the hill, another field is growing!!! "

DW wrote on Aug 16, 2008 8:16 AM:

" to bmoc and the rest of the pro hemp crowd out there that say pot is harmless, studies show significant loss of the ability to store memory in the brains of animals tested. There is a reason they call in dope!! They should irradicate it, and keep away from my family and kids. And if it's "migrant farm workers growing it" chuck their butts into prison, then send them south when their sentence has been served. I get so sick and tired of people saying smoking dope is harmless. For those of you that say it's harmless, I would say this, how many very successful members of society that are say, police officers, doctors, pilots, crane operators, etc. do you see smoking pot. I would bet none. And if they are, I don't what to be on the plane where the pilot is a pot smoker. "

mole wrote on Aug 16, 2008 10:05 AM:

" all the animals that were tested,how do they know what they forgot?some people in all of those jobs probably have,If there was a joice of a DRUNK pilot or one that say SMOKED a bowl,I will take the smoker.lots of cops do[first hand knowledge]and have worked under drunk crane operators!!![not my choice]as for doctors also[first hand knowledge].all first hand knowledge,they were all off the clock except the crane driver. "

DUH wrote on Aug 16, 2008 11:41 AM:

" I would much rather have a guy that just smoked an 8-ball of weed coming at me on the highway than a guy that just drank a pint of whiskey. Do away with alcohol... Legalize pot!!! "

Louie wrote on Aug 16, 2008 1:44 PM:

" I agree with DUH and MOLE's comment about how do the animals let a scientist know what it has forgotten is just too funny. As for not being able to store memory in the brain...almost everyone I know has that problem and it is not from smoking marijuana. "

country gal wrote on Aug 16, 2008 2:05 PM:

" What it really boils down to is moderation. You can abuse your body easily if you eat too much sweets, you can become a diabetic. Or if you eat a lot of greasy and junk foods, you get obese. If you drink too much, a drunkard, smoke too much cigs, you can get lung cancer, too much pot, you're dopey and so on. It all boils down to what you and you alone put in your mouth. "

DW wrote on Aug 16, 2008 2:18 PM:

" Well mole if you have first hand knowledge of police, pilots and doctors smoking pot, you should turn them in. Why put innocent people at risk by keeping quite professionals that should be sober. There is a reason they call it dope. "

DW wrote on Aug 16, 2008 3:24 PM:

" DUH,if someone is coming at you loaded on pot or pint of skey, what's the diff, your still gonna get mowed down. Or is it better to get creamed by a stoner than a drunk. Not sure how that works..... "

bmoc wrote on Aug 16, 2008 4:15 PM:

" dw - kids can get pot easier than booze, cause the dealers don't check ID. alcohol is far more deadly than a relaxing toke of marijuana. Most smokers I know are successful by the way, and they would never tell you they use it because they would spot you as a total square from a mile away. "

DUH wrote on Aug 16, 2008 4:25 PM:

" Oh yes DW I read and hear stories all the time about people high on pot taking innocent lives on the roadways. You want to make the claim that just as many innocent people die from driving under the influence of marijuana as do from drunk drivers? Well do you? Lets see you back it up with some actual statistics. I'll be waiting. "

mole wrote on Aug 16, 2008 9:04 PM:

" thats a good idea D.W,I will go tell the prosecutor I smoked with.THEY ARE ALL RETIRED, AS I ALSO,AND WE WERE ALL QUITE SUCCESSFUL !!!!!THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONCERN. "

DUH wrote on Aug 18, 2008 9:33 AM:

" Marijuana has positive uses as well as some negative. Nothing good EVER comes from drinking alcohol. In many cases, marijuana can improve a persons quality of life. I have never heard anyone say, "If so and so hadn't of drank that 5th beer, he surely would have died." I also haven't heard of too many marijuana related deaths. Can't say the same about alcohol. "

berryjewels wrote on Aug 18, 2008 10:04 AM:

" I will have to agree with Duh on this. Whether or not people out there choose believe that it is all bad, there is proof that it does a lot of patients good. There is not any statistics on deaths of pot that I know of like there is for alcohol, and other drug use. I have never heard of a Physician prescribing alcohol to patients like they do marijuana, Gee I wonder why that is?? "

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