RSSNEW Huge marijuana seizures reported in Yakima County
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YAKIMA, Wash. -- Not including today’s busts, authorities say they’ve pulled up more than 80,000 marijuana plants in Yakima County and have made six arrests this week during an annual exercise to eradicate the illegal plant.
If the plants are valued at $1,000 each — a conservative figure cited by police — the seizures would be valued at about $85 million, said Washington State Patrol Sgt. Al Escalera.
“That does not include today’s efforts,” he said. “Our teams are just coming out of the hills.”
More than 25 marijuana crops have been identified by authorities so far, mostly in the southern part of the Yakama Indian Reservation off Highway 97, Escalera said.
Three suspects were arrested Wednesday night on U.S. Highway 97 north of Satus Pass near where investigators pulled 42,000 plants, according to a police report filed in Yakima County Superior Court.
Between 50 and 60 officers from the Law Enforcement Against Drugs task force, based in the Lower Valley, and other agencies planned to search all week, officials say.
“But the teams that assisted are going to have to come back,” Escalera said. “Yakima County generally has the abundance of the marijuana grows and we can’t get it all in a week. ... We’re all going to be working it again.”
Three more suspects were arrested earlier this week in connection to a raid near Glennwood and reservation land.
Last week, Kittitas County authorities reported finding 9,500 plants growing in the mountains of the Teanaway area, about 40 miles northwest of Ellensburg. It was the largest grow ever reported in the county, sheriff’s officials said.
As of last week, more than 150,000 plants had been seized outdoors in Washington state in 2009, according to a federal Drug Enforcement Agency estimate.
Last year, a total of 538,918 plants were seized in outdoor grows across the state, said Jodie Underwood, a DEA spokeswoman in Seattle. More than 90 percent of the plants were found in Eastern Washington, many of them hidden in vineyards.
— Mark Morey and Melissa Sanchez
I guess it is no secret why Mexican Drug Cartels, gangsters or anyone else for that matter, likes Yakima County and Eastern Washington.
Report ViolationIf we could tax that, even at 5%- would be $5 million dollars for the state. Not only do we gain from the taxes, we save money by letting the cops go arrest all of the gang members shooting up the community.
Report ViolationThe thing to watch for is huge hauls of dope where nobody is arrested. With no arrests the number of plants destroyed or taken in is..........whatever they say it is.
Report ViolationHow sad. If only they could tax it like tobacco. Imagine all the money they could use to build more walls >.<
Report Violationcountryvet you noticed huh..TheDEA takes all the credit for huge busts no body arrested..our local boys in blue off picking weeds while the towns in Yakima are getting shot up by gang members...and they don't pay for it.
50 -60 officers!!! Good use of our taxpayer money STATE PATROL...We sure could use them to stop the gang members from shooting up the town instead they are up in the mountains..that sound more of job for the forrestry people if your not arresting anyone...I don't like drugs but this is not the time for our police resources to be picking weeds when shootings are occurring on la daily basis.
I've always wondered how plant counts and street value were calculated by law enforcement officials. Surely they have to be guesstimates... akin to the enemy body counts during the earlier stages of the Vietnam War. Do they really serve any purpose?
Report ViolationEloy and Countryvet: Better yet... if no one is being arrested then release the extra law enforcement officials to concentrate on other pressing crimes, guard the areas with a minimum of officials and then bring in the experts with the "P" on their backs to actually do the weeding.
Report ViolationIf legalized,the marijuana plant,could be put to far many more good benefits(with taxes too)than just being used for a recreational drug.
All this talk about legalizing it is a Pipe Dream. Even if you had an age limit, kids in school would get a hold of it. School Drop out rates would go sky high. More young women would have illegitimate kids and go on welfare. You would see muggings for weed on our streets. Sometimes I wonder if anyone actually doesn't think of themselves prior to making that kind of outlandish statement.
Report ViolationThe Truth said this:
All this talk about legalizing it is a Pipe Dream. Even if you had an age limit, kids in school would get a hold of it. School Drop out rates would go sky high. More young women would have illegitimate kids and go on welfare. You would see muggings for weed on our streets. Sometimes I wonder if anyone actually doesn't think of themselves prior to making that kind of outlandish statement.
I say Alcahol is legal...Cigarettes are legal and both of these substances have been proven to kill. How many people has pot killed? ZERO-NONE-ZILCH. As for a pipe dream? Oregon has over 85,000 signitures to put it on 2010 state ballot to legalize, and have you seen the legalization campaign ads being shown in California? If you want the TRUTH about pot don't listen to this person calling themselves "The Truth" because they have no idea what they are talking about. All they know is the "reefer Madness" type of thinking.
TIC... Legalizing doobies would probably take all the fun and intrigue out of it, lead to more tax money in the coffers (pun intended) that would in turn cure this nation's economic troubles and the world would just spin better on its axis. Seems that things would just become a little too dull.
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