Pot harvest off to a big start

by MARK MOREY AND MELISSA SÁNCHEZ
Yakima Herald-Republic

Links
Email_black_18  E-mail           Print_black_18  Print            Talk_black_18  Comments
Advertisement

More 'Local'

  1. Photojournal — Li'l biker
  2. Wapato community awards banquet, auction on tap
  3. Two Highland fires investigated as suspicious
  4. Guitars featured at YVCC jazz show Yakima
  5. City prosecutor to run for District Court judge
  6. Special series on Valley wells earns another journalism award
  7. Unemployment rate still high despite some job growth
More Stories:   Today's News | This Week

YAKIMA, Wash. — 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 U.S. Highway 97, Escalera said.

Three suspects were arrested Wednesday night on 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 with a raid near Glenwood 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.



Commentsicon2
Posted by ForYourInfo at 07/31/09 12:43PM        Post ID#: #8145

$85 million, Imagin how much tax revenue that would generate if legal. Also wonder how much money is waisted in these efforts that do nothing to detour the growers, but only add value to the illegal crop.

Report Violation
Posted by powwowtime at 11/06/09 04:28AM        Post ID#: #17194

If it were legal, it would not be worth anything near $85M. But even at a price similar to legal tobacco, there would still be tax revenue to be made. Armies of heavily armed thugs would not be invading our Nation under the protection of Americans' fear of being called "racist". Street gangs would lose much of their appeal as kids and teens get bored with them and drop out. But cannabis must remain illegal, we wouldn't want to offend the goody-two-shoes and religious hypocrites who would be offended if potheads could come out of the closet and their enjoyment no longer be a badge of shame for one to think he is better than. Tisk, tisk.

Afterall, just look back at the Prohibition and how well that worked. Did gangs form to shoot each other up with Tommy guns for control over an alcohol black market the way street gangs fight to control the drug trade?

Oh, right.

Report Violation
Log in or Register to leave a comment.

Posting Guidelines - Updated Aug. 21 2009
Readers are encouraged to use these forums to discuss issues affecting the Yakima Valley. Debate the ideas presented in stories and other comments, but refrain from personal attacks and offensive remarks aimed at others; e.g., you may call an idea idiotic, but don't say the person is an idiot. The Herald-Republic reserves the right to remove any comment for any reason. Examples include material that is obscene, encourages illegal activity or stereotypes based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and other factors. Continued violation of these guidelines can lead to suspension or revocation of your ability to post comments. If you believe a comment is inappropriate, you can bring it to our attention by clicking the "report violation" link by each comment. Guidelines revised Aug. 21, 2009.

Registered User?