AP IMPACT: Drug gangs taking over US public lands

Associated Press ^ | March 1, 2010 | ALICIA A. CALDWELL and MANUEL VALDES

[Free ThinkerNY]

SEQUOIA NATIONAL FOREST, Calif. – Not far from Yosemite's waterfalls and in the middle of California's redwood forests, Mexican drug gangs are quietly commandeering U.S. public land to grow millions of marijuana plants and using smuggled immigrants to cultivate them.

Pot has been grown on public lands for decades, but Mexican traffickers have taken it to a whole new level: using armed guards and trip wires to safeguard sprawling plots that in some cases contain tens of thousands of plants offering a potential yield of more than 30 tons of pot a year.

"Just like the Mexicans took over the methamphetamine trade, they've gone to mega, monster gardens," said Brent Wood, a supervisor for the California Department of Justice's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement. He said Mexican traffickers have "supersized" the marijuana trade.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Just don’t stumble on to one of these “gardens” unless you’ve made your peace with God. These “poor immigrants in search of a better life” can make things very ugly very fast.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Old, old story. Interesting that AP finally found out about it.

Maybe AG Holder will do something about it. NOT!

[driftdiver]

Ironic how the DEA et al can’t find these monster gardens but find plenty of citizens to put in jail.

[yorkie]

One more reason our borders should have been sealed shut so tightly that no roaches could penetrate them. (No later than 9/12/01).

Of course, there are about 50 MORE reasons, too.............

[JamesA]

Put in a few armed citizens and add a bonus of a bounty. $50.00 per carcas would be fair.

[wendy1946]

The whole thing including the “War on Drugs(TM)” is a joke. There’s one way and only one way to end this BS: end the “War on drugs(TM)”.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

This is a good situation for the DEA to use UAV’s for aerial surveillance (infrared and heat-sensors) over the parks and forests. Helps to keep our Rangers and law enforcement agents safe.

An attached JDAM or Hellfire wouldn’t hurt either - except the perps.

[BlueDragon]

Walk softly and carry a 30-’06...

[Jabba the Nutt]

I have a question for the prohibitionists, where do you draw the line? What will it take for you to re-consider the wisdom of a policy of prohibition.

Free market economists can correctly predict, what will happen during a prohibition. Prices will rise, the trade in the prohibited products will be taken over by the violent, because there is no turning to the law for protection. That leaves outlaws in control. Corruption of law enforcement, an increase in violence and crime are the inevitable result of a prohibition. It is not a result of any characteristic of the products. The crime, violence and corruption of drug prohibition is not the result of the drugs (or alcohol, or coffee and chocolate in post-war Germany).

Milton Friedman, Rothbard, Hayek and Mises have all written about this. What's the line? What's the limit for the prohibitionists?

[potlatch]

This is the same theme we were talking about earlier.
What happens when an unknowing family decides to go camping in these ‘parklands’? Scary. Perhaps they are warned by the Rangers.

[paul51]

Put in a few armed citizens and add a bonus of a bounty. $50.00 per carcas would be fair

Make that $50,000 per. It would get the job done and still be a deal. I could organize weekend getaway hunting trips with my friends.

[bog trotter]

Nothing new there.
I once worked for USDA Forest Service and was told to be very careful in one area because there were booby-traps guarding the “crop”.
I did, lead to the discovery of one “garden” because of the suspicious behaviour of a fella in the vicinity.
MI is a long way from THAT border and, like I said, it was a while or two ago.

[Mobilemitter]

Waleese the Wabbits!!!!

[Mobilemitter]

Waleese the Wabbits!!!

[devolve]

.

If I run across violent growers or drug dealers

I will neither shovel or scoot

I will “disappear” them

If you do not like the law - vote to get it changed legally

If you break a drug law or attempt to get a relative or friend of mine involved in drugs in any way

I will personally see you go away

Think .44-40 Blue Glasers

[Moe Tzadik]

Mexican drug gangs are quietly commandeering U.S. public land to grow millions of marijuana plants and using smuggled immigrants to cultivate them

That can't be, they're just "ordinary moms & dads" "doing jobs Americans won't do."

Thanks Jorgé.

[Claytonbridge]

Where are the enviros and greenies, why aren’t they hiking and camping in there with their attorneys?????

[hinckley buzzard]

Any soldier can tell you that a defensive obstacle against the enemy, such as barbed wire, minefield, defile, must be covered with automatic weapons fire to be effective. Put up the fence, sow the interval fields with antipersonnel mines, and cover them with automatic weapons. the first bunch of enemy that decided to invade across the border would be cut down and left in place to rot. the scum who came to loot the bodies would meet a similar fate. The war on drugs would be played out on a whole new level in about 48 hours.

[BobMV]

This is partly a result of the insane “war on drugs”. Let anybody grow it and the problem goes away.