PART 5 – Marijuana Eradication; T.N.T. Style

Stanislaus National Forest, CA — Question to be answered; can success be measured in the state of California´s battle against the Mexican drug trafficking cartel´s insistance of planting, nurturing, harvesting and distributing marijuana?

Department of Justice Special Agent from the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement Ryan Pontecorvo states that in 2006 a total of 1.6 million marijuana plants were eradicated statewide. The street value of those plants was estimated at $6.7 billion. The Mexican drug trafficking cartel utilizes those funds to fuel their methamphetamine trade which originates in Mexican “super labs.”

In Tuolumne County a record 83,000 plus marijuana plants were eradicated in 2006. Through August 1 of this year T.N.T. had destroyed 47,508 plants including the July 20 single-day record of 15,145 plants in the Stanislaus National Forest. Case Agent Jarrod Pippin states that, “as we´re able to acquire more resources, we´ll be able to destroy even more plants during the growing season of April through September.”

The parties involved in the July 20 Stanislaus National Forest operation included the Tuolumne Narcotics Team (T.N.T.), C.A.M.P. (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) agents from the state, the Sonora Police Department, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and CAL FIRE.

Written by Bill Johnson