T.N.T. Closes Down Marijuana Eradication Season

Sonora, CA — For all intents and purposes the 2007 marijuana eradication season has come to an end for the Tuolumne Narcotics Team.

And this year proved to be another record setting year for Detective Jarrod Pippin and his team. A little more than 107,000 plants were eradicated as compared to 82,000 plants just a year ago.

These grows are anything but “mom and pop” operations. They are highly organized operations orchestrated by three Mexican families according to Ron Pugh, Special Agent for the U.S. Forest Service – Pacific Southwest Region 5.

Calaveras County eradicated a little more than 34,000 plants this year.

Last year state funded C.A.M.P. (Campaign Against Marijuana Planting) eradicated close to 1.6 million plants taking more than $6 billion out of the hands of the families responsible for marijuana grows in California, Oregon and Washington.

This year the total plants eradicated in California will be closed to three million. One marijuana plant with the proper level of THC can be worth $4,000 on the street. Marijuana remains California´s Number One cash crop. According to C.A.M.P. Special Agent Ryan Pontecorvo the families use the revenue from the sale of illegal marijuana to fuel their methamphetamine super labs in Mexico.

Written by Bill Johnson