War of the weed -Public lands are seeing an explosion in pot growing

[papau]

http://www.latimes.com/features/outdoors/la-os-potfarm9aug09,0,6088271.story?track=tottext

War of the weed
Public lands are seeing an explosion in pot growing, and not by hippies.
By Joe Robinson
Times Staff Writer

August 9, 2005

FAMED for the biggest trees in the world, Sequoia National Park is now No. 1 in another flora department: marijuana growing, with more land carved up by pot growers than any other park.

Parts of Sequoia, including the Kaweah River drainage and areas off Mineral King Road, are no-go zones for visitors and park rangers during the April-to-October growing season, when drug lords cultivate pot on an agribusiness-scale fit for the Central Valley.

"It's so big that we have to focus our resources on one or two areas at a time, because otherwise it's beyond our scope," says Sequoia's lone special agent assigned to the marijuana war, who, for his own safety, can't be identified.

He and two seasonal employees face an army of growers who turn expanses of land set aside as untouched wilderness into contraband cropland. "In a national park everything is protected," notes the agent. "You're not even supposed to take a pine cone. It's beyond what should be acceptable in today's society."<snip>

[Wickerman]

1. legalize it, regulate it, be done w/ threats to the safety of park rangers

prohibition isn't working.

[NicRic]

3. They still have'nt figured it out ??

Only totally ingnorant people, who have no idea on the facts about pot believe it should remain an illegal drug and that anyone should spend time in jail for it. Even many Police Dept. have taken pot off there list of prior use by an applicant being automaticaly disqualified to become an officer. With a liquor store on every other corner ,the idea that a drug coming from a natural grown plant ,that has many proven health benifits still being stigmatized by being grouped in with other illlegal drugs ,is what helps make our young so suspect of our laws and believing the claims of this war on drugs. Its probably the single thing that leads to the frist time use of harder drugs ,not smoking pot ,finding out what a bunch of lies their claims about the dangers of this plant are ! They figure if they are lying about how dangreous pot is ,must be the same with other illegal drugs. Pot has been around forever and will continue to be around ,why dont they just accept this fact and use it to help with drug treatment for other much more harmful drugs and drinking . FYI, I do not smoke pot ,use to ,I quit a few years ago ,however many of my friends still do use it ,and they all lead productive happy lives and earn a honest living ! Stop making criminials out of these people !

[Jamastiene]

2. Endangered Species. Simple as that.

They should hire the drug lords as farmers to keep marijuana from becoming an endangered species. That way the rangers would be out of harm's way and the natural beauty and pristine wilderness of the forest would be protected. Just cause this stupid war on drugs targets mildly intoxicating drugs like marijuana along with super dangerous drugs like meth and heroid doesn't mean we should let marijuana, an endangered species, be destroyed. I say this is a call to action. I wonder if some organization could find a lawyer to look into it. Get marijuana as an endangered species and quit monkeying with pristine wilderness.

[K-W]

4. Just rediculous. Prohibition must end. EOM