Monday, August 31, 2009

Mexican drug cartels cultivating marijuana in US National Parks

Officials from the Drug Enforcement Administration have stated that Mexican drug cartels are increasingly using US National Parks for growing marijuana. In the past several months Federal agents have seized nearly $55 million worth of marijuana from National Parks such as Sequoia National Park in California, California's Point Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate National Recreational Area, a site in Idaho, and most recently in Colorado's Pike National Park.

I guess the DEA didn't get the memo that linking marijuana grow ops in National Parks to Mexican drug cartels is "discriminatory" racial profiling. Washington Times

Authorities say they have seen an increase in outdoor marijuana operations run by Mexican drug cartels. In the past several months, federal agents have found nearly $55 million worth of pot plants in national parks and on federal lands in California, Colorado and Idaho.

On Thursday, authorities closed a section of Sequoia National Park in California so they could destroy marijuana plants discovered near a cave filled with crystals that is a popular tourist stop. Most of the marijuana already had been harvested. Authorities estimated the plants were worth more than $36 million.

In June, federal authorities seized 2,250 marijuana plants from California's Point Reyes National Seashore and Golden Gate National Recreational Area. That same month, hikers in Idaho found a site with 12,545 pot plants.

In the most recent Colorado case, the marijuana was found in "the remote, rugged terrain" of Pike National Forest, which is about 60 miles southwest of Denver. The DEA said it is the largest outdoor marijuana-growing operation ever found in Colorado, with an estimated value of $5 million.

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