From: [b--r--e] at [rcf.rsmas.miami.edu] (Charlie Byrne)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.drugs
Subject: Poor Cal. Cops Can't Stop Pot
Date: 3 Sep 1993 11:26:31 GMT

Ecomony to be downfall of WOD? Hopefully. Read on.
BTW, if these druggies are such villians, why do the cops care if they are
shooting ech other? Cheaper than jail! Although it is not clear in this article
who precisely is causing the violence.
==============================================================================
	UKIAH, California (UPI) -- Authorities said Thursday there has been a
noticeable increase in both violence and the size of the harvest this
year in California's Emerald Triangle, a region known for illegal
marijuana cultivation.
	Sgt. Ron Cadillo, a member of the County of Mendocino Marijuana
Eradication Team (COMMET), said budget cutbacks to his strike force and
the end of the state's seven-year drought have both had an impact on the
illegal industry.
	``We are just not in the hills like we used to be,'' he said. ``Over
the last two weeks we've seen a marked increase in violence. We had one
homicide in a marijuana field and two other shooting incidents.''
	An outbreak of violence in the early 1980s forced local politicians
to form COMMET. At its height, the unit was made up of nine full-time
employees. This year, cutbacks have reduced the staff to two full time
deputies and another part-time employee.
	Cutbacks have also affected the amount of assistance the unit gets
from both state and federal drug agencies.
	Cadillo said cutbacks on all levels have not gone unnoticed by
marijuana growers. He said crop yields appear to be larger than in the
recent past with some plots now averaging 3,000 to 6,000 plants.

"Copyright 1993 by <UPI>
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