January 24, 2008
Thomasville -- Drug agents are about to get busy. We are approaching the start of the marijuana growing season, and their work is cut out for them.
Narcotics Vice Division Commander Kevin Lee says these are stalks from one of the biggest marijuana plants ever found by Thomas County drug agents. It stood at around 16 feet tall.
"Hadn't seen those in years, once you have a couple of big busts like that people kind of get scared off," he said.
Even so, Lee says they know there's still marijuana growing activity going on. "We've made arrests on homegrown marijuana, it was already packaged to sell. We knew they grew it earlier in the year, but we didn't catch them. So we know there's evidence."
Despite the risk of outdoor plants being seen, during marijuana season, many growers prefer it over indoor operations.
"You have to buy grow lights, it boosts your electricity bill, its just usually more expensive."
Lee says usually they're sneaking on to other people's property to grow the plants. "If they find a wooded area that has water near it, and people are going to and from a lot they'll use those."
Lee says they heavily count on concerned citizens reporting unusual behavior to catch the growers, so keep your eyes peeled.
The Governors task force also helps by flying around the state looking for marijuana plants.
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