USDA warns against growing marijuana on U.S. forest lands
September 30, 2013 | 04:50 PM
Although the Justice Department has said it will not block marijuana legislation laws in Colorado or Washington state, late last week the Agriculture Department’s U.S. Forest Service warned that growing marijuana on national forest lands is still illegal and issued guidance for tourists who may encounter a marijuana growing site on how to handle the situation.
“Growing marijuana on national forest lands will not be tolerated,” Scott Fitzwilliams, forest supervisor for the White River National Forest in Colorado, said in a blog post on the USDA website last Thursday. “These cultivation sites cause significant resource damage and endanger visitors who may stumble upon a large amount of marijuana with a large street value.”
On August 29, Deputy Attorney General James Cole sent U.S. attorneys guidance that the Justice Department will not focus on the legalized growing or distribution of marijuana in those states that have legalized it as long as the state governments maintain “robust” systems of regulation that prevent distribution to children and revenue going to organized crime.
But Justice also warned that cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance — the most tightly regulated type of drug under federal law — and that people who use, grow or sell marijuana remain at risk for prosecution.
Fitzwilliams used the discovery of marijuana growing in the White River forest as an example of federal policy and guidance. Noting that two hunters recently encountered a site near Redstone, Colo., that contained 3,375 marijuana plants with an estimated value of $8.4 million, Fitzwilliams said Forest Service crews using helicopters removed the plants, dismantled the irrigation system and removed items left in a make-shift camp used by the growers.
No arrests have been made and the case remains under investigation, he said.
Fitzwilliams urged tourists to back away from any marijuana growing sites and report the location to officials, but warned that any encounter with marijuana growers could be dangerous.
He also posted the following “clues” that identify a marijuana cultivation site:
“Growing marijuana on national forest lands will not be tolerated,” Scott Fitzwilliams, forest supervisor for the White River National Forest in Colorado, said in a blog post on the USDA website last Thursday. “These cultivation sites cause significant resource damage and endanger visitors who may stumble upon a large amount of marijuana with a large street value.”
On August 29, Deputy Attorney General James Cole sent U.S. attorneys guidance that the Justice Department will not focus on the legalized growing or distribution of marijuana in those states that have legalized it as long as the state governments maintain “robust” systems of regulation that prevent distribution to children and revenue going to organized crime.
But Justice also warned that cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance — the most tightly regulated type of drug under federal law — and that people who use, grow or sell marijuana remain at risk for prosecution.
Fitzwilliams used the discovery of marijuana growing in the White River forest as an example of federal policy and guidance. Noting that two hunters recently encountered a site near Redstone, Colo., that contained 3,375 marijuana plants with an estimated value of $8.4 million, Fitzwilliams said Forest Service crews using helicopters removed the plants, dismantled the irrigation system and removed items left in a make-shift camp used by the growers.
No arrests have been made and the case remains under investigation, he said.
Fitzwilliams urged tourists to back away from any marijuana growing sites and report the location to officials, but warned that any encounter with marijuana growers could be dangerous.
He also posted the following “clues” that identify a marijuana cultivation site:
- The smell of marijuana, especially on hot days, is like a skunk.
- Hoses or drip lines located in unusual or unexpected places.
- A well-used trail where there shouldn’t be one.
- Voices coming from an unusual place.
- People standing along roads without vehicles present, or in areas where loitering appears unusual.
- Grow sites are usually found in isolated locations, in rough steep terrain (typically between 500 to 5,500 feet in elevation.)
- Camps containing cooking and sleeping areas with food, fertilizer, weapons, garbage, rat poison or dead animals.
- Small propane bottles for cooking to avoid wood smoke detection.
- Individuals armed with rifles out of hunting season.
