The Great Marijuana Boom

[Keith Millea]

Yup - heavily armed narcs are no longer running through the hills screaming "War on Drugs!!!!"

Well,there are still heavily armed officials running through the hills.And the Feds have just allocated a bunch of money for a crackdown in Southern Oregon.It's gonna be war as usual.

Some backround might help here.The reason that there is this big boom in growing is because of the medical marijuana dispenseries that are popping up everywhere in California.Here in Oregon there is a ballot measure for this years election that would enable dispenseries to sell to patients.Currently there are over 20,000 medical marijuana patients in Oregon,and if you can't grow yourself,or have a designated care giver(grower),you are forced to buy off the street.So the dispenseries are fundalmental to medical marijuana.This is also how the local governments are able to tax the pot,through the dispenseries.

The one big hook in all this is the Mexican gangs that are becoming more involved.These guys go out and plant patches that are obscenely large.It's not uncommon to hear of patches that have 1,000 plants or more.Where as local growers might plant up to maybe 100 plants.Most here plant relatively close to the allowable number.It's these Mexican growers that need to be busted.Of course,the Mexicans rarely get caught because they are transient.The local growers live in the communities,and are therefore vunerable.It's still all pretty wild out here in the west,everything changes,everything remains the same.I love it!!!!