[OG Kush]

Late August means two things in rural areas around Glens Falls -- time for the county fair, and time to start ripping up marijuana plants.

An unusually hot and wet July made for ideal marijuana growing conditions this year, and police expect to find a bumper crop when they start taking to the woods and fields to pull up plants.

"We're hearing it's a great crop," said Saratoga County Undersheriff Michael Woodcock. "It was jungle-like weather, and it is a tropical plant."

With its prodigious farmland, Washington County has long been one of the biggest producers of marijuana in the Northeast, though the advent of indoor growing operations has led to a drop in seizures over the past decade or so. In the early 1990s, 10,000 to 15,000 plants were pulled up annually in the county.

The agricultural areas of Saratoga County have also been significant pot-producers over the years.
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This summer, local police will be able to employ a new, old weapon in the search for illicit pot patches.

They will have access to a helicopter this year, the first time in several years in Washington County that officers have been able to get airborne to better find marijuana hidden in corn fields, woods and other areas that can't be seen from roads.

For years, the Army National Guard provided a helicopter and manpower to local sheriff's departments for annual fly-overs.

However, the ongoing military actions in the Middle East, and specifically the resulting lack of qualified helicopter pilots, have prevented the Washington County Sheriff's Department from taking to the air in recent years.

But this year, the newly organized Northern Branch of the Capital District Drug Task Force -- which is in charge of drug enforcement in Washington, Saratoga and Warren counties -- will have access to a State Police helicopter to look for marijuana, said Washington County Undersheriff Matthew Mabb. Mabb said it was "too early to say" how big the crop will be, but the weather seemed to be optimal for a heat- and moisture-loving plant like marijuana.

Glens Falls had nearly double the normal rainfall in July, along with two heat waves that saw temperatures rise well into the 90s.

"We're hearing it's going to be a pretty good year," said Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell.

Cambridge was the site of the biggest seizure so far this summer, when State Police pulled up 103 plants last month in the hamlet of Center Cambridge.


Newshawk: SX420 - 420Girls.com
Source: 420Times.com
Pubdate: 08/22/2006
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