Large Waste of North Carolina Resources to Spot Fields

From April to October hundreds of law enforcement officers across North Carolina continue to use helicopters to spot cannabis growers with no evidence of success and a significant amount of state and federal money spent. According to the Raleigh News & Observer July 27, 2008 article,("Helicopters Help Root Out Pot Growers") "The Marijuana Eradication Program is a joint effort that uses federal funds, state-owned aircraft and county sheriff's officers to find and destroy marijuana plants. After more than three decades, investigators say, the program has helped bring about a change in the illicit industry: Local growers have begun to move their operations indoors, out of the sight of aerial spotters, leaving only tiny plots for pilots to search for in the verdant landscape. When spotters do find a large crop, usually divided into parcels over several acres where the landowners are unaware of their presence, investigators think the plants are often being tended as part of an organized criminal effort."

The article states, "Pilots for the SBI, the state Highway Patrol and the N.C. National Guard try to fly in each of the state's 100 counties at least once during the growing season. Marine Patrol aircraft also help with the work. They scan places where investigators have found pot in the past, as well as those where their detective work suggests it might be growing now. It's an old-fashioned form of sleuthing that works best against a low-tech criminal. Woodard's crews fly their missions from five bases across the state, in an aging fleet of military surplus OH-58 helicopters used for observation during the Vietnam War. His newest helicopter is 36 years old. It costs about $340 an hour to fly the helicopters, which are used mostly for search and rescue and other functions. When they're flying for the marijuana eradication program, the SBI is reimbursed from an annual grant from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. This year's grant was $290,000."

The article adds, "North Carolina consistently ranks in the top 10 among states in the number of marijuana plants seized through aerial reconnaissance. But the seizures vary from year to year; last summer's severe drought is thought to have reduced the marijuana crop." Year and Number of plants seized: 2001 -89,176 2002 -111,933 2003 -34,283 2004 -35,959 2005 -70,882 2006 -101,489 2007 -16,368 2008 - so far, more than 40,000 (STATE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION)