NCJ Number
111728
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 55 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1988) Pages: 24-28
Date Published
1988
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The program to eradicate both cultivated and uncultivated marijuana growing in Indiana fields has significantly reduced the uncultivated supply and forced growers to grow their marijuana plants in greenhouses.
Abstract
Marijuana, also known as wild hemp, is still flourishing in parts of Indiana due to the Federal Government's program to grow hemp commercially for rope during World War II. Fallen seeds from the female plant can lay dormant for up to 7 years before germinating. Drug dealers are aware of this wild marijuana, and they send harvesters to find and secure the plants for use in drug markets. The eradication effort is a joint project of the State Police and the Farm Bureau. Citizens report sightings of marijuana to the Farm Bureau and the State Police. Plants are destroyed with herbicide applied by Farm Bureau members, and a police officer verifies that the marijuana has been eradicated. Each site is reinspected annually. Helicopters purchased with Federal monies are used to locate patches of marijuana from the air. The program has been successful in thwarting growers' attempts to cultivate marijuana and harvesters' efforts to collect their crop. The eradication effort intends to eliminate all uncultivated marijuana and make it as difficult as possible for growers to cultivate their crop undetected.