Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Civil Liberties

Feds Destroy $1 Billion in Pot to Celebrate Final Season of Weeds!

Nick Gillespie | 8.22.2012 2:00 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Well, not exactly. I mean, there's no Weeds tie-in.

Under the watchful eye of a president who once mastered the mystic art of "Total Absorption" (deep breathing while smoking dope), federal agents have recently completed the godawfully named Operation Mountain Sweep.

Take it away, CNN:

More than $1 billion worth of marijuana has been uprooted from federal lands during a two-month operation targeting illegal pot farms, federal authorities announced Tuesday.

Operation Mountain Sweep has resulted in the destruction of  578,000 marijuana plants, Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, said in a press release.

The operation, involving agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as local agencies,  targeted growing sites on public lands in seven Western states –Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Operation Mountain Sweep? Was Operation Wacky-Tobacky already taken? It's bad enough that this sort of shit happens, but can't the government at least put a little thought into the stupid names it uses? A whopping 14 people in California have been indicted which is like, wow, man, a really sharp use of scarce tax dollars.

But you know, it's not just about the reefer, CNN reminds us. There are other casualties when folks grow pot in state and federal parks:

Besides producing an illegal crop, the pot farms can do long-term damage to public lands by destroying trees and vegetation, introducing chemicals and pesticides, diverting water sources, and generating large amounts of trash.

Whole thing here, courtesy of Twitter feed of Roland Martin.

Now more than ever, legalize pot - a.k.a. "the Hula Hoop of the Jet Generation"! - already. Click below for details and a background track that will send your spirits soaring.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Bath Salts Face Off

Nick Gillespie is an editor at large at Reason and host of The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie.

Civil LibertiesCultureWar on DrugsMarijuanaPoliceDrug PolicyDrugs
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (34)

Latest

No, It Wasn't Ironic That Second Amendment Advocate Charlie Kirk Was Shot

J.D. Tuccille | 9.15.2025 7:00 AM

AI Chatbots Might Already Be Better Than Humans at Debating

Ronald Bailey | From the October 2025 issue

Brickbat: Stoking Eire

Charles Oliver | 9.15.2025 4:00 AM

Desi Arnaz's Revolution Was Televised

Steven Kurtz | 9.14.2025 6:00 AM

Florida Applies for Federal Reimbursement for 'Alligator Alcatraz' Costs Despite Court Warning

C.J. Ciaramella | 9.13.2025 7:00 AM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300