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Civil Liberties

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

Nick Gillespie | 8.22.2012 2:00 PM

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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.

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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
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  1. Chloe   13 years ago

    "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."

    Geez, so can building !!!ROADZZZ!!!, but CNN keeps telling me that I should be grateful for that and let the government do what it wants.

  2. SIV   13 years ago

    This is not the famous bass fisherman. It is some homophobic journalist

  3. sarcasmic   13 years ago

    Nothing quite like the destruction of wealth to make society prosperous!

  4. Fist of Etiquette   13 years ago

    Who wrote this post? Showtime???

  5. John   13 years ago

    Mary Louise Parker is all over the over 45 class. She is 48 and damn does she look good.

    1. Alex   13 years ago

      Somewhere there's a painting of her that looks like shit.

    2. ShagNasty   13 years ago

      Yeah dude I won a $10 bet with my brother thanks to this woman looking 15 years younger than she really is. Shes seriously WAY more attractive at 48 than most women will ever be in their entire miserable lives.

    3. Scruffy Nerfherder   13 years ago

      Does she attend cougar conventions?

  6. o3   13 years ago

    wonder if production's down anyways due to all the wildfires?

  7. Fluffy   13 years ago

    OT: Brown pulling away from Warren in MA

    http://www.realclearpolitics.c.....picks=true

    If the real Cherokee had the Trail of Tears, does that mean that fake Cherokees go on the Trail of Salty Ham Tears?

    1. robc   13 years ago

      Warren pulls 7 percent of Republicans, while Brown takes 97 percent.

      I blame Diebold.

    2. tarran   13 years ago

      This can't be correct. David Wiegel assured me in an article at Slate as to how none of the expose's of her scummy behavior, lack of accomplishments and use of ethnic pandering to get ahead was having an impact.

      1. Enough About Palin   13 years ago

        David Wiegel assured me in an article at Slate as to how none of the expose's of her scummy behavior, lack of accomplishments and use of ethnic pandering to get ahead was having an has no impact.

        1. SIV   13 years ago

          One of these days I'll have so much time to waste I'll wade into the Hampersand time machine and harvest some embarrassing quotes from those who defended Weigel's "libertarian cred" to those of us who pinned him as a TEAM BLUE hack from the get-go.

    3. tarran   13 years ago

      BTW, I don't know what the brainiacs behind Warren's latest ad push are thinking. Outside of the 495 loop, I'm pretty certain about 75% of the people who see her ads see the rank hypocritical concern trolling she's engaging in. I think that her campaign is actually setting her negatives in stone.

      1. sarcasmic   13 years ago

        When is Howie doing another Death Pool?

      2. Randian   13 years ago

        Can you link to some video? I want to see this.

        1. sarcasmic   13 years ago

          Here

          http://bit.ly/NlhHRD

          1. Randian   13 years ago

            Does that give me the "latest ad push"?

            Yeah, I thought not.

            You couldn't even be sarcastic right. Maybe you should change your name.

      3. tarran   13 years ago

        The ad that puts my TV in danger of dismemberment or death.

    4. Randian   13 years ago

      If the real Cherokee had the Trail of Tears, does that mean that fake Cherokees go on the Trail of Salty Ham Tears?

      She can have that one tear from Chief "I'm Really From Sicily" Iron Eyes Cody.

      1. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

        Sure, he was a faux indigine, but that sure was one effective PSA.

        Does he get special dispensation, or does he have to get hung up like a Man Called Horse?

        What?!

  8. RightNut   13 years ago

    "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,"

    From how many agencies were involved you were think they were trying to exterminate man-eating Triffids or something. I'm glad American tax dollars go to operations that defend us from evil marijuana plants. Who knows what the pot plants might do if we just, you know, left them alone?!

    1. RBS   13 years ago

      Who knows what the pot plants might do if we just, you know, left them alone?!

      Triffids

    2. LTC(ret) John   13 years ago

      The U.S. Forest Service hired Doctor Who?

      1. tarran   13 years ago

        They hired UNIT, and the Doctor comes with the package.

  9. mad libertarian guy   13 years ago

    Who knows what the pot plants might do if we just, you know, left them alone?!

    You asked.

  10. Paul.   13 years ago

    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

    Is this really necessary to point out? Progressives have long been on board with the Drug War. Do we really need to recruit the already recruited?

  11. Ken Shultz   13 years ago

    I just came back from spending a week up in the Sierras.

    Judging by the people I met on the trails, I can guarantee you this operation didn't make any significant impact.

    1. Scruffy Nerfherder   13 years ago

      Back in the 90's I spent a week up in Kings Canyon. There's nothing quite like making a new friend with a big bag of hash at 12,000 feet.

      1. Ken Shultz   13 years ago

        King's Canyon's amazing.

        I spent a lot of time in Sequoia as well.

        I'd love to live up there.

        I have never been on the trail up there too long.

  12. Alan Vanneman   13 years ago

    "Operation Mountain Sweep has resulted in the destruction of 578,000 marijuana plants," said Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, who ate them all.

    "I was hungy," he explained.

  13. Death Rock and Skull   13 years ago

    "Federal" land rightfully belongs to the first person that homesteads it. The growers should be given a deed since they did something useful.

  14. James Anderson Merritt   13 years ago

    Are you guys getting a kickback from Showtime? I mean, do whatever you need to keep the lights on, as long as nobody is forced to watch commercials or episodes of Weeds at inopportune times, just to access the comment boards.

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