Excellent, Griff.
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With Mexican drug cartels linked to nearly 80% of illegal marijuana-growing operations found on state and federal public lands, national drug czar John Walters said his office is working to free those lands from drug traffickers.
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Out of the 228 marijuana-growing operations found this year on public land, 166 were associated with Mexican national crime organizations, according to figures made public by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
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"Mexican drug cartels are turning our national parks into centers of international drug production and trafficking," Walters said. "Every American should be outraged that parts of their public lands are being held hostage by illegal traffickers."
McGregor Scott, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, said marijuana production operations on public lands used to be a problem associated with "hippies," but have become more deadly with the involvement of Mexican cartels.
These operations, he said, are funded and run by violent and heavily armed individuals who have no regard for life or property.
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BUT
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No arrests were made, but workers who had been growing the plants apparently left in a hurry, he said.
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We didn't catch anyone, even though we knew about the operation and had been watching it for days, but, there were Taco Bell wrappers, so putting 2 and 2 together, as only the feds can do, they must have escaped to Tora Bora.
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The damage to public land and the environment is massive, he said.
"It's an environmental crisis," agreed California Attorney General Bill Lockyer.
Walters said studies show that for every acre used to grow marijuana, 10 acres are damaged or destroyed. It costs taxpayers about $11,000 per acre to repair or restore the land.
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Translation = The sky is falling, the sky is falling......Mo money, give us Mo money.
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Walters said more than 1.1million marijuana plants were eradicated from state and federal public lands in California last year, with an estimated street value of $4.5 million.
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Probably the only truthful statement in the whole damn article. Well below the usual "street value" hype they foist on the public.