Marijuana Grows

[MG Mason]

I know this may be a sensitive subject and I don't want to get into too much controversy. I'm just wondering if any of you guys see this kind of thing very much. I've been hunting and fishing in CA since the early nineties and only once deer hunting on a deer lease in the coast range we had when I was kid did I run into an illegal grow. I have young kids now so I don't get out as much as I used to but still fish when I can at the higher elevations and the American River here in town. Is this an issue that worries anyone else?

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cartel...194700553.html

[SeanO]

Epidemic problem in the Trinity basin.

[Ben J]

Agree with SeanO. I bumped into a garden in Trinity National Forest. The plants had been planted in a series of gravel bars that followed a few bends within a creek bed and were definitely close to harvest. Had me nervous but i got out of there without any run-ins. I have to imagine I was being watched.

I've also seen plenty of stems and trim dumped all over USFS land out that way. Pretty sad stuff, not just the illegal water use but land degradation as well as nasty rodenticides making their way into the food chain.

[cdevine]

I've gone on some pretty cool excursions deep in the American River system way above Foresthill and I've had a few people tell me that I was crazy due to likely cartel grow areas. I chalk it up to being a little naïve at the time and fortunately I didn't run into anybody or anything. I think the real damage is like above poster mentioned with the environmental impacts. (devastating)

In terms of safety how many people have been killed/hurt in Norcal fishing or hunting due to walking into a grow area?

The economics will need to change more for it to stop. CA has the most people and probably consumes the most pot but we also grow a crap more than we need to service illegal areas that still command high prices. (where the cartel comes in).

If possible use the buddy system and very accurate trail plan. Be safe.

[yubaman]

This is big in Trinity and Eel River areas. It is no longer just the locals. Back in the 80's, when I was firefighting with CDF, we came across a couple of grow areas while fighting wildland fires in Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Apparently the operations have mushroomed.

[ryeflyguy]

A family member who owns some property in the Upper Sac watershed found someone had been growing marijuana on their land. A friend who manages a ranch along the Feather River near Yuba City has also encountered the same problem, apparently jetskis were used to bring in supplies along the river. Think it's safe to say the problem is everywhere.

[MG Mason]

Thanks for the feedback. I agree it's a problem but take some comfort in what cdevine mentions--that we're not hearing about too many people getting hurt for accidentally stumbling upon one.

[Jeff F]

I've ran across a few in my day. Most of the time, you never see the actual plants. But if you see plastic pipes around a stream in the middle of nowhere, that's a telltale sign of a grow nearby.

Most of the actual grows we've seen have been on properties where there is a house. Eric O. and I made a wrong turn on a dirt road in Big Bend on the Pit River last year. Saw a huge "garden", and got the hell outta there pronto! And there's no shortage of grows in and around Orleans on the Klamath. (shocker, huh?)

The grows you have to be wary of are the ones where there's no "civilization" around. Those are the types that have the potential for cartel involvement. The ones near houses are not a big deal. If we saw them, I'm sure the local sheriff has seen them too, and obviously don't care. But pipes down in the bowels of the MF Yuba or similar canyons, only mean one thing......illegal grow. And those pipes aren't for mining! Just gotta use common sense.

[TaylerW]

I have spent a ton of time in the same hills and have only found one small illegal grow. I have had words with illegal miners many times though.....

I've gone on some pretty cool excursions deep in the American River system way above Foresthill and I've had a few people tell me that I was crazy due to likely cartel grow areas. I chalk it up to being a little naïve at the time and fortunately I didn't run into anybody or anything. I think the real damage is like above poster mentioned with the environmental impacts. (devastating)

In terms of safety how many people have been killed/hurt in Norcal fishing or hunting due to walking into a grow area?
The economics will need to change more for it to stop. CA has the most people and probably consumes the most pot but we also grow a crap more than we need to service illegal areas that still command high prices. (where the cartel comes in).

If possible use the buddy system and very accurate trail plan. Be safe.

[JAWallace]

If you look closely at the tax structure for the legal commercial grows, it gets stepped on twice with excise taxes and once for sales tax. There are some who feel the end retail pricing will be so high that the black market will flourish, especially with the expected increase in usage, amount unknown of course.