The extent of the cartels’ influence in the county was announced last week, when the Sheriff’s Department reported that the “eradication season” ended with record numbers of crop seizures. The department’s Narcotics Bureau discovered 22 grow sites, an increase of 25 percent compared with the year before.
But the size of the grows was more telling: An eradication of 238,335 plants worth roughly $715 million. To put that number in perspective, Sheriff’s Commander Laz Salinos said the yield was enough to average out to about half a plant for every resident in the county. vOfficials from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department say the rise in the number of such grows into national forests can be traced in part to a tightening of the border with Mexico. “I’d say the 350 percent increase of grows this year over last year’s shows that trend,” said Lt. Sonny LeGault of the Sheriff’s Department. “Ironically, it’s easier for the cartels to smuggle the men than the marijuana.”Illegal marijuana farms on public lands have been a fixture in California for more than a decade, but in the past two years, law enforcement has seen a swift expansion of these operations. Drug cartels, based out of Mexico, have established a stronger foothold in the state not only as the increase in border security has stifled smuggling, but also because law enforcement has stepped-up drug eradication in urban and rural areas, forcing traffickers to shift into the seclusion of forests, parks and other public lands.
Additionally, the havoc wrought by drug cartels in Mexico — which reportedly has caused the worst carnage since the Mexican Revolution — has left many of them looking north to a safer, less competitive environment. “There’s more protection here,” explained LeGault, who oversees the drug busts. “We’re not cartel controlled. In this drug market, everyone has their own stake. In Mexico, the violence has reached such proportions that they’re finding heads on the roads. Up here, they can avoid that power struggle.”
Salinos told the Journal that the Mexican cartels are opportunist, selling not only marijuana but also cocaine, meth and heroin, as well as engaging in human trafficking, illegal firearm sales and money laundering. “This is not for medicinal use,” he said of the crop seizures. “This is purely for profit, which can come at a very high price in terms of the public’s safety.”
LeGault said the more marijuana farms, the more dangerous the situation becomes for hikers, campers and other outdoor enthusiasts who may come across growers, some of whom may be armed. “We had a couple of hikers chased out of Pine Canyon last year,” he said. “There is the possibility of a mishap.” He cautioned those who encounter a camp to hike out quickly and call 9-1-1. Visitors who have handheld GPS devices are encouraged to mark the spot.
“The more grows and more illegal activity out in the forest, the greater the chances of people running into these people,” he said. “It’s just like when there are more bears or mountain lions out there — the greater the chance of hikers running into them.” Although incidents of people running into marijuana camps have increased, he noted that growers, attempting to evade detection, plant deep in the forests where most visitors wouldn’t be skilled enough to trek.
“The growers understand the terrain, which makes them hard to capture once you get to their sites,” he said. “What it would take manpower-wise to actually surround and conquer one little garden is much like putting on a military operation.”
Catching the growers
“They have their escape plans,” LeGault said. “They know when the helicopters fly over. When we start putting our people in, they run to predesignated spots via concealed trailheads in the roughed areas.” The growers move out as quickly as they move in, he added. Cartel leaders bring in workers and the equipment under the cover of darkness.Often times, when the marijuana farms are discovered, arrests are rare. The latest string of arrests resulted from increased resources and a more aggressive, sophisticated surveillance because of the suspected homicide associated with the marijuana plantations, LeGault said.
Environmental damage
The environmental damage to public lands is at a crisis point, said John Heil, spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. Every year, it takes millions of dollars to crack down on such criminal agricultural enterprises on state and federal lands, but the Forest Service has little money budgeted to clean up the mess left behind after law enforcement confiscate the crops. With the farms come the dumping of trash, pesticides and poisons that pollute the water supply. Cartels also dam and re-route the water of natural streams and creeks, which damages vegetation and threatens wildlife.The dangers to public safety and the environment came to a head when law enforcement discovered that the 90,000-acre La Brea fire was caused by a faulty propane tank in a marijuana garden. LeGault said the he believes illegal pot farms spark a handful of small fires each year. Some environmental groups, guarded by law enforcement, have volunteered their time to clean up the litter left behind by marijuana camps.
“The camps are filled with the kinds of things you’d have in your house,” said Kim Clark of Habitat Works. “They create makeshift kitchens; they bring in night stands, utensils and electronic equipment.” The environmental group currently plans to solicit volunteers to help clean up in the Los Padres National Forest. They will be backpacking out the leftovers of the camp’s infrastructure out to a nearby flatbed truck for recycling. Clark said the infrastructure of the camps can be complex and can take a weekend or longer to clean up.
v“Growing a marijuana crop takes many months, so the crops have to be guarded from their inception to harvest,” she said. “So the cartels have personnel up there tending and guarding the crop. They’re dealing with a big investment, their annual salaries. So they need a household infrastructure that supports living there.”In past expeditions, the group has encountered drying huts made from logs and chaparral, canopies for shade, propane canisters, containers of pesticides and drip-line irrigation systems that re-route water from the streams directly to the crops. “Almost all of the native chaparral is completely usurped,” Clark lamented. “And when they cut off water, plants and animals die. It also increases competition at other water sources where animals have to seek out water sources they need.” Animals that may eat the marijuana crops are often poisoned or shot, she added.
Officials concede that cracking down on marijuana farms has become a more daunting task. But they point to the success of the recent six-month-long investigation they hope sends a strong message to would-be growers. “Being that this activity seems prevalent mostly in federal lands, it is extremely important that our local law enforcement work with state and federal agencies to maximize our resources and effectively respond to stop this criminal enterprise and apprehend these individuals,’ 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal said.
Pot farms spur debate
The rash of pot farms discovered in the past couple of years has ratcheted up the debate about whether the current law on marijuana causes more problems than it prevents. Law enforcement officials say legalizing marijuana would lead to more use by children, more deaths and injuries and more people driving under the influence — without removing the thriving black market.“It’s not going to stop people from dealing drugs and causing problems,” LeGault said. “We regulate alcohol and tobacco, but there are a lot of problems associated with these drugs. Prescription drugs are legal, and look at how abused they are.” Dan Macallair, associate director of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, thinks otherwise. “You legalize marijuana and you tear away a large portion of that unregulated, underground economy,” he said. “Frankly, they’re only regulated for violence, unless the gangs can come together and reach a truce.”
Macallair said legalizing marijuana would have the similar results that followed from ending the Prohibition. “You eliminated a large piece of the violence,” he said. “Control of all of the other different vices, like prostitution and gambling, didn’t go away, but certainly violence attributed to alcohol distribution in that underground economy, did I have reason to believe we would see the same thing happen.” Jack Clymer of Solvang said he supports the medicinal use of marijuana, but thinks legalizing the drug for recreational use would cause more problems than already exist.
“It’s an addictive drug, and I don’t think it can be controlled,” he said. “You’ve going to have people smoking all day long and getting behind the wheels of vehicles. “People say we could use the money to give to the state. What we should do is let a few politicians hit the unemployment ranks. I don’t think legalizing pot to give our politicians more money to play with is the good answer.” Ronald Challis, also of Solvang, disagreed with him. “It seems to be source of revenue that would benefit us,” he said.” And I also think they waste a lot of time looking for something that’s frankly not that bad.
“I see it the way I look at liquor: It’s legal and it hasn’t destroyed our society. Sure, there are people that abuse it, but then you’re going to have that with anything.”
jfoster@syvjournal.com