Local and state drug enforcement officials took to the air Monday to take a bite out of illegal drug trade in Lawrence County.

Tuesday, July 18, 2000

Local and state drug enforcement officials took to the air Monday to take a bite out of illegal drug trade in Lawrence County.

The Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification, the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources launched a summer search for marijuana cultivation in the county Monday with a day-long flight over the county’s hills and fields.

"We are looking for outdoor growths that you can see from the air," Sheriff Roy Smith said. "We will be flying at various times throughout the summer acting on tips and information we have already gathered. BCI & I works directly out of the attorney general’s office and has been involved in illegal growth since 1982. They almost always work with us in finding the plants."

Officers used an Ohio Department of Transportation helicopter to try to spot the patches.

Smith said the Ohio National Guard and the Ohio Highway Patrol occasionally join in a team effort to halt illegal cultivation of marijuana.

And finding the plants is not always easy, Smith added.

Marijuana growers place the plant in various locations with heavy vegitation so they are hard to see from the air, he said.

"Often, those growing marijuana like to plant it on state property or under trees on even their own property that makes it a little more difficult to see from the air," he said. "They also like to plant it on the back 40 (acres) of an older person’s property to avoid it being caught on their own property."

Smith said finding larger concentrations of plants is becoming less common.

Growers tend to choose smaller patches.

"In recent years, we are finding that people are planting 30-50 plants in a thicket that you can’t see very well from the air," he said. "They rarely plant in huge patches like we used to find. Now, they are growing it in patches that are less obvious. We can still find it in the air despite what they do."

He said officers can spot marijuana from the air usually very easily because of its distinct coloration.

"People will try about anything to grow this stuff and what they don’t realize is that we can still see it from the air," he said. "Marijuana has a color that catches your attention from the air. Some patches are more obvious than others, but we can still find the patches that are hidden."