Top federal prosecutor vows new crackdown on pot farms

[Newsjock]

Source: Sacramento Bee

Warning that there is a new "green rush" of people flocking to California to exploit the market for marijuana, the top federal prosecutor in the Sacramento region promised a crackdown today on huge pot farms on agricultural land in the Central Valley.

Benjamin Wagner, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, said his office is not interested in prosecuting sick people using medical marijuana. But he warned that the "unregulated free for all" that has allowed marijuana growers and merchants to make fortunes must come to an end, and he said in the coming months a new focus will be made on pot farms in the valley.

"There's been a proliferation of these large commercial grows on farmland, especially in the southern part of the valley from Stanislaus County down to Kern County," Wagner said at an appearance before the Sacramento Press Club. "And these grows are often tens of thousands of marijuana plants.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/crime/archives/2012/02/top-federal-prosecutor-vows-new-crackdown-on-pot-farms.html

[orpupilofnature57]

1. Lets tax it ,not regulate it

[villager]

2. isn't hemp generally better for soil that a lot of the pesticide-laden monocultures currently

...being grown there?

[IamK]

14. thats what pot heads claim....

[Bennyboy]

15. Dumb.

Way to demonize it and keep the negative stereotypes in place.

Actually HEMP Is so much better than any crop you can grow in regards to water usage, pesticides and fungicide usage and the fact that hemp does not deplete the ground as quickly as other crops.,

[villager]

16. hmm... the only one making ridiculous "claims" here -- and using names to do it - is you

n/t

[frylock]

17. what do dick heads claim?

[rhett o rick]

18. Getting a little daring arent you? nm

[naaman fletcher]

3. notice that he doesn't actually say why this is a problem. nt.

[Dont call me Shirley]

4. "But he warned that the "unregulated free for all" that has allowed

marijuana growers and merchants to make fortunes must come to an end"

Translation: "The top richest people will not allow regular folk to siphon fortunes away from their illegal drug selling monopoly."

[FreakinDJ]

5. DING DING DING - We have a Winner

[midnight]

7. I think so....

[RC]

6. Real crime in California must be way down.

[FailureToCommunicate]

8. If US Attorney Wagner is gung ho to round up criminals, maybe he should come East

to visit Wall Street.

[99th_Monkey]

10. Well, of course. People shouldn't be allowed to "make fortunes" by growing a natural medicine

They should be working on Wall Street instread, where crooks and criminals are completely free
to destroy peoples lives and communities for profit. snort.

[lunasun]

11. Yes this is the biggest federal problem

we have right now

[Tripod]

12. Just leagalize it, come on.

Last edited Wed Feb 29, 2012, 03:05 AM - Edit history (1)

I haven't smoked pot for a long time, but it isn't a bad drug, infact it's good in alot of ways. Our whole society would change if we ended prohibition here.

[Kennah]

13. Top federal prosecutor vows new crackpot down on farms

I think that was the intended headline

[orpupilofnature57]

19. The comments were unintentional

[alp227]

20. Wagner should look elsewhere in his district and crack down on FACTORY farms!

[sarcasmo]

21. Legalize now!