| DEA Statement |
Response |
| Marijuana is the most widely used and readily available drug in the United
states, and the only drug of abuse grown within our borders. DEA's Domestic Cannabis
Eradication and Suppression Program is a partnership of Federal, state and local agencies
that strives to rid the nation of this drug. |
It ought to be obvious even to the DEA that no effort on their part is
going to rid the nation of marijuana. |
| Begun in 1979 in Hawaii and California, the Domestic Cannabis Eradication
and Suppression Program is now active in all 50 states. It is the only nationwide program
that exclusively addresses marijuana. DEA coordinates the program by completing Letters of
Agreement grant-like funding contracts with state and local law enforcement agencies in
response to their plans of action. Many of the funds are spent for fuel for aerial
operations, aircraft rental, and overtime payments for state and local law enforcement
officers working on eradication operations. |
Without the millions of users of marijuana as targets, it is obvious that
the small number of other drug users would not justify the tremendous expenditures and law
enforcement resources behind the war on some drugs. |
| The program is successful because the shared intelligence, technology, and
manpower, multiplies each participating organization's effectiveness. In 1995, the program
was responsible for eradicating over three million cultivated marijuana plants. |
Again, the DEA overinflates their "success" just as the military
inflated the body counts to show their "success" in Vietnam. The truth is
that many of the three million plants were essentially seedlings of no real value. |
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| The program's success has created new challenges. Marijuana growers
moved their operations indoors as law enforcement eradicated outdoor fields. Sophisticated
indoor growing techniques including computerized irrigation and hydroponic cultivation
have led to marijuana crops of unprecedented high potency. DEA and cooperating agencies
meet the challenge of increased indoor cultivation operations by employing advanced
technologies, such as thermal imaging, to build effective cases against violators. The
goal of the Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression program is to assist all states
to eradicate marijuana while building comprehensive cases leading to the arrest and
prosecution of the growers. |
Just like alcohol prohibition, the producers of the illicit product have
become more sophisticated to counter the enforcement effort. |
DRCNet Response to the 
