Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 28, 1993 TAG: 9303280016
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: E-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Large marijuana crops - many with sophisticated irrigation systems, high-intensity lighting and plants nearly 6 feet tall - are increasingly being found in Washington-area homes, police say.
"You'll have a room that's a starter room," Fairfax County police Capt. Burt D. Siders said. "We've seen as many as five rooms with different stages."
Those indoor farms reflect a major shift in the way marijuana is grown in the United States, according to Drug Enforcement Administration officials.
"We have seen a trend to move more of the domestically grown marijuana indoors," said Robert C. Bonner, a DEA administrator. "Marijuana is more potent than ever."
Although marijuana continues to be the most abused illegal drug in the country, Bonner says, the number of users has declined in recent years.
Most domestic marijuana is still grown outside, but the number of indoor farms, known as hydroponic growing operations, shut down nationwide has climbed steadily, from 1,077 in 1986 to 3,849 last year, according to the DEA. More than half of the marijuana used in the United States is imported, primarily from Mexico.
Of the 3,849 indoor farms shut down last year, 71 were in Virginia and 34 were in Maryland. The problem has not been seen in the district.
Last June, Prince William County police searched a house in Dale City and found the largest indoor operation ever discovered in the county. They discovered a crop of 73 marijuana plants, some nearly 6 feet tall, estimated to be worth $146,000.
High-intensity grow lamps, aimed at the marijuana plants night and day, dangled from the ceiling. In one room, the walls were covered with aluminum foil to reflect the heat onto the plants. Climate-control devices kept the temperature around 95 degrees.
"As soon as you walked in the door, it hit you," Prince William County Detective Brian Wing said. "It felt like a rain forest."
By manipulating the growing season with high-intensity lights and applying advanced irrigation, cultivation and harvesting techniques, marijuana farmers are producing a much stronger drug than was available 20 years ago.
by CNB