Marijuana Being Grown On National Forest Service Property

A helicopter from the Tennessee Governor's Marijuana Eradication Task Force was instrumental in the location of a pot farm being cultivated in the Cherokee National Forest in Unicoi County, TN.

The Johnson City Press reports that the aircraft spotted the plants in rugged terrain near Temple Hill, TN. The 4- to 5-foot tall plants had been growing along a steep ridge in three well-cultivated plots of about 1/10 acre each, according to the Unicoi County Sheriff's office.

Authorities moved in quickly to cut down the plants. Sheriff Mike Hensley said that once the plots were spotted by the aircraft, they have to work fast because the growers have seen the helicopter and know their time is limited. Hensley said that the growers had obviously been "doing this for a while and knew what they were doing."

The plants, had they been allowed to mature, would have had a street value of about $1.2 million, Hensley said. He added that they are pursuing leads in the case, and that the federal government may become involved because the plants were being grown on federal land.

(U.S. Forest Service map)

FMI: www.tbi.tn.gov/Drug_invest/gov_task.shtml