California's San Joaquin Valley is one of the most
productive agricultural regions in the country. It is
also where, among the fresh fruits and vegetables,
an estimated half-a-million plants of marijuana are
growing openly, some allegedly being sold for
non-medicinal purposes. "In the last two years, we've seen large-scale
commercial farming operations of marijuana and
explosions of backyard marijuana grows," said
Lieutenant Rick Ko of the Fresno County Sheriff's
Office. Ko says the spike in cannabis cultivation is a
result of California's booming medical marijuana trade. California was the first state to
legalize medical marijuana almost
16 years ago to help people
manage the nausea and pain
associated with serious illnesses
such as cancer and HIV. Law enforcement authorities say
traffickers are hiding behind
California's medical marijuana
laws and distributing the drug
illegally. Although medical
marijuana is prohibited under federal law, 16 states and the
District of Columbia have legalized
use and enforcement of federal
law is often limited to the worst
offenders. In California, Lt. Ko's team is
attempting to limit the abuse of state and local
medical marijuana regulations. "We're looking for the people that are diverting
medical marijuana from legitimate uses to either
organized crime or profiteering activities," Ko said. Some patients in California are getting doctors'
recommendations to grow up to 99 plants of
medical marijuana.
rockcenter.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/05/17/11736464-marijuana-grows-openly-in-california-towns-as-traffickers-hide-behind-laws-police-say

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