home

DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 01:26:54 AM EST
Tags: (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Via NORML:

98 Percent Of All Domestically Eradicated Marijuana Is "Ditchweed," DEA Admits

Washington, DC: More than 98 percent of all of the marijuana plants seized by law enforcement in the United States is feral hemp not cultivated cannabis, according to newly released data by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program and the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.

According to the data, available online here , of the estimated 223 million marijuana plants destroyed by law enforcement in 2005, approximately 219 million were classified as "ditchweed," a term the agency uses to define "wild, scattered marijuana plants [with] no evidence of planting, fertilizing, or tending." Unlike cultivated marijuana, feral hemp contains virtually no detectable levels of THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis, and does not contribute to the black market marijuana trade.

Previous DEA reports have indicated that between 98 and 99 percent of all the marijuana plants eradicated by US law enforcement is ditchweed.

NRML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre criticized the DEA program for spending millions of taxpayers' dollars to predominantly eradicate wild hemp. "The irony, of course, is that industrial hemp is grown legally throughout most the Western world as a commercial crop for its fiber content," he said. "Yet the US government is spending taxpayers' money to target and eradicate this same agricultural commodity."

According to a 2005 Congressional Research Service report, "The United States is the only developed nation in which industrial hemp is not an established crop."

St. Pierre said that most of the hemp plants eradicated by law enforcement are remnants of US-government subsidized crops that existed prior to World War II. "Virtually all wild hemp goes unharvested and presents no legitimate threat to public safety," he said. "As such, it should be of no concern to the federal government or law enforcement."

According to DEA figures, Indiana reported seizing over 212 million ditchweed plants - far more than any other state. Missouri law enforcement confiscated some 4.5 million plants, and Kansas reported eradicating approximately 1.2 million plants. More than half of all states failed to report their ditchweed totals.

California led all 50 states in the number of cultivated cannabis plants eradicated in 2005, with the DEA reporting that more than 2 million plants had been destroyed.

The Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program is a joint federal and state effort funded, in part, by the DEA.

STATE LEADERS:
DITCHWEED ERADICATED (2005)
Indiana (212,441,768 plants confiscated)
Missouri (4,529,695 plants confiscated)
Kansas (1,177,976 plants confiscated)
Wisconsin (272,650 plants confiscated)
Oklahoma (100,736 plants confiscated)

STATE LEADERS:
CULTIVATED CANNABIS** ERADICATED (2005)
California (2,011,277 plants confiscated)
Kentucky (510,502 plants confiscated)
Tennessee (440,362 plants confiscated)
Hawaii (255,113 plants eradicated)
Washington (136,165 plants confiscated)

**DEA footnote: "May include 'tended' ditchweed."

< Site Commenting Problem Update | Anti-Marijuana Cabal to Meet in San Diego >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed | 23 comments (23 topical)
    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#3)
    by zak822 on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:18:20 AM EST
    The report on ditchweed will get a nod and a wink from the mass media. The stories about how much cannabis was eradicated will be trumpeted from the heavens, ensuring that agency funding remains high. It gives them an easy, safe and cheap way to "prove" how effective they are in the War On Drugs. Con artists.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 09:20:09 AM EST
    More like thieves

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#5)
    by cpinva on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 09:20:09 AM EST
    see post in prior thread. i rest my case.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#6)
    by squeaky on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 09:46:12 AM EST
    It is a service that the DEA is doing for those who would pick the ditchweed and try to smoke it. A friend of mine observed a hippie van pull off the side of the road in the 60's, because there was a huge crop of weed growing along side of the road. They yanked several plants up by roots, put them in their van and were promptly arrested by police who were hidden from view. Imagine getting arrested for picking weed that has no THC. The ditchweed eradicators are doing potheads a service, even if they are stupid and wasting taxpayer money. Think of all the jobs that would be lost if the WOD was won or called off. All those drug warriors would probably turn to a life of crime if they became unemployed. It's the same skill set for cops and criminals.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 10:15:34 AM EST
    Hey DEA, I've got some weeds in my front lawn. Could you please come eradicate them?

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 10:15:34 AM EST
    I was amazed and embarrassed to find marijuana growing on my place when I bought it a dozen years ago, and pulled it up as soon as I spotted it. I eventually gave up. Now, if the government would like to come out and pull weeds for me, I'd welcome it! And they can take away all the ragweed if they want it, too!

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 10:15:34 AM EST
    I wish I could post the pictures of the almost quarter million plants eradicated where I work. Ain't none of that was ditchweed, nor was the stuff in the rest of California. Unless of course colas the size of your forearm are considered ditch weed. So unless California makes up less that 1-2% of the marijuana eradicated annually, I'd say the stat was bunk or being misinterpreted.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#9)
    by Patrick on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:10:44 PM EST
    Is there anyone out there in readerland who is entitled to attend and who would be willing to infiltrate and sign up to spread the new techniques and their analysis of the disseminated tricks and treats to the rest of us?
    First off, I think this paragraph was meant to be in the thread related to the HIDTA conference in San Diego, Second, I think doing so should be a crime, especially if the info is used in furtherance of a crime. I certainly hope if this does happen and you do disseminate the information that no gets hurt as a result of your irresponsibility. If that does happen, we'll probably get a chance to meet either in criminal or civil court.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:10:44 PM EST
    And more than half of the 250,000 plants were male, with 0 dollar value. So the take on 125,000 plants valued at 1000 dollers per. 125,000 dollars worth. DEA will tell 12 million dollar haul.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#11)
    by kdog on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:10:44 PM EST
    I wish I could post the pictures of the almost quarter million plants eradicated where I work
    Excuse me while I shed a tear...

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Sep 08, 2006 at 06:10:45 PM EST
    Not for nothing, for Dupont! They are also the reason of the weed ban in the first place, oh yes, the Dupont family where/are nazi backers and tried to install a dictator before WWII.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#13)
    by Aaron on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 02:48:53 AM EST
    In Missouri out in the boonies, the stuff is everywhere. Ever since WW II when farmers were growing hemp to produce rope it's just another weed that springs up every summer, and it's especially common close to railroad tracks, where it was shipped and the seeds were concentrated. Years ago when I was a teenager, a couple of people where I'm from went out and spent the day cutting the stuff, till they had about 1000 pounds, and that evening dumped it in front of the local police department as a joke. They were so stupid, because they were risking 25 years in prison which was I think the penalty for cultivation at the time. You're not supposed to cut the stuff down yourself, because someone could conclude you're harvesting your drug crop, so anyone who wants it removed from their property is supposed to call the Highway Patrol and I guess they will alert the DEA to come out and cut it down. It's really ridiculous. It's also bad if you're trying to cultivate marijuana for smoking, because the pollen from the male plants fertilizes the female plants. So ironically the people who cultivate marijuana outdoors in Missouri in these areas, often spend some time removing the wild hemp from the vicinity. So I guess the people who grow the thousands of tons of weed cultivated in Missouri and Illinois every year call the DEA to come eradicate the wild grass just before spring planting begins. If you're a pot farmer, it must help to assuage suspicion if you're calling the DEA every year to get rid of the nuisance weed.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 09:12:43 PM EST
    Well sure, and the "powers that be" want more and more and more cops so we all can be easy controlled, not less cops! If pot were legalized, they would lose a measure of power, make no mistake about it. Also, the cops are fighting for their jobs, so I don'[t necessarily blame them, but really, is pot really that big a problem in the U.S. that the gov't has to devote such substantial resources to these eradication efforts? THe answer is obviously "No".

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 09:27:27 PM EST
    Is Indiana the ditchweed capital of the United States? So 98% of the domestically eradicated cannabis was ditchweed, and 97.2% of that was Indiana (212,441,768 out of 218,522,825 total ditchweed plants in top five states). So 95.3% of all cannabis eradicated by the DEA was ditchweed in Indiana. Even if I'm generous and assume that the DEA eradicated 100,000 ditchweed plants in each of the other 45 states, that still leaves ditchweed in Indiana to account for over 93% of all eradicated cannabis.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#14)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 09:27:27 PM EST
    here in sw wisc the national guard used to make a big deal about their efforts -pictures of 6 bys loaded over the top front page of the local paper - this allways occured after the plants had gone to seed for some strange reason. now sadly these folks are elsewhere risking their lives.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 09:39:22 PM EST
    If you're a pot farmer, it must help to assuage suspicion if you're calling the DEA every year to get rid of the nuisance weed.
    That is hillarious.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#17)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Sep 11, 2006 at 04:25:37 PM EST
    Someone is not doing something right if its all ditchweed. we have another term for that SHWAG

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#20)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Tue Sep 12, 2006 at 08:39:39 PM EST
    you know what i think... i could careless about the cannabis laws .. because they only condredict themsevles the cia themselves are dealin cocain ... what u dont remember mexico city ?? america is falling apart.. im moving to canada forget this place ... land of the free ... pfff what big BS

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#18)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Wed Sep 13, 2006 at 10:32:55 AM EST
    Marijuana prohibition is a political bludgeon, a blunt instrument used over the years against Latino immigrants, urban blacks, Jazz Musicians, beatniks, hippies, peace activists, and now, AIDS patients. Despite the fact that pot has been used for thousands of years and caused literally 0 deaths, our legal system has institutionalized prohibition because of its political usefulness in targetting "undesirables".

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#19)
    by Wes on Wed Sep 13, 2006 at 10:32:55 AM EST
    if the DEA needs any help, I'm an expert at destroying certain high-potency strains of marijuana.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#21)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Sep 14, 2006 at 06:50:03 PM EST
    it's unfortunate that so many of us are not willing to get off our ass' and do something about it. there is so much support for our beloved plant but we all need to put down the j's, bizzy's(water pipes), blunt's, and actually make a stand. but like they say, it's easier said than done.

    Re: DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#22)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Fri Sep 29, 2006 at 09:47:00 AM EST
    What the heck is going on in Indiana?! That state alone comprises almost all (about 97%) of the "ditchweed" eradicated by the DEA in the entire US. If I wasn't a NORML partisan, nor a DEA partisan, I'd label Indiana for the statistic-skewing state that it is, and probably say something like: "With the notable exception of Indiana, about 93% of all DEA eradicated pot is cultivated and about 7% is ditchweed."

    DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed (none / 0) (#23)
    by wadeaz1 on Tue Jun 19, 2007 at 05:05:24 PM EST
    Amazing how much money and time the gov't spends on eradicating weeds... If they spent that much time and money on Health Care, Homeless and Schools we would be living in utopia.

    DEA Says 98% of Eradicated Pot is Ditchweed | 23 comments (23 topical)