Strong Season for Pot Growers, Plenty of Work for Task Force

Criminals growing outdoor crops of marijuana in Tennessee could start harvesting in the next few weeks, and law enforcers say it looks to have been a hearty season. One official says efforts to find and seize plants are on track for an average haul this year, even as federal budget woes have cut the number of helicopters in the hunt.

In an average year, the Governor’s Task Force on Marijuana Eradication nabs three to five hundred thousand plants. At a rough value of a thousand dollars each, that amounts to hundreds of millions taken out of Tennessee’s illegal drug trade.

Jason Poore leads the eastern team of the task force, which is a joint effort of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Highway Patrol, Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Tennessee National Guard. Helicopters play a key role in spotting crops, but Poore says funding problems in Washington have left the task force playing catch-up.

“We’re actually short-handed in aircraft this year, with only the Highway Patrol helicopters and one – I think one aircraft from the National Guard, where we used to have six combined aircraft. So now we’re having to focus efforts on our larger producing areas moreso.”

Poore says at the same time, better yields give growers all the more reason to be protective of their crops.

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