NCJ Number
97582
Date Published
1984
Length
79 pages
Annotation
This report updates a previous study of marijuana cultivation and other illegal activities on Federal lands and focuses on the extent of this cultivation, how marijuana cultivation affects the management and use of the lands, and actions Federal land managers are taking to eradicate marijuana.
Abstract
Federal lands attract marijuana growers; the Forest Service estimates that over 8,200 marijuana plots were on its land in 1983. Site visits to 22 Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Park Service sites in 6 States revealed that marijuana cultivation had adverse effects at 14 sites between May 1981 and October 1983. Problems included violent incidents, harassment of employees and land users, the use of booby traps, and damage to resources. Federal agencies have recognized the problems and intensified their efforts to control marijuana cultivation since 1981. The agencies have developed marijuana control policies. Two agencies have increased cooperative law enforcement funds supporting State and local law enforcement agencies' marijuana control programs. In 1983, law enforcement agencies destroyed about 1,300 of the over 8,200 plots on Forest Service lands. The programs vary at different sites depending on the perceived extent of the problem. These intensified efforts are responsive to the previous recommendation of the General Accounting Office that law enforcement receive increased emphasis. The agencies have also taken further actions to control other crimes. Photographs, maps, agency comments, and appended tables are included. (Author summary modified)