By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Michigan State Police and area law enforcement agencies are looking to the public to help crack down on the growth of hemp and marijuana in the area.
Warmer weather means more of the state's residents will be outdoors. And as some venture on recreational hiking trips and others tend to their acres of growing corn, police are asking that everyone be on the lookout for any plants growing along throughout the areas swamp and farm lands.
"With its fertile land and remote areas, Michigan is a popular state for marijuana planting," said Col. Peter C. Munoz, director of the Michigan State Police in a press release. "To avoid apprehension and forfeiture of their property, growers often plant marijuana plants in farm fields, backyards, natural forest openings and the shores of lakes, rivers, streams and swamps."
Niles Post Commander with the Michigan State Police, Lt. Mike Brown echoes those words. "Usually in the summer months," he said. "We have a lot more people (hiking and outdoors). They stumble across marijuana grow plots."
Berrien County and Niles are no strangers to such practices. Because of the many rural and swampy areas around Niles and into Cass County, growers continue to seek out plots.
"Nothing really has changed," Brown said. In fact, it may have gotten worse. "We're seeing a lot of indoor grow operations too," he added. That fact may come with the easy access to hydroponic growing equipment that Brown said growers can find online.
In 2007, 23,198 plants were located in outdoor growing operations. That's over 12,000 more plants than were found in the previous year. Signs that although police are cracking down – growers aren't necessarily backing down.
"It's been the same for the last few years," Brown said. "We've always had our big cultivators … you'll get a few groups like that and they'll take their chances."
Brown says turning to the public for tips really does help police in locating and confiscating plants and apprehending growers. "Usually people who are not associated with the people growing it," he said. "They'll call it in quite readily."
Those people, Brown said, would have stumbled upon plants that would appear to be tended to. Tied with chicken wire or some other sort of material. "Indicators of outdoor grow operations," states the release. "Include unusual amounts of traffic, use of camping equipment or recreational vehicles on wooded property with no evidence of recreational activities, persons with little or no farming experience who purchase fertilizer, plastic PVC piping, chicken wire, camouflage netting and clothing, large amounts of PVC piping or irrigation hoses located in heavily wooded areas and patrolled or guarded woods, swamps and other remote areas."
Other tips, Brown said, come from "disgruntled" friends or relatives who are fully aware of growing operations indoor and outdoor.
Though both Brown and Sheriff Paul Bailey of the Berrien County Sheriff's Department say the practice hasn't started yet – hemp and marijuana flights are also conducted by law enforcement agencies – with the help of the National Guard to survey areas for any plots.
As plants grow in cornfields, a spot many growers turn to, "you can see it growing between the rows" from the air, Bailey said.
In addition, the release states that the Department of Natural Resources will be posting notices and signs at state parks, recreation areas and campgrounds to remind the public to be on the lookout.
Brown says notices have been posted locally at the Jerry Tyler Memorial Airport. "We do get a number of tips from private pilots," he added.
The punishments for crimes like these carry felony sentences.
"It's broken down into how many plants you have," explained Brown. Less than 20 marijuana plants is a four-year felony and 20 to 200 plants is a seven-year felony. 200 plants or more is a 15-year felony.
"Any tips come in," Brown said. "We'll aggressively take a look at them."
To report a marijuana grow site the pubic can call 800-235-HEMP (4367) or the DNR's Report All Poaching hotline at 800-292-7800.