DEA Grant to Aid Crackdown on Pot
With marijuana cultivation hitting an all-time high last year in Ventura County, the Sheriff’s Department will be aided by a $20,000 federal grant in a crackdown on those who grow and sell the illicit weed.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration grant will be used to pay overtime to sheriff’s deputies who work extended hours to survey, investigate and arrest marijuana growers in the county’s rugged back country, officials said.
Last year, authorities cut down a record number of plants. About 23,000 pot plants with an estimated street value of $93 million were found, ranking Ventura as the fourth-largest marijuana-growing county behind Humboldt, Mendocino and San Diego.
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