A Banner Year for Marijuana Busts

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Story Published: Aug 13, 2009 at 6:20 PM PDT

By Chelsea Kopta

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FRANKLIN COUNTY -- We're in the thick of the growing season, and not for apples. From Walla Walla County to Cle Elum, officers are making history busting huge marijuana grows. As of last month, authorities seized more than 150,000 pot plants statewide and much of it is grown right in our region.

"We find it in corn fields, asparagus fields and then out in the ravines where the water accumulates," Franklin County Sheriff Richard Lathim said.

Action News plotted marijuana busts in five counties for raids just this year. The numbers are staggering.

"You used to be, you know, you find 100 grow operation and that was big. now you find plants in the thousands," Lathim said.

Lathim expects to find 50 to 100 grows in Franklin County alone. Deputies already yanked 20,000 plants.

"We find so many every year and then we find more the next year so it concerns me that we might be missing some," he said.

Benton County found 5,624 marijuana plants in illegal outdoor grows, shockingly low numbers compared to the 41,859 plants they raided last year.

"Last year was a bit of an anomaly, we had an outrageous amount last year," Benton County Lieutenant Joe Lusignan said. "But every year it seems to have been going up."

Walla Walla takes the cake.

"This is no doubt the biggest growing operating in the state of Washington," Walla Walla Sheriff Mike Humpreys said.

Walla Walla authorities roped 100,000, worth $200 million.

Yakima County was a close second, harvesting roughly 90,000 plants. And earlier this year, Kittitas County made its biggest bust ever, raiding 9,500 plants.

"I'm not sure what the answer is. perhaps because we're spotting more they're planting more, but i don't know if that's the answer or not," Lathim said.

There may not be a clear answer of why this is a banner year but deputies are sure, they don't want to keep it that way.

Finding those responsible for the grow isn't always easy. For all those plants, Franklin County made no arrests but deputies have nabbed people in Walla Walla, Yakima and Benton County.

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