On 19 December 2001 Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced in San Jose that the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) had seized 313,776 illegally cultivated cannabis plants during the 2001 season, worth an estimated $1.25 billion.[1][2] The greater Bay Area accounted for more than a third of the total, with Tehama County topping the county list at 54,504 plants, followed by Santa Clara County with 47,574.[2]
Raids and arrests
Officers from more than 70 local, state and federal agencies, supervised by the Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement, staged 149 raids in 23 counties from late July through early October.[1][2] They made 20 arrests and seized 19 weapons.[1][2] Investigations found about 70 percent of the seized plants came from gardens operated by people with ties to Mexican drug cartels also involved in methamphetamine and other narcotics.[1][2]
Public-land danger
More than 101,000 plants, about 32 percent of the season total, were taken in Santa Clara, San Mateo, Sonoma and Napa counties, while 124,216 plants (39.6 percent) came from public lands.[1] Lockyer said the large grows on state and national forest land endangered hikers and campers who could stumble on armed garden tenders ordered to defend the crop.[1][2]
