Aug 21, 2008 1:40 pm US/Central
Marijuana Hunt Is On Along Indiana Dunes
PORTER, Ind. (STNG) ―
Thousands of people visit the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore each year, many to walk the trails in search of rare birds or plants. And visitors are now being asked to keep their eyes open for another wild plant -- cannabis.
The huge, sprawling park is apparently home to a large number of naturally growing marijuana plants that have sprouted up from the seeds of plants that were cultivated in the past, according to spokesman Bruce Rowe.
"A very large amount" of it was scheduled to go up in smoke Thursday when police and park rangers eradicate a field of wild pot plants.
National Park Service rangers and law enforcement officers from Burns Harbor and Portage will eradicate it at an undisclosed location inside the park boundaries, Rowe said.
Eradication consists of uprooting plants, counting them and burning them in a high-intensity furnace, according to Rowe, who emphasized the plants appear to be wild and not intentionally grown. It is highly unlikely Thursday's eradication will result in any criminal charges, he said.
Authorities say they will not know exactly how many plants were found until they can be counted.
The park service is also urging visitors to report any wild growing marijuana they find.
"Sometimes when people are walking they come across it [marijuana], and visitors to the park should always report it when they see it," Rowe said.
According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, just over 212 million "ditchweed" plants -- wild growing marijuana -- was eradicated in Indiana in 2005. During that same year, only 7,541 such plants were destroyed in Illinois.
The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore includes 15 miles of the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan and 15,000 acres of beach, woodlands, marshes and prairie across northwest Indiana -- stretching from Gary to Michigan City.
Anyone who finds marijuana in the park should call (800) 727-5847.
(Source: Sun-Times News Group Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2008. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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