Pot growing going indoors

The U.S. Justice Department has now confirmed what marijuana-legalization activists have been saying for years: Pot eradication efforts such as California’s Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) are driving pot growers to move to indoor sites, including suburban homes.

According to the DOJ’s National Drug Assessment 2008, released Nov. 8, the trend is likely to continue. “DTOs [drug trafficking organizations] and criminal groups … will adapt to the increasing law enforcement pressure … associated with outdoor sites and will most likely shift operations indoors.”

Although CAMP seizures are way up, thanks to the presence of large grows run by Mexican drug cartels, “marijuana availability is widespread,” the report notes. Indoor operations can produce highly potent pot year-round, it continues, “allowing for an exponential increase in profits derived.”

Marijuana legalization advocates charge that efforts such as CAMP’s are a waste of money. They say marijuana should be legalized and regulated, as wine is.

Click here to view the full DOJ report.