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during at least a pound of dried marijuana, which sells in bulk for anywhere from $1,000 up.
The lucrative money to be made from trafficking in the illegal plant has lured many rural residents into the business. Marijuana has become Virginia’s newest cash crop. But the State Police warn prospective growers that they are not playing around in their efforts to find and eradicate the weed. On Tuesday, each member of the strike team was armed and in constant radio contact with the nearby helicopter.
Special Agent T.M. Galloway, the agent in charge of the State Police narcotics unit operating from the Culpeper division headquarters, said that the abundant rain this year has made aerial spotting more difficult. “Last year it was so dry that anything that was green was marijuana. This year, everything is green.”
Special Agent Galloway said that this year the National Guard's interdiction efforts have been expanded after Gov. Gerald L. Baliles authorized their limited use in drug enforcement efforts. “In past years the Guard has cooperated in certain limited areas, but this year that has been expanded statewide.”
Tuesday, the National Guard had two helicopters flying, one in Rappahannock and another in Fauquier County. In Fauquier, the operation
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