State Police in KY are preparing for annual summer marijuana era - WOWK 13 Charleston, Huntington WV News, Weather, Sports

State Police in KY are preparing for annual summer marijuana eradication sting

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By April Kaull, Anchor - bio | email

The Kentucky State Police Cannabis Suppression Branch launched its annual outdoor campaign to eradicate cultivated marijuana on Monday.

A two-day training included aerial spotting and repel techniques, GPS land navigation, ATV training, and booby trap awareness, according to a news release from the state police.

Lt. Brent Roper, a 21-year veteran of KSP and current commander for the Cannabis Suppression Branch, is overseeing the training and coordinating the summer seasonal campaign. "We take this operation very serious and for that reason, provide our teams with the best training available to keep them safe while eradicating large number of plants," said Roper.

In 2011, Kentucky marijuana suppression teams eradicated nearly 400,000 outdoor pot plants from more than 5,000 plots resulting in 371 arrests, according to a news release from the KSP. "One fully developed pot plant can be processed into one pound of street packaged marijuana," added Roper. "A one-pound unit will sell for approximately $2,000."

KSP teams removed nearly $800 million dollars worth of outdoor pot in 2011.

The public is encouraged to get involved with the seasonal campaign by calling the KSP hotline at 1-800-DOPE-TIP. Callers may remain anonymous.