Washington, D.C. Suburbs See More Arrests for Indoor Pot Cultivation

MARIJUANA April 1993

Indoor cultivation of marijuana in the Washington, D.C. area may be on the rise, or police are making more arrests based on recent seizure trends (Patricia Davis, "Pot Growers Take Cover: Indoor Marijuana Farms On The Rise In Suburbs," Washington Post, 3/21/93, B1).

While police in Washington, D.C. itself have made no indoor seizures, 71 seizures occurred last year in Virginia and 34 in Maryland. In Fairfax County, Virginia, police saw arrests involving marijuana or hashish rise from 417 in 1991 to 627 in 1992. The quantity of marijuana seized rose from 39 pounds in 1991 and 76 pounds in 1990 to 321 pounds in 1993.

While the percentage of marijuana seized in indoor raids in different suburban jurisdictions was not specified, suburban Washington police told the Post they are finding more indoor-growing operations and seizing larger quantities of marijuana.

Nationwide, federal authorities say they are seizing more indoor growing operations in recent years. The number of such operations has risen steadily from 1077 in 1986 to 3849 in 1992, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The average potency of marijuana has also increased, DEA officials said.