Florida Ranks #1 For Marijuana Grow Houses
MIAMI (CBS4) – Florida isn't just the Sunshine State anymore. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Florida is the marijuana grow house capital of the U.S.
DEA statistics show Florida was the top state for grow house seizures in 2010 with 818 grow houses raided during the year, followed by California's 791.
South Florida also leads the way within the state for hydroponic weed growing. The Sun Sentinel reports that more than 1,000 plants have been taken from grow houses and burned in South Florida this year alone.
While law enforcement has been cracking down and getting more aggressive with grow houses, the growers are also learning high-tech tricks to hide their plants from undercover investigators.
Growers often rewire homes to steal electricity from utility lines and bypass meters to hide the amount of electricity used in the home. They also install filters to mask the intense smell of the hydroponic plants and use closed-circuit cameras to monitor the homes from afar.
