Beware: Gun Toting Spam Devouring Pot Farmers Ahead

A new danger lurks in our national forests. Long have people secretly feared things in the outdoors: wild animals, falling trees, inclement weather, injury, the occasional serial killer, now add to that ever growing list spam eating illegal immigrants toting automatic weapons. Yep you read correctly, according to numerous reports hikers are encountering vast fields of irrigated marijuana fields dutifully guarded by gun toting men.

For years I have heard reports of these illegal operations scattered here and there, in fact I have had friends make serious attempts at finding them, always to no avail. But it appears that now it has reached epidemic proportions with millions of dollars of marijuana fields discovered weekly. You might be assuming that this is in areas that see little to no traffic and would be very secluded, in reality some of these fields have been located closer than 1/2 mile from popular and well traveled tourist destinations.

To make matters worse these “farmers” are serious bringing in irrigation systems and motion sensing equipment. Reports lately have linked operations as far north as Washington state with definitive ties to numerous drug cartels based in Mexico.

Another unfortunate side effect is the fact that all of this policing by the U.S. to eradicate these illegal pot farms is costing us tons of cash. Up to $1 million in Sequioa N.P. alone since 2006! Not to mention all of the damage the fields do to the valuable ecosystems disrupted by the operations.

Some of the signs that you may be nearing one of these operations are ( and I am being serious here) tortilla wrappers, spam cans, empty beers cans, blue tarps and irrigation pipes. Officials are recommending if you come across a marijuana field leave the area immediately and call police once you are safe back in your vehicle. Do not stay to investigate as the “farmers” are usually armed and willing to shoot first.

Seriously this is a real problem and it should be a real concern to anyone that ventures into the great outdoors.