How to Recognize an Illegal Marijuana Garden
There are many things to keep your eyes open for when you are out in Utah's wilderness areas. Some of the most obvious are listed here with photos to help you recognize illegal marijuana gardens. If you see any of these suspicious things out in the middle of the forest you have most likely come across an illegal marijuana garden. Please take caution.
What should I do if I find an illegal marijuana garden?
Marijuana Plants!
This is what you might see if you walk into a garden. The plants will be somewhat uniform in height and size. They will most likely appear to be spaced evenly and will look like they were planted there. Depending on the wind, you may smell the growing marijuana before you see it.
Camp Area with Fertilizer
As you can see the camp area is very well disguised. It will be near the garden. It will most likely be a tent or several tents covered with a brown or green plastic tarp. There may be cut green branches on the tarp to hide it from the air. The branches are changed often so they do not dry out. There may be a cache of supplies nearby and sometimes there is a trash pit nearby, sometimes you will smell the trash before you see it.
Harvested, Drying, Marijuana Buds
When the plants are mature, the growers harvest the buds and hang them upside down to dry. Typically this is covered by a brown or green tarp to ward of rain and disguise the buds. Sometimes you will see a lot of stems thrown about; these will appear dry and will look out of place.
Kitchen Area with Propane Tank & Stove
This is a view inside a kitchen area. Notice the propane tank, pots and pans and the large plastic container. These items are typically carried in on foot. A lot of times you will also see food items stacked in this area. Sometimes the Kitchen area is apart from the camp/sleeping area.
Potting Soil and Fertilizer Bags
Here is a photo of a supply area; this is often found near the plants. In this photo are 50lb bags of fertilizer and potting soil.
Gas Powered Water Pump
Here is a photo of a gas powered water pump that was found in a local garden. The pump was used to pump water from a stream to a hand dug reservoir. The water is then gravity fed to small pipes often to each plant.
Painted Pipe Valve
A typical main line with a valve leading from a water source to the garden. Sometimes these lines will run for up to a ¼ mile. Often the line and the valves have been painted to disguise them.
Rolls of Water Pipe
Something you may see near a garden area. A roll of blast plastic pipe to be used in a garden.
If you see any of these things out in the forest they may indicate a marijuana growing operation. Typically the gardens are located in out of the ordinary places and seeing any of these items in these areas will seem out of place.
If you think you have found an illegal marijuana garden, make a mental note of where you are, or if you are carrying a GPS “Mark” the area and leave immediately. We will be able to find it either by latitude and longitude, or a place name. Avoid any confrontation or contact with the suspects who may be present and leave the area, undisturbed, as soon as possible. Contact us through this website or your local law enforcement, the sooner the better. Use the Utah map to determine what region you are in to make the report.
