News: Pot in the Parks?

Who would have thought that a National Park would have pot growers?

National Parks Traveler has the story. Excerpt:

The gardens, which covered about 3 acres along Elk Creek, were spotted last Friday. On Tuesday rangers and other law enforcement personnel went in and destroyed the plants. While two individuals tending the gardens managed to vanish into the brush, two others linked to the site were arrested outside the park and several more arrests are anticipated.
.........
The product, if allowed to mature, would have carried a price tag in the millions, he says, as each of the 17,334 plants in the gardens could produce roughly a pound of marijuana that carried a street value of $4,000 due to its high (21 percent) THC content.

Mexican drug cartels are thought to be behind the growing operations, and the two individuals arrested this week were Mexicans in the country illegally, according to the chief ranger.

Wow!