The Bluegrass State's No. 1 Cash Crop: Dope

Nov. 6, 2009 — -- About an hour's drive from Lexington, Ky., is the Daniel Boone National Forest -- 700,000 acres of raw, rugged nature.

It was here last month that the body of Bill Sparkman, a part-time census worker, was found bound and gagged and hanging from a tree. The word "Fed" was scrawled across his chest.

"I couldn't believe it had happened," said Josh Sparkman, the victim's son. "I couldn't believe that anyone would want to harm my father, especially in such a brutal manner."

Sparkman's death is still being investigated. It has not been ruled a homicide.

But it's put renewed focus on what, for decades, has been the ugly side of this beautiful land.

It's not the setting most people associate with the war on drugs.

"Typically, in America today, they talk about the inner cities and people standing on street corners selling crack cocaine," said Clay County Sheriff Kevin Johnson. "This is our street corner. Here."

Johnson took an ABC News team deep into the forest. During the days of Prohibition, criminals made illicit alcohol -- moonshine -- here. But these days, marijuana and methamphetamine keep authorities busy.

Rich soil and ample rain make the forest ideal for growing pot. And the forest's thick canopy, rugged terrain and sheer size help to conceal criminal operations.

Johnson said the silence of the nature preserve makes it harder to police.

"That's one aspect that makes things difficult in apprehending people," he said. "For example, if somebody's 100 yards uphill from us, that they would have a potential of hearing us. Not to mention, the vehicle that we drove, they could hear a mile away."

'Our No. 1 Cash Crop'

Kentucky is second only to California in marijuana production. More than a half-million pot plants worth an estimated $1 billion are seized here annually.

But authorities estimate that an equal amount is successfully grown, harvested and sold.

The federal government designates the area the Appalachia High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Ed Shemelya is the marijuana coordinator.

"[Marijuana] is our No. 1 cash crop in the Appalachia HIDTA region," Shemelya said. "Tobacco, to corn, to soy beans, you name it. Marijuana is the cash crop. ... Not even close. No comparison."

The eradication effort is an air and ground war. From helicopters, trained spotters search for marijuana plots using only the naked eye.

"To each of us, it looks a little different," said Bob Goss, a spotter. "There's color, there's texture, there's the terrain, we're looking for cultivated ground, we're looking for foot trails, four-wheeler trails, any access points to remote areas."

"It's cat-and-mouse," said Shemelya. "You try to figure out their strategy, you adapt your tactics to their strategy, they change their tactics so your strategy changes."

After spotting the marijuana, agents swoop in, rappelling from the choppers or arriving in all-terrain vehicles.

The plants are cut and burned. But rarely are the culprits found and arrested.

"It's pretty hard unless we're fortunate enough to find evidence that leads us back to an individual or individuals," said Johnson. "It's usually pretty tough, usually pretty tough."

That's not to say criminals never leave a calling card. Authorities showed ABC News some of the booby traps pot growers have used over the years to guard their investments.

How Growers Protect Their Assets

The collection includes animal traps and nail pits. "We've had several officers who have stepped on these things, not to mention they're all rusty, and you're dealing with the tetanus issue," said Shemelya.

Growers have even set up makeshift bombs. Shemelya said they were the same as other improvised explosive devices.

"That's what they are, IEDs," he said. "That's all you can say."

Growers have even been known to attach poisonous snakes to their plants.

"They're in it to make money, and they're going to do what they can to protect their assets," said Shemelya.

It's no coincidence that this, one of the largest pot-producing areas in the country, is also one of the poorest economically. Many turn to the drug trade because of a lack of well-paying jobs in the region.

"There's a lot of everyday people doing it now," said Goss. "We've arrested people, the oldest I put in jail was 80 years old."

"Marijuana cultivation has been engrained in the culture of south-central, eastern Kentucky for several generations," said Shemelya. "If you're a merchant in some of these communities here, and there's not a whole lot of capital being infused in the local economies, and the dope growers are the ones infusing the capital, dirty money is better than no money."

If pot is an economic drug, methamphetamine is primarily driven by addiction. Increasingly, Johnson's days are spent on the trail of meth cooks, who use the forest as a dumping ground.

Johnson displayed some of the items police had collected.

"This is what they call an ACL generator," he said. "They'll put ammonia nitrate fertilizer in it, invert a propane tank, which causes the gas to come out at the end of the tube, and they'll smoke their, what they smoke in their pseudoephedrine stuff off to make methamphetamine. ... That would check positive for ... there's methamphetamine residue.

In recent years, authorities have managed to infiltrate some drug networks. For Sheriff Johnson and others, the fight is clearly personal.

"I'm not going to let 5 percent of the population stereotype the other 95 percent," said Johnson. "Because 95 percent of the people here are good, honest, hard-working people. But of course, it's like anything else. The 5 percent gives the other 95 percent a bad name.

"Hopefully we can stamp out the problem here, but you know I guess time will tell."