"FERNDALE - Federal officials on Tuesday burned nearly 2 tons of marijuana seized earlier this month from a 60 foot sailboat..."(2 tons of marijuana incinerated in Ferndale, Bellingham Herald, December 31, 1997)

"Nearly 3,800 pounds of Thai marijuana fished out of the Pacific Ocean off the Washington coast earlier this month will go up in smoke. ...Federal agents will likely burn the $15 million worth of pot..." (Rotting pot from sailboat will be burned, Seattle Post Intelligencer, December 25, 1997)

"'By summer we were already dealing with our 10^th drug house,' Olympia Lt. Bill Wilson said. 'That number now is closer to 15...The statistics in Thurston County with meth and heroin are enough to give us some kind of indication that the problem is increasing.'"(Olympia explores ways to control drug houses, The Olympian, December 6, 1997)

"As the Coast Guard was fishing bales of marijuana from the chilly waters off Cape Flattery, federal authorities were wondering why smugglers are bringing marijuana from Thailand to Seattle. 'We have so much home-grown (marijuana) that goes undetected of the same or better quality...'"(Juliana West, spokeswoman for the U.S. DEA) (Why smuggle pot to the NW?, Seattle Post Intelligencer, December 3, 1997)

"SKAGIT COUNTY - Health officials are expressing a growing concern about babies born in Skagit County. Recently ranked one of the top five counties in the state with especially high illegal drug use. ..." (Health Department educates against drug use, Skagit County Herald, September 3, 1997)

"...routine helicopter flight over Lake Sammamish State Park led to the discovery of 400 marijuana plants and an intricate system of plots and tunnels ..." ($800,000 worth of pot plants found in park, Seattle Times, June 12, 1997)

"More than 140 marijuana plants, $35,000 worth of drying buds and a half-pound of packaged marijuana and assorted other drugs were seized in two related drug busts near Woodinville and Redmond last week. (Big drug busts in Woodinville, Redmond, Weekly, June 9, 1997)

"...British Columbia's largest sting operation, led to more than 120 arrests in Canada and the seizure of illegal drugs worth nearly $820 million on the street, along with several dozen arrests in the United States." (County drug warriors reap reward, Bellingham Herald, May 2, 1997)

"Sadly, Vashon Island has lost its reputation as a lovely strawberry-growing island and exchanged it with a reputation for growing marijuana." (Let's be known for strawberries, Editorial - Vashon Beachcomber, April, 1997 )

"A drug counselor for Spokane public schools was fired this week, five months after detectives found 99 marijuana plants in her south Spokane home." (School drug counselor is fired in wake of 1996 marijuana raid, The Spokesman Review, April 25, 1997)

"It's drugs over the border. About 25 pounds of marijuana, with a potential retail value of $75,000 to $120,000, hidden inside two spare tires in the back of a pick-up truck..." (It's not Moon Over Miami, Blaine Banner, April 17, 1997)

EDMONDS - Many Edmonds residents have been trying for months to rid their neighborhoods of drug houses to no avail.  So they brought their frustrations to a town meeting Tuesday..." (Sheriff gets earful from residents who want to get rid of drug houses, Edmonds Journal, April 9, 1997)

"The Office of National Drug Control Policy has designated seven counties, including King County, as a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. The other counties are Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Pierce, and Thurston along Interstate 5 and Yakima County.   It is one of five new drug-fighting areas authorized by Congress and connects the Northwest to the other 15 HIDTAs around the country." (Puget Sound's drug trafficking faces more heat, South County Journal, March 23, 1997)

"In 1993 Washington ranked second in the nation in the number of indoor marijuana growing operations..."(Tracking illegal drug threat in the Northwest, South County Journal, March 23, 1997)

"The Pacific Northwest is one of the most significant areas in the country for marine smuggling, with more than 300 tons of marijuana and hashish seized since 1988..."(Tracking illegal drug threat in the Northwest, South County Journal, March 23, 1997)

"Large-scale Thai marijuana and hashish smuggling organizations offload their cargoes from large mother ships."(Tracking illegal drug threat in the Northwest, Journal, March 23, 1997)

"Statistics paint a grim picture of illegal drug use in the Seattle-Tacoma area where addiction and drug abuse have become a major public health problem." (Drug-related cases flood area hospitals, South County Journal, March 23, 1997)

"According to the latest public health statistics, drug-related emergency room visits in Washington State per 100,000 persons are more than 50 percent higher than the national average." (Drug-related cases flood area hospitals, South County Journal, March 23, 1997)

"Michoacan families also smuggle marijuana directly into the Yakima Valley area, usually by car."(Tracking illegal drug threat in the Northwest, Journal, March 23, 1997)

"Washington state has a 'ferocious' drug problem, the federal drug czar said yesterday in announcing a $3 million grant to help stop drug trafficking in seven counties."(Drug problems in this state called 'ferocious,' Seattle P.I., January 16, 1997)