Army Plants Pot in Colorado!

Army Accidentally Grows Pot At Rocky Mt. Arsenal

Sep 8, 2009 5:40 pm US/Mountain

Reporting Shaun Boyd

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (CBS4) - The Army has made an unusual and
unwanted discovery at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal northeast of Commerce
City. The Army is in charge of cleaning up the arsenal. Part of the
cleanup includes reseeding some areas. When that seed started to grow,
marijuana popped up.

It isn't commercial grade, but it's still an illegal drug. It's called
ditch weed or feral hemp, the kind that grows in the wild in some
places.

Charlie Scharmin with the U.S. Army is in charge of the cleanup.
Needless to say, he was quite surprised when he was told marijuana was
growing at the arsenal.

"Not something you expect in an environmental cleanup job," says
Scharmin. "It was a little surprising."

Scharmin says they were finishing containment of two large contamination
areas at the former chemical weapons production site. He says they layed
down rock and clay then put vegetation on top. But it wasn't just any
vegetation.

"The specification is that we acquire weed-free mulch from the
supplier," explains Scharmin.

The Army blames the supplier for the snafu. It says it bought the mulch
for its ground cover from a place in Kansas where the low-grade weed is
common. Some of it apparently got mixed in with the grass.

The Army made the first discovery of hemp on the property in June. So
far they've picked about 100 plants that Scharmin says are low-grade. He
says they plan to mow, burn or maybe even have bison eat the rest.

"Fish and Wildlife Service does not seem to have any concern about
having bison out there," Scharmin says.

A buffalo with a buzz? The only thing maybe more unbelievable is the
army planting pot.

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