State narcotics enforcement authorities in Iowa are asking farmers and hunters to keep an eye out for large marijuana plots hidden in rural densely wooded timber areas after several recent busts indicate illicit cultivation going on.
The Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement says anyone who may come upon a large plot of pot should leave immediately and call their sheriff's office.
In the operations discovered recently, the growers have set up encampments to tend to the plants daily. Authorities fear confrontations could develop between unsuspecting landowners or hunters and the squatters who have set up illegally on private land.
Division of Narcotics Enforcement Assistant Director Kevin Winker says the primary reason he's telling people to be vigilant is because he believes this to be a public safety issue.
