Description:
In late August of 1991, Operation HEMP (Help Eliminate Marijuana Planting), a Michigan State Police Program, came to Menominee County. Huey helicopters, manned by National Guardsmen, searched for the marijuana patches from the air and then directed law enforcement officers on the ground to the sites. The helicopters landed and took off from the Michigan State Police Post, US-41, Stephenson. The program was designed to stop marijuana cultivation. The 1991 Upper Peninsula operation began in a field near St. Jacques in the Garden Peninsula, where plants with a street value of $66,000 were discovered. State Police spokesmen said they had received several tips on possible plant sites following a news release about what to watch for and how to report sightings to authorities. After location of the plants, they are uprooted or cut down and later burned at undisclosed locations. Through the years, searches have continued and various plots of marijuana have been discovered in the Mid-County area.