While marijuana abuse is not normally tied directly to violent behavior, ADAM statistics for Chicago reveal that over 40 percent of males arrested for violent crimes in 1999 tested positive for marijuana. Domestic cannabis growers are often heavily armed and commonly use booby traps and warning devices to protect their cultivation sites from law enforcement authorities and the public. The number of weapons seized during cannabis eradication program operations nationwide more than doubled over the past decade. Production Illinois provides an adequate environment for cannabis cultivation. Despite a limited growing season, the fertile soil and large, sparsely populated rural areas of Illinois attract cannabis growers.
Cannabis is intermixed with corn and soybean crops, making it visible only from the air.
In addition, horticultural techniques found on the Internet and in magazines are triggering an increase in the number of indoor cannabis grows. For example, the Alton Police Department reports that it seized plants from 8 to 10 indoor cannabis cultivation operations during 1999. The average indoor grow contained 25-50 plants, but some contained as many as 250 plants. See Table 6 for the latest available seizure data. Table 6 .