SPOKANE -- Marijuana grow houses are becoming a major problem in Spokane County. Police say marijuana is surpassing meth as the number one street drug. A pot bust Thursday in North Spokane is just the latest in a string of undercover crackdowns by the city of Spokane and county.
Police say it is not the drug deals you would expect. They are happening in quiet neighborhoods and unassuming houses across the area with medical marijuana as their cover.
Raids are becoming an all too common sight. People with medical marijuana cards, many times legally growing, are illegally selling.
Gerry Fojtik heads up the county's undercover drug task force. Last year, Fojtik's team made nearly 600 marijuana arrests. Meth comes in second at 217 arrests.
"The county investigative task force seized 105 of these pot plants yesterday. They're using medical marijuana as a guise. They're allowed 15 pot plants but usually have much more," said Fojtik.
The task force hit up a home Thursday where two men, Robert Thompson and Eric Franklin, are accused of having a massive basement grow house. Police say they were using fake medical marijuana cards as a cover.
