A bill introduced in the U.S. Congress has some area officials upset and caught them off guard. The bill which was introduced by Democratic Congressmen Barney Frank of Maine and Republican Ron Paul of Texas, calls for lifting the prohibition on marijuana on the federal level. The two allege that if marijuana is legalized then the government could tax it and receive substantial amount of funds from the taxation.

Billy Cook, a director of the Tennessee Meth Task Force and heads up the local drug task force for the district attorney’s office, explained, most of the marijuana confiscated this year has been more powerful than that seen several years ago. He explained that most of the marijuana the task force has seen this year has been hydroponically grown, meaning in a controlled setting. The growers can control the growth of the plant, Cook stated. It is not unusual to seize five pounds of product off of one hydroponics plant. He also noted that the plant itself is taller and larger. Recently a raid in the Franklin County area rendered ten pounds of marijuana and officers said they had trouble breaking the stalk. He also noted that those producing the hydroponics plants are able to sell the merchandise at a higher price than what was being received just five years ago. Cook said that he was definitely opposed to the legalization of marijuana by the federal government.