Tennessee Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication

{{Short description|Task force}}

{{primary sources|date=January 2022}}

{{Infobox law enforcement unit

| unit_name = Tennessee Governor’s Task Force on Marijuana Eradication

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| dates = 1983-present

| country = United States

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• Tennessee Bureau of Investigation{{cite web |url=https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/tbi/documents/TBIAnnualReport2019-2020.pdf |title=Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Annual Report 2019-2020 |publisher=Tennessee Bureau of Investigation |date= September 28, 2020 |accessdate=2022-01-09}}
• Office of the Governor of Tennessee{{cite web |url=http://184.174.171.29/erad.html |title=The Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication |publisher=Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force |date= |accessdate=2022-01-09}}

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| type = multi-agency law enforcement task force

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• Law enforcement
• marijuana eradication

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• Tennessee

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| headquarters = Chattanooga, Tennessee

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| website = [https://www.tn.gov/tbi/divisions/drug-investigation-division.html TBI Drug Investigation Division]

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The Tennessee Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication (GTFME), a multi-agency law enforcement task force founded in 1983, is managed by the Office of the Governor of Tennessee composed of local, state agencies organized expressly to eradicate illegal cannabis cultivation and trafficking in Tennessee. The Governor's Task Force is operated by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Tennessee Dangerous Drugs Task Force.{{Cite news|url= https://www.wjle.com/news/governors-task-force-on-marijuana-eradication-conducts-helicopter-flyover-in-dekalb-county/|title=Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication conducts helicopter flyover in DeKalb County |author=Dwayne Page|date=June 9, 2021|work=WJLE |access-date=2022-01-09|language=en}} The eradication season lasts from May through September in Tennessee, where outdoor marijuana cultivation ranks second in the United States, behind California.{{cite web |url=http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic//pubs11/13745/marjiuana.htm |title=National Drug Threat Assessment 2005 - Executive Summary |publisher=National Drug Intelligence Center |date=February 2005 |accessdate=2022-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212081538/http://www.justice.gov/archive/ndic//pubs11/13745/marjiuana.htm |archive-date=2013-02-12 |url-status=dead }} The task force, divided into three regional teams, East, Middle and West, centralized marijuana eradication in the state into a coordinated multi-agency program.{{cite web |url=https://minds.wisconsin.edu/bitstream/handle/1793/53938/PooreJason.pdf?sequence=3 |title=Ideal State Level Marijuana Investigation & Eradication Program Design |first=Jason |last=Poore |publisher=University of Wisconsin-Platteville |date=July 7, 2011 |accessdate=2022-01-09}}

The task force, created by then Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander's Executive Order #51 in April 1983,{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/337531292/|title=Complete Wipeout of Drug Not Easy |agency=Associated Press |date=August 16, 1984|work=Rocky Mount Telegram |access-date=2022-01-09|language=en}} originally included the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee National Guard, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/590776302/|title=Marijuana seized in Cocke County |author=Dee Goodin |date=July 27, 1983|work=Johnson City Press-Chronicle |access-date=2022-01-09|language=en}} A 2018 law removed the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission from the task force.{{Cite news|url= https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/new-law-changes-who-enforces-marijuana-crimes/51-501866363|title=New law changes who enforces marijuana crimes |author=Jim Matheny |date=December 22, 2017|work=WBIR 10 News |access-date=2022-01-09|language=en}} The task force often uses helicopters, flown by the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Tennessee National Guard, for aerial surveillance of outdoor marijuana grow sites in rural eastern Tennessee.{{Cite news|url= https://www.timesnews.net/news/local-news/authorities-make-largest-tennessee-marijuana-find-ever---more-than-350-000-plants/article_4d9698f0-361f-5715-a40c-8bc1aaaecc35.html|title=Authorities make largest Tennessee marijuana find ever - more than 350,000 plants |author=|date=September 9, 2009|work=Kingsport Times News |access-date=2022-01-09|language=en}}{{Cite news|url= https://www.dvidshub.net/news/114703/tennessee-national-guard-teams-with-drug-law-enforcement-marijuana-eradication|title=Tennessee National Guard teams with drug law enforcement for marijuana eradication|author= Kendra Owenby|date=August 20, 2013|work=Defense Visual Information Distribution Service |access-date=2022-01-09|language=en}}