The army helicopter known as Boise 83 hovers around farm country in Adams County at about 500 feet, making circles and loops. Boise is military code for a helicopter aiding in a drug enforcement operation; 83 is the number of the helicopter that would eradicate 300 marijuana plants -- $600,000 in street value -- on Wednesday alone.

The helicopter's crew, Pennsylvania National Guard Capt. Ernie Carlson and Cpl. Kenny Hassinger of the Pennsylvania State Troop H Vice Unit, scan the fields with naked eyes trained to look for bright, neon green stalks of marijuana plants, sometimes up to 7 feet high.

Carlson makes his presence known to the state trooper cars down below, who'll he'll guide to the source once the plants are spotted from the air.

It's high season for destroying marijuana plants, and the Pennsylvania National Guard counterdrug program, run by National Guardsmen out of Fort Indiantown Gap, think they'll surpass last season's haul. More than 8,000 marijuana plants were seized by the operation between June and October of 2008.

There are two types of plants the counterdrug operation typically finds across the state each summer: "corn dope" -- plants grown in corn fields; and "scrub dope" -- plants grown in the woods, typically marked off by barbed chicken wire.

The plants sport bulbs at the bottom, looking like homegrown, potted tomato plants. That's because most of the marijuana grown in Pennsylvania starts out as potted, indoor plants. Seeds are typically purchased on the Internet, Hassinger says.

The National Guard's counterdrug operation spends about two weeks with each state trooper unit. Local and state police troops get new tips about where marijuana is being grown every year.

Many times, the state troopers and guardsmen know from years of experience that pot is typically being grown in a general area.



That's the case Wednesday.



Hovering 500 feet above, Carlson directs the undercover troopers: "In the middle of the field there. ... Go one row up. Now skip 10."

Sometimes, the troopers will see someone on a nearby ATV, and follow them for questioning. Today, there is no suspect.

At the end of the day, the 300-plant haul of marijuana is logged into evidence at the state police barracks in Gettysburg. Then they'll take a torch and diesel fuel to the plants to destroy them.