The Butler County Sheriff’s Office will continue to use helicopters to scope out backyard marijuana ‒ a program that costs taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.
The Ohio Controlling Board released $70,000 for the program on June 8. Those funds will allow the sheriff’s office in Butler County to lease a helicopter and pilot for up to $900 per hour, plus $50 per hour for a spotter, that will patrol the skies looking for marijuana plants.
The renewed contract is paid for by a federal grant from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
It’s legal in Ohio to grow marijuana at home. Adults can grow no more than six plants, and no more than 12 plants can be grown at one residence.
But Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation still partners with the DEA on its illegal marijuana eradication program, and has for over 27 years. Last year, the program resulted in 271 illegal marijuana plants pulled and 2,186 pounds of processed marijuana seized, according to the request from the Ohio Attorney General.