I guess we all need something to be proud of. These 3 West Virginia cops are proudly exhibiting the fruits of their drug bust. No it's not Mary Jane; it's ginseng, a medicinal plant that is prized the world over but especially in China. The reason for the seizures of the ginseng was it was harvested out of season. Who in West Virginia thought there should be a ginseng season? What purpose does it serve?
For several hundred years inhabitants of Appalachia have treated their ginseng troves as their personal bank accounts. Never dig all the root. Leave about a third but remember the location until one feels the need to make a "withdrawal". It's like money in the bank. They have had hundreds of years to over harvest ginseng but it's still abundant which begs the question, why a ginseng season?
The 190 pounds of seized ginseng represents about two weeks labor for the 3 proud law enforcement officers pictured above. Lest one get the idea that this is a poor use of government resources consider that the illegal ginseng will not be destroyed but rather sold by law enforcement for about $180,000 with the proceed going not into the general revenue fund but to the West Virginia Department Natural Resources to reward those who are too lazy to dig their own ginseng.
