West VA Tax Dollars At Work

[jet3534]

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/pol...ng-30000-cash/

[Schuetzenman]

Wow Ginsing root! Sounds super sinister ... I say off with their heads!

[alismith]

There was a show on cable about WV ginseng farmers and all the intricacies involved in the trade. It's almost as bad as the Prohibition Era gang wars.

It's a pretty cutthroat operation in the hills; people stealing other peoples' stashes, cars being set on fire, people being shot at, etc.

It's almost unsafe to be in the woods around ginseng harvest time.

I can understand why the Resources police made these raids.

[Richard Simmons]

Report I saw has annual ginseng sales in the USA at around $27,000,000. I can see why folks might take to breaking the law to carve out a big chunk of that pie for themselves.

[skorpion]

I always thought many of of the regulations on ginseng are silly. Ohio's laws on ginseng are crazy, too. All kinds of licensing is necessary just to pick and sell roots in the hills. I understand that Appalachian states want to protect a valuable plant from going extinct, but licensing is required to even grow and pick ginseng in your own garden!

[jet3534]

I always thought many of of the regulations on ginseng are silly. Ohio's laws on ginseng are crazy, too. All kinds of licensing is necessary just to pick and sell roots in the hills. I understand that Appalachian states want to protect a valuable plant from going extinct, but licensing is required to even grow and pick ginseng in your own garden!

I am pretty sure it is illegal in West VA to harvest ginseng on public land and also illegal without written permission on someone else's land. All of these laws are about what people can do on their own property which should be very disturbing to most people. Probably the DNR police had AR-15s and body armor when they took down the ginseng pickers. Notice also the fact that the evil ginseng pickers were found to own guns and have possession of cash -- something reported as implied criminal conduct. Is it just me or is the entire country going crazy?