VAN BUREN, Tenn. -
Two top Tennessee lawmakers literally had a hand this week in eradicating nearly $3 million worth of marijuana.
State Sen. Bill Ketron of Murfreesboro and Rep. Bob Ramsey of Maryville spent Tuesday with the Governor's Task Force on Marijuana Eradication as they joined a ground operation in rural Van Buren County.
"Quite to my surprise I found out what a tough job they currently have," Ketron told Nashville's News 2. "We started at 7 a.m. and were there well into the evening."
The two lawmakers said they were asked to assist in the project after they asked questions about the process.
"We were asking questions [of the Task Force], so they said, ‘Why don't you come see what we do?" explained Sen. Ketron.
T.J. Jordan oversees the Task Force and said the two men saw what they do on a daily basis.
"We are typically number three in the country when it comes to marijuana eradication," Jordan told Nashville's News2.
Agents from the TBI, Highway Patrol, Alcohol and Beverage Commission, along with the Tennessee National Guard make up the task force which rips up what marijuana growers sell.
"If we can go in there and make their day bad this year, they may not put the work into it next year," Jordan said.
Jordan said a typical year by the Task Force nets marijuana plants worth around $200 million.
