VLVL CAMP (was the war on drugs)

[jbor]

>> The Domestic Cannabis Eradication and Suppression Program, which I assume
> is
>> the real-world analog for CAMP, was set up by the DEA in Hawaii and
>> California in 1979, which would make it an initiative of the Democratic
>> government of James Earl (Jimmy) Carter (1976-1980), wouldn't it?
>> 
> and
>> 
>> It's strange that Bopp could appear in "the full regalia of his old
>> profession" as a German WWII pilot, and in "Nazi drag" on tv (221-2), and
>> not cause controversy and outrage. His dress and demeanour, his name, and
>> the acronym CAMP itself, are all pretty cartoonish imo.
>> 
> In the real world* CAMP was established in 1983.
> 
> At the time, James Earl (Jimmy) Carter was not the governor of California.
> (Nor was he the President of the United States.)
> 
> I agree that CAMP is a cartoonish acronym. Not nearly as campy as CREEP,
> though!
> 
> CHiPS(!) and CAMP
> http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/task_forces_and_campaigns.html
> 
> CAMP Program History (to 2000)
> http://caag.state.ca.us/newsalerts/2001/01-120.htm
> 
> "Since the Campaign Against Marijuana Planting (CAMP) was started by the
> California Department of Justice in 1983...."
> http://www.newsreview.com/issues/chico/2003-11-27/sifter.asp

Thanks for the correction. It's interesting, then, that Pynchon has
incorrectly (?) called it the "Campaign Against Marijuana Production" (49),
not "Planting", framed it as an "infamous federal-state" program (49), and
described it as "a crop-destruction effort growing without limit, season
after season" (220). If it was established in 1983 then autumn 1984 would
only be the second season, no? Note also that Willis Chunko "had featured
Holytail on his shit list for years" (221).

It seems as if the real-world CAMP was something which either grew out of,
or followed on from, or joined in with, that 1979 DEA initiative -- perhaps
CAMP was simply a new name adopted by the Californians in 1983, or 1983 was
the time when the Californian DOJ was one of "state and federal agencies"
which "came on board" (220.31-2)? It certainly seems as if Pynchon's CAMP,
or the anti-marijuana purges in California, had been going on for quite a
bit longer than just 1983-4.

It's strange also that "CAMP" is not mentioned, as far as I can see, at the
DEA site.

http://www.dea.gov/pubs/history/deahistory_02.htm

[...] In 1979, an estimated 10-15,000 tons of marijuana were consumed in the
United States. It is believed that up to 10 percent of that amount was
cultivated in the United States, a majority from California and Hawaii. In
response to this serious problem, the DEA began its Domestic Cannabis
Eradication and Suppression Program in 1979 with only two states
participating, California and Hawaii. The DEA provided three special agents
to work with local authorities in California on case development and
intelligence gathering.

The DEA Air Wing also provided aircraft and pilots as part of the search
effort, and local police received aerial search techniques instruction. In
the same year, three DEA agents also worked with the U.S. Customs Service
and U.S. Coast Guard in Operation Green Harvest that targeted marijuana
growers in the Hawaiian Islands. More and more states joined the cannabis
eradication program and by 1982, 25 states had joined.

This program was established as a partnership of federal, state, and local
agencies. In addition to cultivating an illegal drug that contributed to
wholesale abuse, marijuana growers presented other problems to law
enforcement and the environment. They encroached on national forests and
parks and threatened innocent people. To protect their marijuana crops, many
growers equipped their marijuana patches with booby traps, trip wires, and
explosives. Marijuana growers also threatened the environment by using
pesticides, building harmful dams for irrigation, and cutting down trees. By
1982, 25 states were participating in the cannabis eradication program.
[...]

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