The unassuming field in Summit stretches between railroad tracks and a canal, an unusual place to find summer fun. Sprays of green buds, some as high as 10 feet, sway above weeds as a train passes.
To a casual observer, or a kid playing soccer in nearby Summit Park, the area seems like nothing more than swampy, mosquito-infested land.
But police Sgt. Rich Hare of neighboring Stickney had few doubts he would find teenagers there this week.
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They come to pick wild marijuana from among the prairie grasses, hoping to make the land their field of dreams. Young adults from throughout the western suburbs see a quick high in these 2 acres in the small town along the Stevenson Expressway.
And sure enough, along the dirt path that runs by the field, Hare spotted an 18-year-old who was surprised to come upon a police officer rather than other teenagers trekking through the field.
“Everyone knows it’s here,” the teen, whose first name is Wieslaw, said as Hare searched for friends.
August usually marks the time when wild marijuana fields are destroyed, but Illinois State Police, unaware that people have been harvesting the field, delayed burning the property. They had planned to use the land as part of a marijuana air surveillance training program later this month.
Although authorities have made no arrests in connection with the field, police in nearby communities want to see the crops destroyed now. They said teens are taking bushels of marijuana into their towns, possibly using it as filler for more potent marijuana sold on the streets.
“We have been trying to get rid of it because it’s become a problem,” said John Zitek, Stickney’s chief of police. “I want to know why they haven’t burned it yet.”
But after the Tribune alerted state police to concerns about the field Wednesday, authorities said the plants will be eradicated within days.
Summit police, who say they are patrolling the area, don’t believe the field has caused problems.
“It is just wild. It’s not like you’re getting something from Colombia,” said Lt. Charles Wasko of Summit’s investigative division, who said the field also was burned last year. He said Summit police have allowed it to remain at the request of state authorities, who said they would destroy it once their training is completed.
Summit police said the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District owns the land, but a spokeswoman for the district said no marijuana is growing on property it owns in that area.
Capt. Thomas Lamb, director of the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Cook County, said wild marijuana is usually chopped up, carted away and burned soon after police locate it. Through MEG’s federally funded Cash Crop program, officers spend the summer months searching for and destroying the wild fields.
In 1997, state police said they destroyed 9.7 million plants throughout Illinois. Still early in the harvesting season, only 1,029 plants have been destroyed this year.
Fields of wild hemp and marijuana weed crop up throughout central and northern Illinois, usually in the spring, and spread throughout summer, said Fran Schnorf, state coordinator of Cash Crop, funded by $450,000 in federal money.
The origins of Illinois hemp and marijuana fields predate the United States itself.
Hemp harvesting can be traced to when Native Americans used it to make rope and clothing. More recently, however, around World War II, farmers grew it legally for military uses, mostly to make rope. The federal government even dubbed the rope-making program the “Hemp for Victory” campaign.
The Summit field is likely fed by seeds that date back to the war era, authorities believe.
Such wild weed, also known as ditch weed, is very low-grade and, by itself, likely would sell for just a fraction of what premium marijuana attracts on the street.
It is uncertain how strong the marijuana in the Summit field is, although the teenagers said it hasn’t had much effect on them.
“We have been here three times to pick it and dry it behind the garage, but it didn’t get us high,” said a 19-year-old whose first name is Przemek. “We came to see if it has changed.”
Przemek and Wieslaw, whose baggy jeans pockets held a box of rolling papers, said they hope other teens don’t find the Summit stash. But police say it’s already too late: Crushed weeds show evidence that it is traveled territory and manmade paths wind through the plants.
Now, police fear that with fall approaching, the weed will start sprouting up in schools.
“That’s a felony. I would hate to see these kids get a record because they start selling this in school,” Hare said. “How do you convince a kid not to pull a $1,800 plant?”
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