Drought blamed for smaller Ohio marijuana seizures

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio authorities seized considerably fewer marijuana plants this year than last, a decrease they're blaming in part on the summer drought.

Attorney General Mike DeWine says state and local investigators eradicated more than 30,000 plants this year, mainly in southern Ohio, compared to 46,000 plants last year.

DeWine says high temperatures and lack of rain contributed to the lower number of plants seized in raids.

The attorney general says more than 80 people were arrested in raids focused in southern Ohio, where the growing season is longer and the terrain more rural.

The nation's worst drought in decades stretched from Ohio west to California.