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Dudebros: This’ll probably come as little surprise to you, but Yosemite National Park racked up the most citations for marijuana possessions on federal land since 2009, according an Associated Press analysis of court data. Of 27,700 tickets since then, 939 occurred in Yosemite. (No word on how much of that came from the infamous climbers’ Camp 4, but I’m gonna guess, oh say, 900.)
Golden Gate Recreation Area came in second with 902, and a surprise bronze goes to Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (huh?) in Missouri with 847. The next national park on the list is Great Smoky Mountains NP at No. 4 with 724.
Are our national parks infested with reefer renegades and pot hooligans? Not exactly, but it’s only going to get more complicated as weed laws get loosened everwhere (probably). More from the AP:
The number of citations issued is small compared to the hundreds of millions of visitors to national parks, forests and monuments each year.
But it nevertheless illustrates one of the many issues Washington, Colorado and other states that want to regulate marijuana face in complying with last month’s Justice Department memo that calls on them to keep pot from being used, possessed or grown on federal land.
Here’s a look at the top national parks, recreation areas and monuments for marijuana busts from Jan. 1, 2009, to July 31, 2013, according to data provided by the U.S. Courts Central Violations Bureau.
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA: 939
GOLDEN GATE NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, CA: 902
JEFFERSON NATIONAL EXPANSION MEMORIAL, MO: 847
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, TN/NC: 724
OZARK NATIONAL SCENIC RIVERWAYS, MO: 474
GATEWAY NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, NY/NJ: 313
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, AZ: 257
BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER, AR: 252
LAKE MEAD NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, NV/AZ: 234
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WY: 230
CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE, MA: 206
WHISKEYTOWN NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, CA: 203
SEQUOIA AND KING CANYON NATIONAL PARK, CA: 173
MAMMOTH CAVE NATIONAL PARK, KY: 155
INDEPENDENCE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, PA: 148
CHATTAHOOCHEE RIVER NATIONAL RECREATION AREA, GA: 147
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, AR: 138
JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK, CA: 137
PADRE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE, TX: 120
SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK, VA: 116
Source: AP via ABC News