Drought conditions are helping law enforcement eradicate marijuana grown in Ohio, according to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said Tuesday that the yearly statewide eradication effort resulted in more than 80 marijuana plants being cut down and confiscated in Butler County, but that number is considerably lower than normal.

The drop is being attributed to drought conditions occurring in the Miami Valley this summer.

“I guess the current drought we are experiencing is not just hurting our legitimate, hard-working farmers, but seems to be also taking its toll on the poor drug dealers too,” Butler County sheriff’s Sgt. Monte Mayer said. “What a shame.”

Each year, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office conducts an effort to locate and destroy marijuana plants in the state, according to the sheriff’s office. Spotters from the air locate marijuana plants growing in the area and direct ground units to suspicious locations.

Spotters targeted seven locations within the county and sent investigators to those locations this week, according to the sheriff’s office. Those locations were not disclosed by the sheriff’s office.

Landowners are often unaware of growth operations on their properties, the sheriff’s office said, but officers expect to make at least two arrests stemming from the investigations into the grow operations, Mayer said.