Ministry denies detection of marijuana fields by Gaofen-1  

公安部未證實發現新中國成立來最大面積大麻種植區

對航天局發布的“在吉林、內蒙古等地發現了新中國成立以來最大面積的大麻種植區”的信息，8月25日下午，公安部禁毒局相關人員接受新京報采訪時表示，這個消息不是國家禁毒辦發布的，具體情況并不了解，目前正在查詢具體情況。[查看全文]

(ECNS) – China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Monday afternoon that they were unclear about the detection of some large marijuana fields by the high-definition Earth observation satellite Gaofen-1, information that was released by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) earlier the same day.

The message quickly became hot news, as China has launched an anti-drug campaign this year that has netted several celebrities.

An unnamed officer at the MPS's Drug Control Bureau said the message wasn't from them, and that an investigation into its source was underway, the Beijing Times reported.

Nie Lei, an official at Inner Mongolia's anti-drug department, denied that the marijuana fields were observed in the autonomous region, according to the Paper.

"We are also looking for the source. As far as I've learned, there's no cooperation between the Drug Control Bureau and the CNSA," said Nie.

An article containing the message on the CNSA's official website had been removed by the afternoon. Discrepancies exist between some messages and the facts, said Zhang Liwen, director of the administration's information service. But he declined to reveal more.

Gaofen-1 is the first satellite launched last April as part of the country's HD Earth observation system. It is widely used in geographic and resource surveys, environment and climate change monitoring, precision agriculture, disaster relief and city planning.

An expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences said the Gaofen-1 can detect marijuana-growing areas with its spectrograph device.