The economy has gone to pot.
With the nation’s fiscal health in the tank, homegrown marijuana operations have soared by 60 percent.
Since Oct. 1, the Drug Enforcement Administration has broken up eight hydroponic pot-growing set-ups around the state — with five in the Big Apple.
That compares with five for all of the previous fiscal year.
Growing marijuana hydroponically — in water — is a lucrative business, said John Gilbride, head of the DEA’s New York office.
It is far more potent than the regular stuff — with a pound going for about $5,000 on the street. A pound of grass smuggled in from Mexico goes for $400 to $1,500.
Of the five “grow ops” smashed in the Apple, four were taken down in The Bronx last week. There were no immediate arrests.
The fifth, in the basement of a house on 237th Street in Queens Village, Queens, was raided on Feb. 24, and firefighter Patrick Murray, 34, was charged with growing 100 plants.
A month later, firefighter Matthew Cody, 27 — who worked with Murray at Engine Co. 292 in Woodside — and Cody’s brother, Michael, 25, were busted.
A mother and her two sons, 14 and 2, who lived in Murray’s house were forced to move when the toddler developed a severe case of hives from the fertilizer used in the growing process.
“He really got sick,” said his teen brother. “It was really upsetting.”
The five raids netted 830 pounds of pot worth $4.15 million on the street.