COURTS NOT DEALING WELL WITH GROW OPERATORS

My Generation

The local elementary school is in lockdown as police prepare to raid
a nearby home. The emergency response team is gathering on the
sidewalk, making final preparations for another drug bust. This may
not seem like an event that would happen in the quiet, tree-lined
streets of suburbia. Yet, in this day and age, this is not an unusual
occurrence in our neighbourhoods.

Marijuana production has become a huge problem in the province of
British Columbia, more so than any other province in Canada. In 2000,
the Fraser Institute estimated there were approximately 17,500 grow
ops in the province, a number that is surely higher today. The retail
value of the grow ops was estimated at $7 billion.

Because it is such a profitable business, marijuana grow operations
have infiltrated all our communities.

The police continue to make a concerted effort to crack down on grow
ops. However, it is a time-consuming and labour-intensive task to
investigate, bust and lay charges in each grow op.

Why then, are they seemingly not making any progress?

The answer appears to be that our judicial system does not give the
police any support. According to the Fraser Institute report, in 2001
55.3 per cent of people charged with having a grow op received no
jail time; 31.5 per cent received less than 90 days; and the
remaining 13.2 per cent received between 120 and 540 days.

With such light sentences, marijuana grow operators can be back in
business the next day.

The financial penalties imposed on grow operators are not any more
effective. The Fraser Institute report found the average fine levied
was $1,167. Putting this into perspective, a small grow op with 100
plants earns approximately $42,000 in profit.

With such lucrative return, the risk of getting caught is not enough
of a deterrent to discourage people from continuing to illegally grow
marijuana. Fines and replacing equipment after getting busted are
seen as a cost of doing business.

This is further supported by the findings of the Fraser Institute
that a third of all operators caught are repeat offenders. Those
repeat offenders average being caught slightly less than once a year.
Obviously, the law enforcement system is not working.

With the high repeat offender rate and lack of deterrence, it is an
uphill battle for police. Scenes of drug busts will continue in our
neighbourhoods with little long-term effect. The same criminals will
simply move on to another house, another street or another neighbourhood.

Something has to be done to change the legal system, whether it is in
the actions of the courts or the prosecutors.

Marijuana grow operators should be held accountable for their
actions, making it not worthwhile for them to stay in business. Only
then will our neighbourhoods return to the safe havens we once knew.