WILL THE WEEDS EVER BE PLUCKED?

There was an air of resignation by the RCMP officer stationed out front
of Burnaby's latest busted marijuana grow operation.

"Just another grow-op," he said, suggesting to two inquiring reporters
that there really wasn't much of a story here.

Indeed, grow-ops are becoming so commonplace that police rarely inform
the media now when they've raided one. They often save up the
announcements and provide statistics for the week, or let us know when
they've busted a particularly large one.

Thursday's bust - one of two occurring around the same time - was a
200-plant operation. A few years ago, that would have been a large haul.
Under ideal growing conditions, that single home could generate as much
as $250,000 annually, depending on who you ask.

And it's likely it is not operating in isolation. Police believe most
grow-ops are linked to organized crime networks - groups like the Hells
Angels. The total amount raked in by these groups is estimated to be in
the billions of dollars.

It's no wonder, then, police cannot keep up with the grow operations out
there. Burnaby RCMP, after raiding 27 grow-ops last week and collecting
8,000 plants, say they have another 100 suspected grow-ops just waiting
for the resources to be found to bust them.

"It's like shooting pickles in a barrel," said RCMP spokesman Const.
Phil Reid.

Police in New Westminster concur. The only thing preventing police from
busting all the grow-ops on their list is staff.

Given that fact, it is hard to imagine a time when marijuana grow
operations are no longer a problem; a time when the money generated by
these homes no longer fuels organized crime.

And yet, politicians seem curiously quiet about the whole problem. Are
any solutions being sought? Or are we just going to accept the fact our
police can only close a fraction of these criminal cash cows and say
that's good enough?