GROW OPS POSE MANY DANGERS: OFFICER

OMEMEE - A small group of citizens gave out a collective gasp as they
were shown a photo of a room filled with towering stacks of cash
amounting to about $100 million.

Peterborough County OPP Det. Const. Ernie Garbutt of the Kawartha
Combined Forces Drug Unit had just made his point in showing what
drives the illegal drug trade.

"That's what its all about," he said.

The plain clothes officer was making a presentation on marijuana grow
ops at the Omemee fire hall on behalf of City of Kawartha Lakes OPP
and the Emily Omemee Manvers Community Policing Committee.

Although the pile of cash may have been from Mexico, Canada is no
different, he told about a dozen on hand.

In fact, Canada is now the biggest exporter of marijuana to the United
States, a title he said was once held by Mexico.

So not surprisingly, about 60 per cent of the work done by the
eight-member drug unit has to do with pot. Some may say 'it's just
marijuana,' but Garbutt said the drug has an incredible impact.

"It's not just marijuana anymore," he said, noting how it is traded
pound for pound for cocaine across the border.

So, the unit - which focuses on the City of Kawartha Lakes and
Haliburton, Peterborough and Northumberland counties - works
tirelessly to eradicate illegal pot growing.

"Every grow op we seize is that many more plants off the street,"
Garbutt said, presenting to those gathered 'the facts' about pot.

He spoke of its effects - like impaired coordination in the short term
and possible respiratory diseases in the long term - and how it can be
grown just about anywhere.

The plain clothes officer showed a picture of what would seem to most
as just another house on the street.

"You could drive by any of these homes every day and think nothing of
them," he said.

But look closer, Garbutt asked those gathered.

Although there was snow on the surrounding ground, there was none on
the roof of the home. The heat because of the grow op inside had melted it.

The officer described other signs.

They could include blackened, covered windows, unusual traffic at odd
hours of the day, unkept lawns, strange odours or noises, lights on
timers and no association with neighbours.

He also went over the dangers of grow operations in such homes, with
more visual support. Garbutt showed pictures of tangled wires and
ballasts needed to boost power for 1,000 watt bulbs.

Grow ops need about $4,000 a month in power - one of the reasons the
bad guys usually bypass the hydro metre.

In fact, a transformer that kept blowing on a pole led police to a
grow op in Omemee a couple of years ago, Garbutt said.

The dangers don't stop with increased risk of fires. He noted how
household grow ops vent air into the community and how harmful
discarded chemicals pollute the area.

"They all have to go somewhere," Garbutt said, showing a pool of icky
goo that had been dumped in a neighbours ditch. "They don't care, as
long as they get their marijuana."

Then there are the affects on the innocent. The officer showed a
picture of an open fridge stuffed with vacuum sealed bags of marijuana
- - and kids magnets on the appliances' door.

In one case, Garbutt said he even found a child forced to live in his
closet because dad was using his room to store cut pot. He showed a
slide of a mattress covered in plants.

The officer showed more slides of outdoor grow operations, telling the
crowd crops are usually planted in late May.

He spoke of the drug units extensive work in September and October -
assisted by helicopter - to find and eliminate illegal crops.

Clearing out such crops usually requires dump trucks which, once full,
carry about 10 tonnes of marijuana, Garbutt said, adding that once
pulled, it gets buried deep at area landfills.

Outdoor grows pose their own unique dangers to police and the public
alike, he said. Booby traps such as trip wires and nails in boards are
often put in place to protect the crop from 'pot pirates.'

Often the bad guys protect their investment with dogs, or individuals
armed hired to keep watch over the crop.

The officer noted crops - such as a 18,000-plant crop near Norland -
where gun-toting individuals clad in police gear have been arrested.

All this means citizens who spot potential grow op should contact
authorities right away.

"You're best to walk away and let the police deal with it," he
said.

The officer was asked that the public could do to help. Be on the
lookout for suspicious activity, he replied.

And when it takes place, getting as much information as possible -
such as descriptions and license plates - is key, Garbutt told the
crowd, adding that citizens are never required to give their name.

"Just keep your eyes open," he said.

*SIDEBAR*

OMEMEE - Police are seeing more youths hooked on illegal drugs turning
to crime to support their addiction, an officer who specializes in the
area told citizens Tuesday.

City of Kawartha Lakes OPP Const. Carrie Lanning was the second of two
presenters at the Omemee fire hall Tuesday invited by the Emily Omemee
Manvers Community Policing Committee.

Keeping the focus on illegal drugs, the officer - the latest at the
detachment trained to deliver the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance
Education) program in area schools - spoke about use among youth.

Police are seeing more and more property crimes like break and enters
because addicted youth are turning to crime to get money to purchase
illegal drugs, she said.

This is particularly concerning not only because of the obvious health
risks, but because their bodies are still developing.

"They are experimenting," Lanning said, pointing to a board displaying
a variety of illegal drugs, including facsimiles of hallucinogens,
stimulants, opiates and depressants.

What they don't realize is exactly what they are putting into their
body, Lanning said, explaining how dealers 'cut' their products, often
adding other substances to get more bang for their buck.

"It could have a lot of different things in it," she
said.

Asked which kids are more likely to do illegal drugs, Lanning said
"drugs don't pick and choose" and that youth from affluent families
are just as likely to do them as those from less affluent ones.

These days, so-called 'gateway drugs' are more inexpensive and a
available than ever, Lanning said, adding how prevalent cocaine has
become.

"You can get them pretty well anywhere," she said