PRIME TIME FOR DOPE CROPS

RCMP Asks Public To Be On The Lookout For Marijuana Grow-Ops

It's northern Alberta's peak growing season, and the RCMP are asking
the public to keep their eyes peeled for a particularly lucrative,
and illegal, crop.

This is a key season for outdoor marijuana growops, whose cultivators
prefer remote and hidden locations, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Ian
Sanderson with K-Division.

"This is the time of year they're going to be tending their crops,
and checking their fields."

RCMP from southern Alberta are making a similar request. But the
police are also adding a warning to leave any discovered dope crops alone.

"These large commercial operations would be run by large criminal
groups," he said, adding if an outdoor grow-op is discovered, people
should simply call their local RCMP detachment. "Leave it alone."

Remote corners of fields, forests, riverbanks and swamps are all
locations favoured by grow operators - the more secluded the better.

"This is something people are going to want to go undetected," Sanderson said.

Farmers and berry pickers can sometimes be very helpful finding
outdoor marijuana crops.

Farmers, in particular, are good at spotting suspicious activity like
strange vehicles and newcomers who come and go frequently.

"They are very vigilant about things going on in their area," he said.

If the marijuana is hidden in another crop, it would remain green
while the other plants turn gold, he said.

"The variance in the colour is going to be the give-away," he said.

There is no particular area of the province that is favoured by
marijuana growers, he said. The plant can thrive anywhere from the
Montana border to the Northwest Territories.

Seeds for marijuana plants are usually planted in May and harvested
at the end of summer or early fall, said a press release from RCMP
Southern Alberta District.