POT FLOURISHING IN ONTARIO NORTH

TORONTO - The discovery of a northern Ontario marijuana grow operation
spanning an area the size of three football fields is a sign that Canada's
booming pot-growing business is expanding both in size and location,
experts say.

More than 21,000 marijuana plants were seized Sunday from behind a home in
Iroquois Falls, Ont., about 70 kilometres northeast of Timmins.

Earlier last week, Ontario police seized more than 7,000 plants, ecstasy
pills and growing equipment in Sundridge, Ont., about 70 kilometres south
of North Bay.

Many grow-ops are moving from urban locations to rural locations to take
advantage of bigger growing areas and to escape police detection, according
to the acting head of the Ontario Provincial Police's drug enforcement squad.

"We're seeing a trend where we see grow operators across the province move
further north, and increase in size," said Det.-Insp. Frank Elbers.

Indoor grow ops used to be the norm because people felt that the plant
produced was of a higher quality in terms of THC, the active ingredient in
marijuana, said Elbers.

In what is thought to be the province's largest bust, police discovered
25,000 plants inside the three-storey former Molson brewery last year in
Barrie.

However more growers believe outdoor planting works and are moving from
southern Ontario to rural regions.

"This year we've just seen a real swing to where we've had half a dozen
growers of a large nature, and everyone seems to be from southern Ontario,"
said Det.-Sgt. Bill O'Shea, a unit commander with the OPP's drug
enforcement section in North Bay, who worked on that case.

Det.-Sgt. Bill O'Shea, with the OPP's drug enforcement section in North
Bay, said another major consideration for these rural operators is
something any potential property owner thinks about -- that it costs a lot
less to live in the country.