ENTREPRENEURS WANT YOU TO RUN A GROW-OP

Game Lets Players Try Their Hand At Growing B.C. Bud

Forget Monopoly, forget Scrabble -- the hot new Christmas gift is a board
game that lets players run their own "B.C. bud" marijuana grow-operation.

It's called The Grow-Op Game.

Creators bill it as an educational game that highlights the perils of the
pot business and cautions would-be growers about the high stakes.

"You get ratted on by neighbours, Hydro cuts you off, you get floods, there
are tons of stuff that is negative about it," said Vancouver-based creator
Ivan Solomon.

People think grow-ops are easy money, said Solomon.

"It's far from being easy."

Solomon said the Monopoly-style game is the brainchild of a reformed
pot-grow operator, known only as the "Rabbit" to conceal his identity.

Rabbit and Solomon only brought the idea to fruition about four weeks ago,
but the game has caused a huge stir among consumers.

Who better to share the dire pitfalls of the "weed biz" than the Rabbit,
who spent some time in jail for the crime, where, incidentally, he also
came up with the idea.

Employees at the Amsterdam Cafe in Gastown said the phone has been ringing
off the hook for the game.

"People are going crazy for it. It's so all-of-a-sudden, and I'm sure if
we're able to get more, we will."

Police are less than amused and warn the real-life roll of the dice comes
with grave consequences.

"I think it's probably based on a hot topic right now which is exploiting a
lot of people's ignorance," said Cpl. Scott Rintoul, spokesman for the RCMP
Drug Awareness Squad.

Rintoul said it's no secret how much money can be made in the marijuana
industry in Canada, but warns how devastating the impact of the drug trade
can be on the victims of organized crime.

"It's not a game."