CALGARY MARIJUANA TRADED FOR COCAINE AND SPEED IN U.S.

Police Warn Of Links With Organized Crime

Calgary-grown marijuana is being peddled as coveted B.C. Bud by players in
the organized drug underworld -- and swapped pound for pound for
methamphetamine and cocaine at values of $6,000 to $15,000 US.

"Powdered meth is being traded straight for B.C. Bud," said Det. Donny
Gerhart, with the Great Falls, Mont., police department.

Police said that B.C. Bud is in huge demand because it is a high-quality,
high-potency cannabis.

The street value of methamphetamine (speed), coming into Alberta from
Montana, is $12,000 to $15,000 US.

Meanwhile, drug dealers in California willingly trade a pound of cocaine,
priced between $6,000 to $9,000 US, for a pound of Calgary marijuana.

"The dope either stays here to feed potheads in Montana, or, if there's a
larger connection, it gets shipped to other U.S. destinations," said Gerhart.

Calgary police have intensified their crackdown on thriving grow operations
permeating the city, often marching into fortified, booby-trapped homes
rife with weapons and toxic mould.

Last year, police seized $54 million worth of marijuana being cultivated in
Calgary homes. This year to date, the total stands at $18.2 million.

Criminals in the U.S. -- facing seven-year minimum jail sentences -- are
reluctant to get involved in grow operations. Recent history has repeatedly
shown that in Calgary courts, grow operators need only fear conditional
sentences.

"We know there's a connection between outlaw motorbike groups and meth,"
Gerhart said, pointing to the local chapter of the Kinsmen club, a puppet
club for the Hells Angels.

Gerhart said Canadian dope is coming into Great Falls after being shipped
across the border to Havre and Shelby, Mont.

"It's huge," he said referring to the methamphetamine problem in Great
Falls. "A lot of it has to do with Mexican nationals, illegals in the U.S.
and street gangs in Washington state."

Methamphetamine -- a powerful stimulant that is swallowed, inhaled,
injected or smoked -- is transported into Montana from Washington state as
well as being cooked in local labs that leave behind about six pounds of
hazardous toxic waste for each pound produced.

All one needs is "basic knowledge of high school chemistry" to create a lab.

"For approximately $50 US, an individual can buy common household items to
set up a meth lab," said Gerhart.

Those items include farm fertilizer, brake cleaner and drain cleaner.

Users commit crimes such as home invasions, auto thefts and robberies to
find money to fuel their habits.

Tremendous profits from low-risk, low-cost grow operations provide seed
money to organized crime groups bringing meth, crack, cocaine and illegal
weapons to Calgary streets, say police.

"Anybody that thinks there's no connection between methamphetamine and
marijuana is dreaming," said Calgary police drug expert Det. Pat Tetley,
who has been involved in 40,000 drug-related cases.

"Methamphetamine is the most powerful of stimulant drugs."

It is also a drug to be feared, considering the effect it can have on users.

"We've given it a name -- Meth Rage Violence," said Tetley. "I have never
seen a more devastating drug -- the systematic violence and addicts'
quality of life is the worst I've ever seen."

Addicts interacting with police trying to take meth away will "kill you in
a heartbeat," he said.

Calgary police aren't the only law officials concerned about marijuana grow
profits increasing the amount of methamphetamine on our streets.

"Huge problems in the U.S. associated with meth will come into our
country," said RCMP Const. Dale Duchesne, with the Integrated Border
Enforcement Team, a Canadian-U.S. multi-agency operation.

"There are pockets of methamphetamine problems already in the province," he
said.

"With us, it is a national priority in that most of your grow operations
are ultimately tied to organized crime. Organized crime is one of our No. 1
mandates. . . . So, if you are moving product south and it happens to be a
grow that is linked to an organized crime grow, it becomes a priority."