MOUNTIES WEIGH USING SATELLITES IN WAR ON DRUGS

Technology Would Help Police Detect, Monitor Illegal Marijuana Production

The RCMP is studying a plan to enlist space satellites in the war on
illicit drugs.

The Mounties believe satellite technology could help detect and monitor
illegal marijuana production in Canada.

A recent report by the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission says
Canada is pursuing the idea as a new means of estimating the amount of
cannabis cultivated each year.

Current methods employed by Canada to make these calculations include
ground surveys, aerial monitoring by airplane, and analysis of data from
plant seizure reports and crop eradication programs, says the commission,
an agency of the Organization of American States that helps co-ordinate the
anti-drug efforts of the 34 member countries.

"Recently, Canada launched a new program involving the police and the
Canadian Space Agency to enhance detection and monitoring of illegal crop
production," says the commission report, an evaluation of Canada's
initiatives to stamp out illicit drugs.

A spokeswoman for Canada's space agency had no information about the plans,
but Sgt. Paul Marsh, an RCMP spokesman, confirmed the idea was under
consideration. "The RCMP is committed to using technological advances which
will assist us in reaching our objective of safe homes and safe communities."

He provided no details, saying "it's really premature because it's at the R
and D stage."

RADARSAT, Canada's advanced Earth observation satellite, has been used to
measure legitimate crop fields, make accurate maps, study ice movement and
monitor the coast line. Using synthetic aperture radar, the satellite is
able to operate day or night in all kinds of weather.

The United Nations International Drug Control Program has also announced
plans to employ satellite technology as part of an effort to eradicate the
cannabis plant, cocoa bush and opium poppy by 2008.

About half of the marijuana available in Canada is produced domestically,
the RCMP says. Conservative estimates indicate at least 800 tonnes are
grown annually.

Surveillance of crops through airplane flights has proven useful to date,
Sgt. Marsh said.

"Obviously, there are advantages to aerial surveillance and that's why we
use aircraft at the present time. There are things that you can see from
the air, (because) you simply don't have the same perspective from the ground."

However, as the OAS commission report points out, even high-powered
satellites will not guarantee an accurate measure of Canadian cannabis
production.

"Canada notes that a complete picture of marijuana cultivation is difficult
to obtain because a significant portion of cultivation is indoors," the
report says.

There has been a boom in indoor growing operations in recent years,
particularly in British Columbia, but also in the Prairie provinces,
Ontario and Quebec.

Many Canadian growers use high-tech equipment to electronically regulate
temperature, light and nutrients in hydroponic greenhouses. Marijuana grown
under these conditions contains a proportion of the psychoactive chemical
THC ranging from 15 to 25 per cent -- much higher than the naturally
cultivated plants of the 1970s.