COPS SCHEDULE NEVER-ENDING RAIDS

A Vancouver police squad busting marijuana home-grow operations tries to
schedule grow-op raids for Wednesdays and Thursdays, leaving the rest of
the week free for court appearances, paperwork and other tasks.

Scheduling raids may sound odd, but it's possible because there is always a
backlog of about 600 homes the team wants to investigate.

Police are asking Vancouver City Council to fund the "Grow Busters" team at
least until September 2002.

Since it started last September, Grow Busters has raided 413 home-grows,
confiscated plants valued at $45.8 million and seized lights and other
growing paraphernalia worth some $2.7 million.

Vancouver police want to raise more money from landlords whose properties
are used for grow-ops. The owners are billed about $700 in permit fees
before they are allowed to seek new tenants. Part of the fee covers the
cost of an inspection. Police want to raise the fee to $1,000. The hike
would lift annual revenues to $800,000.