POTENT CANADIAN POT IS MOVING INTO N.D.

Porous Border Opens Door For Drug Trade; Quantity Disputed

Drug agents in North Dakota believe potent marijuana grown in
high-tech underground laboratories in Manitoba is filtering into the
United States through porous international border crossings.

Marijuana growers are building sophisticated below-ground bunkers all
over rural Winnipeg, said Sgt. Lyle MacMillan, a Winnipeg Police drug
agent. Some of the operations are growing hundreds -- maybe thousands
- -- of marijuana plants that produce three to four crops a year.

Jerry Kemmet, who heads the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal
Investigation, said the lightly guarded border between Manitoba and
North Dakota provides easy routes for traffickers to move the pot south.

"The border is so open," Kemmet said. "There are some crossings where
all they do is set up (pylon) cones at night to stop traffic."

High THC Factor

The Canadian marijuana has a THC level 30 to 40 percent higher than
traditional marijuana grown in Mexico and South America, officials
said.

THC -- short for tetrahydrocannabinol -- is the chemical produced in
the buds of a marijuana plant that produces an intoxicating sensation
when smoked or ingested.

"This is some of the best marijuana in the nation," Kemmet said. "It
is tremendously potent."

Kemmet said there is no proof the Canadian pot is coming to North
Dakota in large quantities, but he's concerned about the influx of the
plant because it's such a potent strain. Simply stated: It's a
better-quality product -- and pot smokers know it, he said.

Exaggerated?

Sgt. Dave Roach, a drug agent with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
in Manitoba, said the problem is not as bad as people think.

"The story has gotten way out of hand," he said. "There is no reason
to believe this stuff has been going south in big amounts."

But Roach admitted that a lot of high-grade marijuana is, in fact,
being grown in Manitoba.

"They're growing this stuff in James Bond-type bunkers," he said. "We
could fly our planes over an operation and never know they're down
there."

Roach said the pot-growing operations around Winnipeg have probably
existed for years, but have become more commonplace in the last three
years.

Part of the problem, MacMillan said, is the light jail sentences pot
growers receive in Manitoba. He said most growers are charged with
"producing marijuana" or "possession of marijuana for the purpose of
delivering."

"The penalties are next to nothing," he said. "If it's their first
offense, they usually just get fined."