HIGH TIMES FOR POT INDUSTRY

Stakes raised to deadly levels in illegal pot growing trade

The fine art of marijuana-growing certainly isn't what it used to be.

The stereotypical image of pot-smoking hippies growing a few plants has long
been replaced by sophisticated grow operations, complete with hydroponics
and intense grow lights. It's big business - a multi-million-dollar trade
that has a growing potential for violence.

That point couldn't have been made clearer than by this week's display of 37
weapons seized by RCMP after raids on 22 marijuana grow operations
throughout the South Okanagan-Similkameen over the past few weeks. The guns
included a 16-gauge sawed-off shotgun with a makeshift silencer and a .22
calibre assault rifle. Presumably they weren't meant to scare away the bugs.

With weapons like these, some of which police say were fully loaded and kept
near doors or beside beds, it's hard to argue the point that dope-growing is
no longer a "victimless" crime. When large sums of money are involved, peace
and love tend to be forgotten in a hurry.

RCMP in the Okanagan have even drafted a victim impact statement for
residents who happen to live near a pot operation. Some of the questions
deal directly with fears of violence:

* How does living near this house affect your feelings of safety and
security? * What specific problem events have occurred as a direct result of
the drug house? * Have you ever considered packing up and moving because of
this house?

Times have certainly changed over the past three decades. Throwing people in
jail for possession of a few joints or for discreetly growing one or two
plants in the backyard benefits absolutely no one.

But when thousands of dollars of growing equipment is found, when guns are
seized, that's an entirely different league. Then the possibility of
"victims" becomes too real to ignore. It's not Cheech and Chong anymore.