LITTLE DETERRENT FOR OPERATIONS LIKE GROW-OPS

When four men charged in relation to a deadly shooting last week at
an area marijuana grow operation go before the Ontario courts in the
coming months, they will face punishments ranging from fines to
prison sentences.

But police officers tasked with taking criminals off the streets say
they're frustrated by what they say is a minimal amount of punishment
doled out by a system they believe is trapped in the past.

"There is still a sense, somehow, that marijuana is a soft drug not
associated with violence," said Det.- Sgt. Paul Henry of the Ontario
Provincial Police's drug enforcement section. "We're talking about
grow-ops that have thousands of plants and are worth millions of
dollars. It's a very violent industry."

Crimes associated with drugs such as marijuana fall under the
nation's Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which includes
guidelines on punishment for a variety of offences.

Individuals found guilty under the act face a wide range of sentences
such as a fine of a few hundred dollars to life behind bars.

If a person is found to be in possession of less than 30 grams of a
drug such as marijuana and it's a first offence, he or she will
likely walk away from court with a fine not exceeding $1,000.

A person found to be in possession of more than 30 grams, which would
constitute trafficking under the act, could face up to life in prison.

When it comes to growing marijuana, offenders are looking at no more
than seven years behind bars.

Police officers say the sentences are appropriate, but they're rarely
handed out to the full extent the act allows.

"The penalties these criminals face in our courts are not very
stiff," said RCMP Sgt. Denis Pelletier. "Offenders may face fines,
probation or short prison terms. It's not exactly a huge deterrent."

Across Ontario, courts have consistently handed down light sentences
for marijuana-related crimes. A quick review of cases in different
parts of the province over the past few months paint a picture of how
the matters are dealt with in the justice system.

In March, a Cobourg man found guilty of operating a $73,000 indoor
grow operation got a year of house arrest after a judge considered
the fact the man had a handicapped child, while in July, a Pembroke
man got three months of house arrest after officers discovered a grow
operation inside the man's home.