TRIPPING DOWN BRITISH COLUMBIA'S HO CHI MINH TRAIL

BLAINE, Washington - On a typical evening near this small U.S. border town,
Patrick Guimond can be found lying in the forest, in a camouflage uniform,
armed with a handgun and staring into the darkness with a pair of night
vision glasses.

If he is lucky, the veteran U.S. customs officer might catch a glimpse of
someone creeping over the border, a backpack full of Canada's latest
high-grade export to the U.S.: British Columbia marijuana. But most of the
time, Mr. Guimond spends his nights sitting in the bush in vain as there are
too many forest and mountain paths along the border to monitor effectively.
Nicknamed by police the Ho Chi Minh trails, a reference to the secret
Communist supply lines used during the Vietnam War, the paths have helped
make the 40-kilometre piece of U.S.-Canadian border near Blaine one of the
busiest drug smuggling zones in North America. It's estimated there is more
marijuana smuggling in this sector than anywhere along the border between
the two countries.

The smuggling of B.C. marijuana, the so-called green gold from Canada, is so
prevalent that the U.S. government's National Drug Control Policy office has
designated the Interstate 5 corridor, which begins at the Canadian border at
Blaine, as a "high-intensity" drug trafficking area. The designation puts
the area in the same league as heavy-hitters in the drug smuggling world
such as Miami.

"We only get a drop of what is coming over," said Mr. Guimond, who for
security reasons declines to have his photo taken. "The chances are still
pretty good (marijuana smugglers) aren't going to get caught."

For Mr. Guimond, the B.C.-Washington border is part of the American
government's continuing war on drugs. Border patrol aircraft monitor the
trails which are also sprinkled with motion detectors.

Drug-sniffing dogs are stationed at the main crossings. Roving patrols of
camouflaged officers creep in the night in hopes of nabbing smugglers.

But for supporters of the recreational use of marijuana and the relaxing of
laws governing the substance, the B.C.-Washington border is a shining
example of how the war on drugs has become a bust.

"The U.S. and Canadian governments are waging a war on our border all for
what -- a plant?," said Robin Ellins, a spokesman for Friendly Stranger, a
Toronto-based group dedicated to the decriminalization of marijuana. "It
ridiculous. All those police resources aimed at a product of nature."

B.C's marijuana crop is estimated at being worth up $3 billion annually, a
position that ranks it second only to the province's tourism industry. The
RCMP estimates that every city in the lower area of the province has at
least 1,000 clandestine marijuana growing operations. In Surrey, near the
U.S.-Canadian border, that estimate jumps up to about 3,000.

Mr. Ellins has what he calls a fool-proof way to stop the smuggling in its
tracks. Decriminalize marijuana, have the government regulate it, and offer
it to American tourists, some of whom would eagerly spend their money for a
legalized puff. "It's a multi-billion dollar underground economy that should
be channeled through Revenue Canada," he said.

At the heart of the matter is the high potency British Columbia marijuana,
nicknamed B.C. Bud. Because of favorable growing conditions, B.C. Bud has
been found with levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that is
used to measure marijuana potency, of up to 28 per cent. The more common
Mexican marijuana has a THC level of about five per cent.

B.C. Bud sells wholesale in the province for about $1,800 a pound, or about
half a kilogram, but by the time it is brought across the border that value
jumps to $4,500. When it reaches Portland, two hours down the highway from
the border, its value is $6,000. In California it climbs to $10,000 and has
been traded, pound for pound, with cocaine.

In contrast, Mexican marijuana sells in Washington state for about $1,000
Canadian for about half a kilogram.

Police acknowledge that the border terrain works against any anti-smuggling
operation. The southern B.C. border runs along three American states,
Washington, Idaho and Montana, and except for the official border crossing
points, most of the terrain is isolated, heavily wooded and rugged.

There are thousands of Ho Chi Minh trails. Even in urban areas, the
proximity of the U.S. is inviting to smugglers. Along Zero avenue in
Langley, B.C. only a ditch separates roads in Canada and the U.S. Police say
one method smugglers have used in the past is to simply toss a bag of
marijuana across the ditch from their car and keep on driving while their
counterpart on the other side quickly picks it up. Last year $100,000 of
marijuana packed in plastic bags was found abandoned on Zero Avenue.

Most growers hire people to smuggle the marijuana across the border, rather
than take the risk themselves. Fees for making a smuggling run vary from
$2,000 to $6,000 depending on the load. Many pack 27 to 36 kilograms (60 to
80 pounds) of the B.C. Bud into large hockey bags and set off on any of the
trails dotting the border. They are usually met on the other side by a
contact in a car.

The high incidents of smuggling have made for some bizarre incidents. In one
case last year a U.S. border patrol officer turned his search light on some
bushes. A Canadian man, thinking it was a signal from his pickup contact,
came down the trail and jumped into the unmarked police vehicle. In his
packsack were 5.4 kilograms of marijuana.

On another occasion last year, U.S. Customs arrested a man, outfitted in
camouflage fatigues, who was making the crossing with several thousand
dollars and dope. He told officers he had dipped his uniform in a chemical
to make it less susceptible to sensors on border patrol aircraft. Another
time customs officers stopped a Mexican citizen coming down one of the
trails on a mountain bike. He had $40,000 strapped to his waist, which
police believe he was going to use to buy B.C. Bud.

Smugglers have been caught outfitted with their own night vision goggles,
Global Positioning Systems which use satellites to guide a person through
rough terrain, as well as bullet proof vests and guns. The guns aren't for
doing battle with the police. Mr. Guimond said they're mainly for protection
against other drug dealers who will wait along the trails to rip off fellow
smugglers.

For Mr. Guimond, the difference between the smuggling along the Canadian
border and the U.S.-Mexican border, where he worked for the last several
decades, is the intensity. Along the Mexican-U.S. border, there was a
defined harvest season for marijuana and agents would lie in wait for
smugglers during particular times. Since much of the B.C. Bud is grown
indoors there is no one harvest season, he explains. "It's a continual flow.
We're going around the clock," said Mr. Guimond, who has nine other agents
to cover the 40 kilometer stretch from Blaine to the foothills of the
Cascade Mountains.

He doesn't see the marijuana smugglers as typical criminals, but more as
opportunistic types lured by the attraction of large profits.

Even seniors seem to be getting into the act. Two months ago, a 65-year
retired Canadian man was caught picking up his son as he emerged from the
bush. The son had 27 kilograms of marijuana strapped to his back. Earlier
this month a mother and daughter were caught at one of border crossings with
14 kilograms of marijuana in their van.

RCMP Cpl. Pete Thompson is the Canadian counterpart to Mr. Guimond. His
unit, which deals with smuggling of all types of contraband along the
B.C.-Washington border, has seen a major increase in movement of marijuana
over the last 18 months. At that time seven out of 10 seizures were liquor
and tobacco. Now nine out of 10 seizures are illegal drugs, mainly B.C. Bud.

Police believe that motorcycle gangs have gained a hold on the marijuana
trade and are making vast profits. "In crime the commodity is irrelevant,"
said Cpl. Thompson. "If all of a sudden jelly beans were valuable then
they'd be smuggling jelly beans."

U.S. officials are trying to improve their odds at catching smugglers.
Earlier this month the American government announced it will spend almost $7
million installing a camera surveillance system to monitor the 40-kilometre
stretch from Blaine to the Cascade Mountains. Another seven immigration
agents will also be added.

The cameras will have a night vision capability to scan the dark and will be
linked to central monitoring stations by either fibre optic cable or
microwave. But even technology has its drawbacks as the high cost of the
system will mean there will be only one camera to per kilometre.

Smugglers are also already getting wise to any potential roadblocks on the
ground. Some pot smugglers have switched to transporting their product by
ship or small boat along the countless lakes or small inlets that dot the
border and coastline of B.C. and Washington.

Both Cpl. Thompson and Mr. Guimond acknowledge that law enforcement is only
scratching the surface of the smuggling operations. In May alone, about
$2.5-million U.S. worth of drugs was confiscated from smugglers by U.S.
officials patrolling the border in the Blaine area. So far this year
Vancouver police have raided 95 major grow operations compared to 62 at this
time in 1998.

In June a 30-day police surveillance operation along the border from Langley
to Chilliwack, B.C. netted 158 kilograms of marijuana and 17 kilograms of
cocaine. Thirty-nine people were arrested. Mr. Guimond said his customs
agents are making a contribution, but "the problem keeps growing. All we can
do is give it our best effort."

Law enforcement officials also worry about the reciprocal trade for B.C.
Bud. They say that while B.C. marijuana flows into the U.S., smugglers are
returning to Canada with cocaine.

"I wonder if people in Canada would be so complacent if they realized that
B.C. marijuana is being traded pound for pound for cocaine which goes back
into your country," said Mr. Guimond.

But Mr. Ellins doesn't buy into that argument. He said the cocaine angle is
an excuse to justify the "war on drugs" and police overtime directed toward
that conflict. Most of those growing marijuana, he said, have no interest in
other drugs.

But again he points to a solution -- decriminalization. If B.C. Bud is being
traded pound for pound for cocaine then government control of marijuana
would take it out of the hands of any criminals. Cocaine would have to be
traded or bought by criminals using other resources. "Organized crime is
involved in smuggling because there is money to be made, not because it
involves marijuana," Mr. Ellins said. "Police are fighting a losing battle
and they know it."