HERE COMES THE JUDGE -- AND HIS MARIJUANA CROP

Justice David Marshall sees plenty of drug dealers in his
Haldimand-Norfolk court.

But that didn't prepare the Ontario Court (general division) judge for
the sight of a pot plantation thriving among the crops on his
Cayuga-area farm. Marshall, 59, stumbled across the marijuana two
weeks ago while inspecting fields in an isolated part of his large
farm.

``I saw these plants that looked like Christmas trees, they were that
high and they looked so green and fresh.''

Marshall didn't recognize them as marijuana because he'd only seen the
plant dried and in bags, as exhibits in the courtroom.

But upon closer inspection, he noticed they were growing in pots
filled with fertilizer. ``That's when I clued in.''

Marshall called Cayuga OPP, who took a pickup truck full of pot to
nearby Lake Erie Steel for burning.

Cayuga OPP Detective Constable Gary Pinnegar said police get several
calls from farmers this time of year about illicit pot crops, which
are often planted in corn fields. Several crops have already been
hauled away.

He did not know the value of the crop taken from Marshall's farm but
said each marijuana plant is worth about $1,000.

Pinnegar said it's difficult to catch the culprits, because they plant
on someone else's property.

Still, Marshall said he was not expecting to find the illegal weed on
his own property, in a rural community where everyone knows everyone
else. ``Surprising that they would pick a judge's property,'' he said.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady