Mounties targeting indoor pot: The RCMP call for regulations to govern
the purchase of basins, lamps and waterpumps used to cultivate
marijuana indoors.

By: JIM BRONSKILL

The RCMP want government to regulate the sale of hydroponic equipment
to help snuff out illegal marijuana cultivation, a booming source of
revenue for the Hell's Angels biker gang and other criminals.

The Mounties say that indoor pot growing reached record levels last
year, generating high profits that will attract further interest from
organized crime.

And a newly declassified RCMP study warns that as long as there are no
regulations governing the purchase of basins, lamps and waterpumps
used to cultivate marijuana, growing facilities will sprout up across
the country.

The study, The Hydroponic Cultivation of Marijuana in Canada:
Evolution and Trends, was prepared by the RCMP's criminal intelligence
directorate in May 1995, but not publicly released. A copy of the
classified report was recently obtained under the Access to
Information Act.

Marijuanagrowers are turning away from conventional outdoor
cultivation and opting for greenhouses and hydroponic facilities, in
part because growing pot in controlled surroundings increases its
psychoactive ingredient, making it more attractive to users.

The RCMP study recommends that businesses that sell hydroponic
equipment be required to record the names and addresses of customers.
Currently, there are no laws specifically governing such sales and it
is presumed the items are to be used for commercial gardening.

The study, however, suggests some equipment dealers have criminal
connections.

``There is no attempt here to tar all suppliers of hydroponic
equipment with the same brush, but there is certainly reason to afford
them special attention, especially in light of some information
provided by a number of divisions.''

Chief Superintendent Wayne Wawryk, the RCMP's director of criminal
intelligence, said in an interview that controlling the sale of
hydroponic equipment would be useful.

But such transactions fall under provincial jurisdiction, which could
make it tricky for the federal government to do much. ``It might be
very difficult to deal with that issue,'' Wawryk said.

William Sutherland, who runs a hydroponic retail outlet in Vanier,
Ont., says he wants nothing to do with marijuana, but adds he can't
control what people do with the equipment he sells.

Sutherland believes potgrowers will simply steal the necessary items
if governments impose controls, such as registration of buyers' names.
``It'll never make a difference to those people.''

There are regulations governing equipment sales in the United States,
which has taken a harder line on drugs and often imposes tougher
penalties than Canada against potgrowers and traffickers.

Police believe the differences in approach account for the fact
Canadian growers, including many in British Columbia, now export large
quantities of pot south of the border.

The RCMP say the B.C. Hell's Angels are heavily involved in hydroponic
cultivation and export to other provinces, as well as western U.S.
states. Police believe thousands of hydroponic facilities operate
yearround in British Columbia.

Hydroponic potgrowing has also soared in Quebec and Alberta, says the
RCMP's outlook on organized crime for 1997. ``The profits generated by
the cultivation of marijuana will encourage criminal groups to
increase their involvement in this illicit activity.''

Technology is making life easier for the grower, who can now use a
computer to monitor a remote indoor facility without actually visiting
the premises until the plants are ready for harvest.

Temperature, light levels and nutrient flow can all be controlled
electronically, the marijuana study says.

``The era of cyberhydroponics is now upon us.''