POLICE HARVEST MARIJUANA

Police swarmed area cornfields Wednesday, seizing more than $400,000
worth of marijuana destined for the streets of Oxford County.

Officers with Oxford Community Police Service hauled out armfuls of
plants that were nestled among nine-foot cornstalks in fields across
Norwich Township. More than 400 plants, some as tall as 2.1 metres,
were chopped down.

Acting Det. Sgt. Greg Fletcher of the drug unit said this year's crop
is "very healthy" compared to last year's, which died off from the
drought.

"The harvest, if it were left, would produce a major amount of
marijuana in the area," Fletcher said.

He added the plants would be maturing within the next
week.

This is the last week for their eradication program.

The bundles of fresh marijuana, which emanated a strong odour, were
thrown into a trailer for later disposal.

"The farmer had no idea," said Const. Laurie-Anne Maitland, who was
helping pull plants from a property on Milldale Road.

She added that 90 per cent of farmers don't know it's
there.

Many people believe marijuana is a "soft drug", Maitland said but they
are sorely mistaken.

"No drug is harmless," she said. "You don't just start shooting heroin
in your arm, you start with marijuana."

Many of the outdoor grows targeted this week were found through aerial
searches with the RCMP. Individual locations were marked with GPS and
digital photography.

"The eradication has been successful over the years," Fletcher
said.

"But with the townships voting to go with the OPP, this will be the
last year the OCPS will be involved in eradication in the townships."

A joint program with the RCMP and other police services wrapped up
last week, seizing $5-million worth of marijuana plants across Oxford,
Middlesex and Lambton counties. Of the 5,000 plants seized, 1,700 were
from Oxford County.