ILLEGAL DRUG INDUSTRY BOOMING WITH POTENT NEW PRODUCTS: RCMP STUDY SAYS

Organized Crime Has Introduced 'Budder' And 'Cheese,' Report Says

Organized crime continues to fuel the drug trade in Canada, with
increasingly sophisticated gangs branching out to produce more potent
and lethal drugs with names like "budder" and "cheese," a new report shows.

The RCMP's Drug Situation Report 2006, released Monday, said criminal
organizations are a driving force behind the drug trade and have
grown from one-drug shops into sophisticated multi-commodity
trafficking, importing and exporting groups, transforming Canada's
"once flat market into a multi-dimensional booming industry."

This includes the use of new techniques and the blending of certain
drugs to make them more potent or addictive, the report notes.

Police are particularly concerned about two new innovations: "budder"
and "cheese."

Budder, an inhaled cannabis derivative believed to have emerged in
Vancouver in 2004, has THC levels ranging from 82 per cent to 99.6
per cent, much more potent than smoked marijuana. THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol) is the psychoactive substance in the cannabis plant.

Cheese -- described as a deadly concoction of heroin and nighttime
cold medicine -- is being blamed for more than a dozen deaths, mostly
teenagers, in the U.S.

It is inexpensive to make and easier to use because it can be smoked
or snorted rather than injected. Police are watching to see if its
use will spread into Canada.

"These organizations are powerful, well-connected and are dealing in
high profit-yielding illicit ventures across the globe," said the report.

The annual report is based on seizure data and investigations
conducted by the RCMP and other enforcement agencies and provides an
overview of the drug trade in Canada and highlights new and emerging trends.

It shows that crime networks with origins in Asia have expanded meth
production and distribution in B.C., Alberta and Ontario, while
Middle East crime groups, particularly in B.C., are among the few in
Canada specializing in importing and trafficking opium.

But an Abbotsford criminologist warns that organized criminals hoping
to cash in on B.C.'s once-lax attitude to drug production and
trafficking will face more consequences as stricter laws are imposed.

Darryl Plecas, a criminology professor at the University College of
the Fraser Valley, said B.C. has been a hotbed of organized crime
groups because of a perception they could set up drug labs with
little chance of repercussion.

"People are going to get a rude awakening," Plecas said. "All of
these newcomers coming in and producing opium or whatever they're
doing, they're going to find soon here there's going to be changes."

Still, B.C., along with Ontario and Quebec, remains a predominant
producer of cannabis products -- which include marijuana and hashish.
Statistics Canada reported a decrease of four per cent in
cannabis-related offences in 2006, while the RCMP study said there
has been a decline of pot seizures in B.C. since 2003 but that the
number of seizures in Ontario and Quebec remains stable.

Among emerging trends in 2006 in the marijuana market were the
production of increasingly potent marijuana and the shift towards
using private aircraft to smuggle drugs between B.C. and the United
States. Harrison Hot Springs and Bellingham are often used as
drop-off and pick-up points for the helicopters.

Cannabis products -- which include marijuana and hashish -- represent
the world's largest illicit drug market, with approximately 160
million customers around the world. That market, specifically the
production of marijuana, is flourishing in Canada, according to the
RCMP report. Demand for pot is high both at home and abroad,
particularly in the United States, the report found.

Illegal motorcycle gangs and organized crime groups of Asian origin
dominate the pot growing and selling industry in Canada, the report
said, and the organized crime groups will often buy pieces of rural
land or urban properties to produce the drug.

"Smuggling of Canadian-grown marijuana to the United States continues
to be a concern for both countries," the report states.

Plecas said B.C.'s level of sophistication in the marijuana market
has spread to other parts of the world, most notably Britain,
Australia and New Zealand.

"That level of sophistication developed here in B.C. is being found
in other jurisdictions," he said. "They'll tell you about their B.C.
connections ... It's such an outrageously profitable business. It
always boggled me why there weren't more [grow ops] everywhere. Once
it was established it can be produced in a three-level home with a
basement, why wouldn't you have 20 of them?"

The report also noted that the exchange of drug commodities continued
to increase in 2006. Proceeds generated from the sale of
Canadian-grown marijuana in the U.S., for example, were used to
finance other illicit activities, including the purchase of cocaine
and guns smuggled from the U.S. into Canada.

The RCMP report said that drug trafficking is a highly lucrative
activity, generating more profits than any other form of commodity
trafficking. In 2006, the estimated street value of drugs seized in
Canada amounted to $2.3 billion.

The report was released a week after 17 Lower Mainland men, including
Yong Long Ye -- the alleged mastermind of a drug syndicate, were
arrested to face a variety of drugs and weapons charges.

Police said the investigation led to the seizure of drugs with a
wholesale value of $168 million.

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CANADA'S GROWING ROLE

Some of the key findings from the report:

Canada was identified as a transit country for trafficking cocaine
to Australia.

Canada is becoming a major producer and exporter of ecstasy.

There was a massive increase in opium seizures in 2006, jumping to
124 kg from just 16 kg the year before.

Altering existing drugs by blending them with others, possibly
making them more addictive, and developing new processing methods are
growing trends.

Annual Canadian marijuana production is estimated at between 1,399
and 3,498 tonnes.

In 2006, 1,749,057 plants and 13,154 kg were seized by law enforcement.

In 2006, the estimated street value of drug seizures by Canadian
law enforcement agencies amounted to $2.3 billion.