RCMP TAKING A BITE OUT OF OUTDOOR GROW-OPS

Outdoor marijuana grow operations in the province are being targeted
by law enforcement officials.

Over the last two weeks, the RCMP has worked with other agencies to
seize more than 1,800 marijuana plants, capable of producing close to
one million pot cigarettes.

The seizures, made from sites in Madawaska, Victoria and Charlotte
counties, are expected to deny organized crime hundreds of thousands
of dollars.

Staff Sgt. Gary Hadley, who heads up the drugs/organized crime unit at
RCMP J Division, said there's nothing at this point to indicate
they've seized more marijuana this year than in previous years.

But the next few weeks will tell the tale, he said, as the outdoor
season for the plant starts coming to a conclusion. The growing cycle
for outdoor marijuana grow operations is early spring to the end of
August or mid-September.

Hadley said marijuana needs a combination of wet and dry weather in
order to flourish.

"In New Brunswick, we have good weather for that, unfortunately."

In 2006, the RCMP seized more than 20,000 plants in New Brunswick as
part of its annual eradication program.

Hadley said growers are constantly adapting and adjusting their
operations to keep them out of sight.

"This is a constant evolution," he said. "They keep trying to ... hide
them better, but there are always means and ways for us to identify
them and to find them."

Air patrols and relying on tips from the public are two methods RCMP
use to track down outdoor grow-ops.

"The public is a huge part in this program and there are a lot of
concerned citizens out there, and we certainly reach out to them and
ask them to fully co-operate to fight this production, which is
certainly a way to finance organized crime," Hadley said.

Depending on the size of the crop, and the pipeline to move the drug,
those involved are looking at substantial amounts of money, Hadley
said.

A 2007 RCMP criminal intelligence report on the drug situation in
Canada noted that marijuana trafficking is highly profitable for
organized crime, with most organized crime groups in Canada involved
at some level of the marijuana trade.

Michael Boudreau, a criminology professor at St. Thomas University,
said the recent seizures represent the "tip of the iceberg" with
regard to the amount of illegally grown marijuana - not only in New
Brunswick but in neighbouring provinces.

"It's an important seizure," Boudreau said. "But, I think, overall, it
will have a minimal impact because in many ways this is a waste of
police resources - especially in New Brunswick where the RCMP are
pretty thinly stretched in terms of resources."

Drugs are a serious problem, he said, but marijuana shouldn't be.

"Our laws make it a serious problem. But if we were to decriminalize
small amounts of marijuana, the police could then target their
resources to much more serious criminal activity."

But RCMP are convinced that tackling marijuana production is time well
spent.

"I have seen little good of what marijuana can do for us, opposed to
the problems that it brings to our young generation and older
generation," Hadley said. "It's a gateway to other drugs, first of
all, and it just creates so many problems, health issues, disturbance
in families and relationships. It's a never-ending problem."

Anyone with information regarding marijuana production is encouraged
to contact local police or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.