RCMP DEFENDS CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL DRUGS

Busy Season | Pot Party Spokesman Says 'We Live In A Crime Factory Of
Fear'

The RCMP in New Brunswick is making no apologies for targeting
marijuana grow operations.

Sgt. Claude Tremblay said he doesn't agree with "illegal drug
advocates" who say Mounties have better things to do with their time
than busting marijuana growers.

"We invite anyone who has a problem with that, (who) feels we have
seized their marijuana, to call us and make a complaint."

Marijuana is a huge issue in New Brunswick - one that affects
everyone, Tremblay said Wednesday.

Over the past month, the force, as part of its marijuana eradication
efforts, has seized nearly 15,000 outdoor marijuana plants, capable of
creating 7.5 million joints.

The seizures were made from more than 150 outdoor sites throughout New
Brunswick.

"Preventing and deterring marijuana production and trafficking are
things we take very seriously," Tremblay said.

"Marijuana is currently the most frequently abused drug by young
people in New Brunswick, many of whom may be under the false
impression that it is a soft or harmless drug."

That's not true, said the sergeant.

"Marijuana is a dangerous, illegal substance with the potential to
cause serious impairment, and create lasting physical and
psychological problems."

The RCMP has been criticized in recent weeks for chasing down outdoor
marijuana grow operations and using what some people say are stretched
police resources.

Michael Moffat, president of the Fredericton Marijuana Party, said
police are fighting a war on drugs that's creating a criminal element
similar to what occurred during the time of alcohol
prohibition.

"Even during the time of alcohol prohibition, police would claim to
make these huge busts in which ... they were but, in actuality, the
busts themselves were quite minute in the size of the potential rings
that were involved to start with," Moffat said.

"We live in the crime factory of fear. So the police come out and make
it sound like, 'Look what we've done.' "

What people don't realize, Moffat said, is that funds are being used
to create criminal elements within society that don't need to be there.

The issue of why people are growing marijuana is what needs to be
tackled, he said.

"Only then can we begin to identify the real casualty of what is going
on here and how to fix that," Moffat said.

Tremblay defends the force's focus on illegal drugs and rejects
assumptions it's money not well spent.

"The cost is a lot more in the point of view of our kids on the
streets and in the schools and what it does to them."

Marijuana growing and usage is illegal, Tremblay said.

Police don't turn a blind eye to speeders or impaired drivers and this
isn't any different, he said.

"We just can't close our eyes on that. It's a problem."

Tremblay said information provided by the public has helped RCMP
locate the plants taken this year.

It's difficult to make arrests in connection with these grow
operations because they often occur on Crown land or on someone else's
private land that's not checked often.

It would take enormous resources to stake out locations in order to
make arrests, Tremblay said.

Anyone with any information regarding marijuana grow operations or any
other illegal activity is asked to contact N.B. Crime Stoppers at
1-800-222-8477 or their local police.