GROW-OPS AN 'EPIDEMIC'

Marijuana grow-ops are an "epidemic" in Ontario, fueling organized
crime and putting the public in harm's way, says the manager of the
OPP Drug Enforcement Section.

While police report a 200 per cent spike in the number of pot fields
uprooted in the region this season, officials say the seizures are
only the tip of a massive iceberg.

"For every one grow that we get, there's maybe two or three that we
miss," said Insp. Bryan Martin.

The OPP traditionally runs its eradication program from August through
October, when the leafy green plants with the pungent payload are
ready for picking.

With some growers now pulling their pot early to avoid losing the
valuable cash crop, police often find themselves dashing into fields
months before the regular harvest.

"If we can get in and get one while they are not mature, they are
still growing and get them out, it is easier for us," said Martin,
describing the work as "exhaustive."

Investigators in the Central North region tore up more than $27
million worth of pot between June and September, with the majority of
plants - more than 20,000 - unearthed in Simcoe County. The District
of Muskoka trailed behind with about 5,000 plants seized.

About 1,500 plants were discovered in Dufferin County and another 216
in Peel Region.

According to Martin, many of the plots are owned by organized crime
and are tended to by new immigrants "who are being exploited."

Harvested plants are routinely transported to the U.S. and traded for
cocaine and weapons "that land up back on our local streets," he said.

Growers often employ booby traps and armed guards to protect these
remote rural operations against would-be thieves, he added.

"It is imperative that we do get out there and that we do spend the
time looking for these grows, because it is a public safety concern,"
he said.

Martin said he has seen no evidence to suggest decriminalizing
marijuana would end crimes associated with the drug.

"It is all organized crime," he said. "They want to make money, and
there is money to be made in marijuana."

The OPP leases one helicopter for the seasonal eradication program and
has access to two force-owned helicopters.

"We are going in to some pretty remote areas," Martin
added.

Twenty people were arrested in connection with four of the 50
marijuana plots raided in the Central North region.

Police last year eradicated 17 pot fields and seized 3,000 plants, but
arrested no one.