SLOW START FOR RCMP'S ONLINE LIST IDENTIFYING BUSTED GROW
OPS

Website Is Part of National Strategy

A new national RCMP database that promises to list marijuana grow
operations is o to a slow start in Alberta.

The website, launched Wednesday in Ottawa as part of the RCMP's new
national marijuana grow strategy, lists only six grow ops in the
province dating back to November 2010.

RCMP say the website will only lists the grow ops busted by Mounties,
not by municipal forces such as the Calgary Police Service.

But of the six addresses listed, one is Calgary, two in Edmonton, and
one each in Sundre, Strathcona County, and near Veteran. The website,
as it now stands, lists none in Airdrie, Red Deer and Fort McMurray,
all of which are policed by RCMP.

"This is just starting. It's an awareness as much for our RCMP members
out there to start reporting this stuff to headquarters," said Supt.
Eric Slinn, director of the RCMP drug branch at national
headquarters.

"Time will tell as to how many grow ops will go on there. Is it a true
representation of the number of grow ops seized in Alberta right now?
Probably not, but as we roll this website out more and more we'll
probably see more RCMP units, whether they be detachments or drug
units, reporting those seizures to us."

For comparison's sake, Calgary had 168 grow op searches in 2010, which
yielded over $88 million in marijuana and an average 446 plants found.

The move is part of an RCMP-led initiative launched Wednesday in
Ottawa that will focus on enforcement, deterrence and awareness.

The website lists the address, location type, quantity of plants and
date.

The addresses will remain on the RCMP website for one
year.

"Marijuana grow operations pose a serious threat to Canadians, the
safety of our communities and the law enforcement officers fighting
against these illegal operations," said Shelly Glover, the
Conservative MP for St. Boniface, Man., and a former police officer.

Slinn said grow operations, with their mould and tampered electric
wiring pose a safety risk and are often tied to organized crime.

"I want to demystify the notion that marijuana is a harmless drug.
It's not from the perspective of the production and the trafficking of
it. It brings fires, explosions, violence and it begets the cocaine
and the drugs that come into the country."

Alberta Health Services already lists grow operations in the Calgary
and Edmonton areas. As of Wednesday, there are 78 addresses in the
Calgary area deemed uninhabitable because they were grow operations
and were busted in 2011.

The AHS site lists active orders that deem houses uninhabitable dating
back to 2009.