BUSTED GROW-OPS GO ONLINE

A new online database provides a window into what Saskatchewan
buildings may have housed marijuana grow operations in the past year.

The page on the RCMP website, launched this week as part of a national
marijuana strategy, shows where grow operations or "clandestine labs"
have been dismantled under the authority of a search warrant in Canada.

Three Regina addresses are listed, including a bust in December 2010
where 628 marijuana plants were found, and one as recent as this past
April involving 18 plants.

The website also lists addresses in Assiniboia, Viscount, Waseca and
Bulyea, plus an outbuilding in a rural area and a rural residence.

The point of it all is to raise public awareness about the potential
health and safety hazards that these drug operations pose within the
community, said Chan Dara, national marijuana grow-ops co-ordinator
for the RCMP.

Grow-ops can damage a home by way of mould or electrical or structural
modifications, which if they aren't addressed or disclosed can cause
problems, Dara said.

"That's the purpose of the website, that grow operations are prevalent
across the country and still a lot of Canadians don't feel that it
affects them and don't think about looking for those clues when they
look at buying a new house. This website, we're hoping, will raise
their awareness to the potential signs of grow operations."

Addresses stay on the site for a year. But it's not an exhaustive
list, he said.

"It's not to be relied upon to be a definitive answer of whether a
house contained a grow-op or not. We want the Canadian citizens to be
aware and ask the right questions when purchasing a house or other
properties, just to protect themselves," he said.

The RCMP works in partnership with other police agencies across the
country to combat drug operations. Dara said it's hoped that over the
next few months the database will publish as many grow-ops searched by
the RCMP as possible, including ones involving other police partners.

"That's still a work in progress because we have a lot of joint forces
investigations throughout the country."

The database includes how many plants were seized in each situation.
The largest number from the Saskatchewan list -- 628 --pales in
comparison to the biggest on Alberta's list, which was 3,338 plants
seized, or Manitoba, where one grow-op had 3,551 plants seized.

The marijuana grow initiative can be found at www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/drugsdrogues/mgi-ircm/index-eng.htm