POT WORTH $50 MILLION ON STREET

Marijuana Harvest | RCMP Say Plants Would've Likely Been Sold As Pot In N.B.

Marijuana with an estimated street value of more than $50 million
has been seized by RCMP in the province over the last several weeks.

Although final figures are still being tallied, RCMP said Wednesday
that as many as 20,000 plants have been ripped from the ground by
the police force during its annual marijuana-eradication program.

That adds up to 10 million joints, said Sgt. Luc Breton of RCMP J
Division's drug-awareness section.

"It makes us feel good," Breton said "The less weed that's on the
street, the less kids that are going to be getting it."

Breton said the RCMP's success in locating and removing the plants
can be credited to the work by district police offices in New
Brunswick and to more assistance from the public.

"When you think about it, there is no doubt that these weeds are
going to our streets and it is affecting everybody," Breton said.

"It is a known fact that a lot of young people will start using weed
as their first drug of choice and then it goes from there. By the
end of the day, they are addicted to hard chemical drugs."

RCMP estimate that at least a quarter of the marijuana grown in New
Brunswick finds its way into the hands of organized crime.

Breton said there are more plant seizures than arrests.

That's because many of the marijuana grow operations are isolated
and people use their familiarity with the locations to avoid being picked up.

"It's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Breton said. "We
would love to get the people in the marijuana plantations, but the
season is so short and we do not have the manpower to do the
surveillance on those plantations like we would love to.

"At the end of the day, we would sooner take the plantation than nothing."

Michael Boudreau, an associate professor with the Department of
Criminology and Criminal Justice at St. Thomas University, said
seizing the marijuana and proving who owns it are two different things.

He said there aren't many arrests because it's easier for police to
take the substance in the hope of sending a message to growers that
they're being watched.

But when it comes to searching private property, police have to have
a warrant and be able to prove they have good cause or good reason,
Boudreau said.

People who feel their rights have been violated because of marijuana
seizures have the right to challenge under Section 8 of the Charter
of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that everyone has the right
to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure, he said.

"But I hope they have deep pockets, because it is going to take a
while," Boudreau said. "It's not impossible but it's difficult to
argue one charter right against another. There is also the proviso
that the goals of fundamental justice should also prevail.

"If it means protecting society from illegal drugs, as opposed to
respecting someone's privacy, the chances are the fundamental
justice would be protecting society from drugs."

Breton, meanwhile, acknowledges that a search warrant is needed if
police have knowledge that marijuana is situated on private
property. But if a plantation is noticed from the air, RCMP can eradicate it.

"We would be allowed to stop and pick up that because we had no
knowledge it was there," Breton said. "We haven't had (anyone
complain) yet and I don't know anybody that would walk forward and
say, (hey) 'Those are my plants.' "