IS DON MILLS GOING TO POT?

Number Of Grow-Ops In Area Has Tripled, Police Stats Show

The Don Mills neighbourhood is getting greener by the minute, but this time
it has nothing to do with its beautiful landscape.

The number of marijuana grow operations has more than tripled since 2003,
according to recent police statistics obtained by the Town Crier.

In 2003, police uncovered three grow-ops, but in 2004, they busted 11 of
them, all around Don Mills and 401 neighbourhood.

Of the 11 grow-ops found in this community last year, seven of them were
found in apartment buildings, while four were in homes in the area where
Don Mills meets the highway. Police seized 2,738 plants, weighing roughly
185 kilograms (400 lbs), worth up to $3.5 million on the street. Dealers
typically sell by the gram, each going for $10 to $20.

So far, in 2005, police have come across three marijuana grow-ops but Staff
Inspector Dan Hayes of the drug squad said that number is likely to grow.

"It's still a relatively low number," said Hayes. "I wouldn't characterize
it as a problem in this particular neighbourhood."

The statistics show the area just northeast of the neighbourhood, in the
northern part of Scarborough, is the area most plagued with the illegal hot
spots, with their numbers jumping from 43 in 2003 to 134 last year. This
year, the latest numbers show that police have shut down 63 operations.

Not all neighbourhoods are going green. In the downtown core, statistics
show the numbers decreasing, while just south of us in the Thorncliffe Park
area and the surrounding communities, police have found none so far this year.

But the higher numbers in Don Mills isn't necessarily an indication the
problem is growing, said Hayes, though he added that soft court sentences
certainly don't help.

"It can be attributed to a lack of meaningful sentences acting as a
(deterrent)," he said. "But also, we're discovering more grow-ops because
of increased public awareness. The public is aware of the tell-tale signs."

He said a lot of the indoor gardens are found by building inspectors or by
landlords investigating floods. Police have also made it a priority to be
more proactive in seeking out marijuana operations by educating the public
and cultivating informants.

While most of the grow-ops found in the area were operated from apartment
buildings, Hayes said most of the time dealers choose spacious suburban
homes in middle-class communities for the added privacy and space. Still,
as the statistics show, apartment buildings are becoming a becoming a
popular trend.

"It's probably riskier holding it there," said Hayes. "Often, it's unrented
units that are turned into grows. They go in there, change the locks and
run it until it's discovered. It's a crap shoot."

Dealers operating out of homes still have a good chance of getting busted
- -- especially from their neighbours. Hayes said the public should be aware
of late-night activity, bright lights coming out from blinded windows, or
of generally poor maintenance in the front and back yards. The strong
skunk-like odour of marijuana is often a dead giveaway too, he said.

Unfortunately, the sentences are such that the perpetrators might re-offend
even if they are caught, Hayes said.

"Sometimes, they're given a conditional sentence of house arrest," he said.
"Can you believe it? Someone who's convicted of operating a marijuana
grow-op sentenced to staying at home? It doesn't make sense."

He said about 25 percent of convicts are given a jail sentence, and even
then it's only for a couple of months at most. Other times, they have to
pay a fine or are sentenced to community service.

"It's definitely not enough to clean out their profits," he said. "A
typical grow-op can generate about $1 million a year and we're not talking
about an elaborate one here -- a basic operation with about 150 plants."