GROWING SEASON IS HERE

Police Urge Public To Watch For Pot Fields

Lambton County's marijuana growing season is now into full swing, according
to police.

Those who harvest pot typically start the seedlings in the spring and
transplant their yield to an outdoor grow area, said John Reurink of the
Lambton OPP.

"They're usually found in remote areas where they won't be detected by
passersby," Reurink said. "In the centre of a cornfield or in and along
woodlots and creek beds a fair distance away from roadways."

The plants will remain in these secret locations until they can be
harvested in late August or early September, Reurink said.

"It occurs all over," he added.

For police, finding these hidden and lucrative crops can prove challenging.
The crops are often well-hidden and when they are spotted, police rarely
find those responsible.

"We've had cases where people are running out of one end of the field while
we're going into the other," Reurink said. "(But) in most cases we don't
find anybody."

Reurink said there have been cases in the past where police have arrested
individuals in connection with outdoor grow operations.

He said police often receive help from the public in spotting the crops,
particularly from pilots flying over farm fields.

"If it's being grown in a cornfield, it's an obvious pattern," Reurink
said. "You should be able to find it (from the air) quite easily."

In the past the OPP have also had the opportunity to borrow a police
helicopter to patrol for the illegal crops.

While the growing of marijuana does take place in Lambton, the problem is
certainly not restricted to the area.

Acting Detective Inspector Tony Fletcher of the OPP based in Orillia said
the problem is occurring in all parts of the province.

"We're seizing numerous plants from outdoor grows at all locations in
Ontario," he said, but noted they are more prevalent in rural municipalities.

Last year, police seized 104,000 plants across the province and charged 37
people. That number is up significantly from the previous two years, when
police seized 78,000 plants in 2003 and 56,000 plants in 2002. In 2000,
89,000 marijuana plants were seized by police and 41 people were charged.

With an estimated street value of up to $1,000 per plant, growing marijuana
can be a lucrative venture.

"It was up, then it was coming down and now it's obviously on the swing
back up," Fletcher said of the amount of pot being grown in Ontario.

He attributes the increase to an increased demand for marijuana and the
lack of stiff penalties for those charged.

"The financial aspect (of growing marijuana) is worth the risk of getting
caught," Fletcher said of those involved in the grow ops. "The low
penalties the people who are caught are receiving in court is not a
deterrent for people to stop growing."

Some growers have gone to the trouble of booby-trapping the grow areas.

Fletcher said that while no OPP officers in the province have fallen victim
to these traps, they have come across some very disturbing setups. He said
officers have found everything from explosives, to razor wiring covering
plants and nails in boards.

"Those are the types of booby traps we're faced with," he said.

Locally, about 1,500 to 2,000 plants are confiscated by police each year,
Reurink said.

"I would say it's a concern, but it's not our only concern," Reurink said.
"We're also dealing with a number of other drugs out there."

In recent weeks police have seized substantial quantities of cocaine,
ecstasy and methamphetamine, Reurink said.

"They're all drugs that seem to have a popularity here and that is a
danger. We want to stop all of them if we can," he said.