HIGH COST OF MARIJUANA

Each week we read about some grow op being raided in Vancouver or
Surrey, or some other big city neighbourhood. Less often we read in
our local papers about the same bust happening in our own neighbourhoods.

Fewer busts are the result of smaller overall population, not fewer
grow ops per capita. In our small communities we are no less likely
to come to grips with the problems arising out of the cultivation of
illegal crops.

How big a problem are marijuana growing operations? According to a
study published earlier this year by the University College of the
Fraser Valley (UCFV), between 1997 and 2000, the number of individual
incidents of marijuana grow operations increased by over 220 per
cent. Though the numbers levelled off after 2003, production did not:
"The amount of marijuana produced each year in British Columbia is
estimated to have increased from 19,729 kilos in 1997 to a seven-year
high of 79,817 in 2003."

Another valuable comparison comes from Statistics Canada, which found
that the rate of grow operations averages 27 per 100,000 population in Canada.

In BC, the number is 79.

Some will argue that this cash crop is a boon to local economies
because it generates millions of dollars of revenue for growers who,
in turn, spend some of it locally. Let us accept that for the moment.
But what are the associated costs to our society? To our communities?

Grow ops mostly come in two forms. There is the small-scale,
sometimes considered a mom-and-pop operation that is mostly engaged
in cultivation for personal use and perhaps some small profit on the
street. The small operation is not generally linked to organized crime groups.

Commercial operations at the other extreme are typically highly
organized, sophisticated and connected to organized crime. These
operations are there purely for profit--and they will act to guard
their source of revenue.

Whether small or commercial, many of these grow ops protect their
crops. The UCFV study lists other hazards found in grow ops: weapons,
booby traps, explosives, chemical products and other drugs. As well,
fire is one of the most common hazards, as grow ops have much higher
incidence rates.

What about other costs to our communities? Leaving aside the obvious
ones like smoking and encouraging people to use marijuana, we can
identify many other negative results from these operations, including
the mom-and-pop ones, by the way.

We will want to include the danger from electrical bypasses, damages
to rented homes and firearms and other weapons used to defend against
grow-op rip-offs. As if these were not enough, we must add in the
pollution from wastes generated by the operations. These include
chemicals--fertilizers, pH-adjusters, bleach, pesticides, herbicides
and fungicides--and all manner of plastic and equipment tossed into
landfills or left out in the bush.

In other words, while there may be some short-term fiscal benefit to
grow-op money circulating in the economy, the social and community
costs of growing marijuana far outweigh the minuscule benefits that
might be claimed. As difficult as it is to measure many of these
things, at least we can encourage some dialogue in our communities
over these issues.

* Dr. Paul Martiquet is the medical health officer for Powell River.