POT GROW-OPS A MENACE, OPP WARNS

Drugs and weapons make for a potentially lethal mix, and police in
Simcoe County are finding more of the latter when busting the former.
The issue of violence connected to the production of drugs flared into
the public's sightlines when four RCMP officers were gunned down in
rural Alberta, while attempting to apprehend a man in connection with
a grow-op and stolen property.

The four young officers, who ranged in age from 25 to 32, were
ambushed by Jim Roszko as they waited for him in a quonset hut on his
farm. He had fled the farm earlier, but somehow returned unnoticed,
killing the officers in a shootout in the hut. Roszko subsequently
killed himself, police say.

A national memorial service was held recently in Edmonton for
constables Peter Schiemann, 25, Lionide Johnston, 32, and Myrol, 29,
of the RCMP's Mayerthorpe detachment, and Anthony Gordon, 28, from the
Whitecourt station.

Initial reports and observations connected the killings to the
presence of a grow-op, but the focus has since shifted to that of a
troubled man with a history of violence and crime, who was somehow in
possession of a high-powered semi-or fully-automatic rifle.

Even though attention has moved from a 'grow-op' with only 20 pot
plants, police aren't downplaying the potential for violence connected
to the proliferation of grow operations, many of which have been found
right here in Simcoe County. These operations present significant
dangers to both police and the public, said Det. Insp. Frank Elbers,
who is with the OPP Drug Enforcement section, based out of Orillia.

"There has been a huge increase in weapons," he said of guns found at
raided grow operations. In the past three years, local police
agencies, members of the Huronia Combined Forces Drug Unit, have
seized 211 weapons.

Indoor grow-ops present risks to officers first on the crime scene,
and to citizens residing or working nearby, as many are rigged with
booby-traps, said Elbers.

There are also health hazards associated with indoor grow-ops, because
humid growing conditions make them prime breeding grounds for mould,
and shoddy, illegal hydro connections leave them vulnerable to fire
and explosion.

In Alberta, investigators continue to piece together what happened at
that farm. Questions are being raised, including:

- - How was it that four relatively inexperienced constables were left
to ultimately face a man 'well known' to police?

- - Why was the national gun-registry program so ineffective at keeping
weapons out of the hands of a man with a track record of violence and
crime?

- - Why is Canada such a haven for grow operations which have been
linked to organized crime?

What is evident is the frustration law-enforcement officials feel in
dealing with an increasing number of marijuana grow-operations across
the country. While the numbers show that British Columbia and Quebec
lead the country in numbers of these illegal operations, Ontario is
certainly no slacker. Some estimates put the number as high as 15,000
in this province.

"It's a huge problem," said Elbers.

In Central Ontario, the rural nature of the region aids and abets the
growth of grow-ops in corn fields and other 'camouflaged' sites. Every
year, officers from local police services search on land and from the
air for grow-ops.

In 2000, about 150 outdoor marijuana plots, with drugs worth $88
million, were found province-wide. An additional $500,000 in property
was seized.

Generally, police peg the value of marijuana plants at $1,000 each.
"When we give a value, it's at the bottom end of the scale," said Elbers.

Grow-op investigations make up the bulk of work for local drug
officers, said Elbers, and tips from the public are valuable tools.

Pot today is much more potent than 30 years ago. THC levels, which
gives the plant its drug properties, have increased from three per
cent to as high as 30 per cent. The 'quality' of Canadian pot makes it
a valued product to produce, with most of it going to the U.S.

It's big business. While Canadian pot moves south, growers bring back
cash, cocaine and weapons, making Canadian streets and communities
less safe.

Elbers blames light sentences for the rapid growth of grow-ops.
Several years ago, police spotted acres and acres of plants just north
of Barrie. It was deemed Ontario's largest pot bust at that time. It
took 15 officers a day to chop down all the plants. The grower was
sentenced to 30 months in jail. Others have received nothing more than
house arrest or suspended sentences.

Currently, the law is similar for the person who grows 10 or 1,000
plants. South of the border, the courts deal much more harshly with
growers. "In the U.S., it's jail time," said Elbers. "If there isn't
any jail time, then there isn't much of a deterrent. The risk is low
and the reward makes it very attractive."

Elbers said he was encouraged by the stiffer sentences handed out to
the 'farmers' who were charged for their involvement with the grow
operation at the former Molson plant. Seven of the men found inside by
officers a year ago January, pleaded guilty in December. Their
sentences ranged from two years house arrest to five years in jail.

Officers seized 25,000 plants at the old brewery, and another 5,000
plants at a building just north of Barrie, making it the largest
indoor grow-op in Canadian history.

Even though the finger pointed at grow-ops after the shootings is now
pointing elsewhere, police hope the public is finally seeing the
danger these operations pose.

"I can only hope the courts will starting taking it more seriously,"
said Elbers.

"Everyone needs to sit up and take notice of what is going on."