TRAGIC SHOOTING OF RCMP OFFICERS SHOWS GROW-OPS NOT TO BE TAKEN LIGHTLY

CALGARY (CP) - The deaths of four RCMP officers may be what it finally
takes to get the Canadian public to take the dangers of marijuana grow
operations seriously, a Calgary police officer said Thursday.

"There is some apathy out there, and unfortunately maybe it takes
incidents like this to wake people up," said Staff Sgt. Birnie Smith
of the Southern Alberta Marijuana Investigative Team.

"It's A Danger to Everyone."

The officers were gunned down when they surprised a man during a raid
on a farmhouse near Rochfort Bridge, Alta.

The man shot them with a high-powered rifle, then killed
himself.

Smith said people have become somewhat blase about the operations,
possibly because grow-op busts seems to have become commonplace on the
nightly news.

"I don't know if it's overexposure, but it's such a huge problem that
people tend to think of it as ONLY a marijuana grow. Well, it's not
ONLY a marijuana grow," he said with frustration.

"This isn't joe-average citizen doing this - it's organized crime. I
don't know how we get that message through to people."

Liberal MP Dan McTeague said in Ottawa that one way might be to
rewrite pot legislation currently before Parliament to include
mandatory, minimum four-year sentences for marijuana growers.

"This has gone too far, it's not a laughing matter," McTeague said.
"We have legislation that may have the unintended effect of
increasing marijuana grow operations. I think it's now time for
Parliament to target marijuana grow operations, shut them down."

Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan held a news conference Thursday
to say that she and Justice Minister Irwin Cotler will review the
proposed bill to see whether it is tough enough.

The marijuana bill, reintroduced in November, would decriminalize
possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Possession of up to 15 grams could be punishable by a fine of $150 for
adults and $100 for minors.

The bill proposes a maximum sentence of up to 14 years for anyone
caught with more than 50 marijuana plants. Police, however, have
called for automatic minimum sentences of five to seven years for
big-time growers.