B.C. BUD MAKING ITSELF AT HOME IN N.B.

MONCTON (CP) -- A new import from British Columbia is taking root in
New Brunswick forests and the RCMP aren't too happy about it.

"It's a new type of marijuana plant called B.C. Bud and we're finding
it in New Brunswick," said Kent, N.B., RCMP Sergeant David Mazerolle.

This particular species of plant is harder for police to see from the
sky because it's quite short. It's also more efficient for those who
grow it because it produces as many buds as a plant more than triple its size.

This is the time of year police will find marijuana plants because
it's almost harvest season for illegal outdoor grow-ops. As they have
the past few years, RCMP districts all over the province are
descending on hidden grow-ops and tearing the plants out of the ground.

It's known as Operation Sabot, and J Division Sergeant Derek Strong
said it started a few days ago and will likely continue for the next
couple of weeks.

"It's quite simple," he explained. "An RCMP helicopter goes up in the
air with spotters to look for marijuana fields, which are extremely
visible from the air. The plants are a colour green you don't
normally see, that almost glows. That makes it hard to hide."

Once a field is spotted, the co-ordinates are radioed to a ground
team that heads in on all-terrain vehicles or whatever it takes to reach it.

Occasionally, the fields are so secluded the chopper has to land so
the operation can be dismantled, but that's rare because the people
growing the marijuana have to be able to get to it.

As of yesterday, Kent RCMP had seized 1,600 plants in the Cocagne,
Bouctouche, Richibucto and Rexton areas and were following leads to
more possible fields.

Last year, only about 15 to 20 of the plants seized in Kent County
were B.C. Bud, but so far this year police have already uncovered 150.

"It seems it's becoming the plant of choice for many," Sgt. Mazerolle
said. "This is the first year we've seen so much."