GROW-OP GAME LETS YOU PLAY POT ENTREPRENEUR

Pitfalls Stressed, Say Creators Of Hot Novelty

'You Get Ratted On By Neighbours, Hydro Cuts You Off, You Get Floods, There
Are Tons Of Stuff That Is Negative About It' -- Game Co-Creator Ivan
Solomon Speaks On Grow Ops

VANCOUVER -- Forget Monopoly, forget Scrabble -- the hot new Christmas gift
in Canada this year is a board game that lets the player run their own
"B.C. Bud" marijuana grow operation.

It's called The Grow-Op Game.

Creators bill it as an educational board game that highlights the perils
involved in the pot business and cautions would-be growers about the high
stakes. "You get ratted on by neighbours, hydro cuts you off, you get
floods, there are tons of stuff that is negative about it," said
Vancouver-based creator Ivan Solomon on Saturday.

"People would think that with grow-ops everyone would like to have one in
their basement, that it's easy money. It's far from being easy."

Solomon said the Monopoly-style game is the brainchild of a young,
twentysomething reformed pot grow operator, known only as the "Rabbit" to
conceal his identity.

Rabbit and Solomon brought the idea to fruition only about four weeks ago,
but the game has caused a huge stir among consumers eager to play it.

But the Rabbit wanted to show would-be criminals grasping at fast cash is
not all its cracked up to be.

And who better to share the dire pitfalls of the "weed biz" than the
Rabbit, who spent some time in jail for the crime. In fact, he came up with
the game idea while behind bars. During his time as a B.C. entrepreneur
living his Field of Greens, the Rabbit experienced floods, fires, fungus,
bugs, ceilings collapsing and, said Solomon, "that inevitable knock on the
door from the authorities."

Employees at The Amsterdam Cafe in the heart of Vancouver's historic
Gastown were thrilled to receive the game because of endless requests for
the holiday gift that gives the player the thrill-seeker's "high" without
getting busted.

An employee at the cafe, who declined to offer a name, said the phone has
been ringing off the hook for the game.

"People are going crazy for it. It's so all-of-a-sudden and I'm sure if
we're able to get more we will."

Players roll the dice, move around the board, renting properties, buying
lights and equipment, plants, and finally harvesting crops from their grow ops.

Moving in an opposite direction on the cylinder-shaped board is the
"GrowBuster." He lands on the unsuspecting player's property, rips out the
grow operation and sends the player directly to jail.

"Out of six players, one might get lucky," said Solomon.

Sounds almost like real-life odds.

But before any would-be growers get excited by the seemingly mellow stakes,
Mounties warn the real-life roll of the dice comes with grave consequences.
"I think it's probably based on a hot topic right now which is exploiting a
lot of people's ignorance," said Cpl. Scott Rintoul, spokesman for the RCMP
drug awareness squad.

Rintoul said it's no secret how much money can be made in the marijuana
industry in Canada.

He's concerned, however, that the game does not illustrate how devastating
the impact of the drug trade can be on the victims of organized crime.

"Do they make drunk-driving games? Are they including also about the
murders and assaults?

"If you want to teach people, then teach it that way, don't just pick on
something that is the flavour of the month or whatever," he said. "It's not
a game."

But Solomon is adamant the game was developed to teach all the trials and
tribulations of getting involved in something so illegal.

"It doesn't promote the industry," said Solomon. "You can teach a lot with
humour."

And according to the game developer, even some police officers have
acknowledged it's all in fun.

"One of the police that obviously heard about this came up to buy one as
their door prize for their Christmas party," he said. The game is being
marketed online by the Board Games Corp. and sold at a few alternative-type
stores for $39.95. Solomon hopes the game will take off and be mainstream
by next Christmas.