ONTARIO POT GOES OUT, COKE COMES IN

OPP Expose Cross-Border Trade

TORONTO -- The OPP is getting ready to release one of the most
in-depth, comprehensive and "eye-opening" projects ever done that
shows marijuana harvested from an epidemic of grow houses is going
south in direct trade for cocaine. The full details of project Long
Haul won't be released to the public until next week, but Det. Staff
Sgt. Rick Barnum of the OPP Drug Enforcement Section says the results
are "mind-boggling."

The OPP, in conjunction with U.S. and Canadian border officials and
the B.C. criminal organization unit, traced the pattern of marijuana
that was exchanged for cocaine bound for the streets of Ontario.

"Long Haul really opened my eyes to the incredible amount of cocaine
that is coming (for) the marijuana that is grown here," said Barnum.
"It blew me away. I never would have believed that it was so big.

"Pound after pound after pound of coke is hitting our streets in
exchange for our marijuana -- Long Haul proves it."

Thousands of pounds of marijuana is crossing the U.S. border by
truckload, boat and plane on a weekly basis, said Barnum.

The project enforces one fact that drug cops already suspected but
couldn't prove under a glaring spotlight -- Canada is a virtual
playground for grow ops because of lax sentencing compared to the U.S.

The one-year study shows about 2,000 grow houses operated in the U.S.,
compared to 25,000 in Ontario.

'GET AWAY WITH IT'

"It doesn't make sense for the bad guys to grow it there because they
will get put away," said Barnum. "They may as well grow it in Canada
where you can get away with it."

Barnum said intelligence and undercover tactics are not enough and it
is up to judges to stop the plague of grow ops.

"We can't just keep kicking down doors and busting these places --
that's like sucking the water out of a swimming pool with a straw," he
says.

"Judges need to open their eyes to the reality of what this costs our
society."

It is not the laws that need to change, he said.

A conviction for production of marijuana carries a maximum sentence of
seven years while a conviction for possession for the purpose of
trafficking carries a maximum life term.

"We're not looking for tougher laws -- we're looking at getting judges
to apply the laws we already have.

"The results of project Long Haul just might make the difference,"
said Barnum. "It proves it's not just a bunch of pot we are dealing
with -- it's cocaine."