GETTING OFF SCOT-FREE

IT'S HARD to imagine a crime that pays more and nets less jail time
than running a marijuana grow-operation in Canada. For anyone who
already has a criminal record and doesn't care about adverse social
stigma, there is everything to gain and virtually nothing to lose.

One study suggests illegal growers not only stand to rake in $500,000
a year, but the odds of going to jail are less than 1-in-100.

Those stunning conclusions are made in a study of 25,129 confirmed
grow cases in British Columbia from 1997 to 2003 by the University
College of the Fraser Valley.

Statistics suggest over-worked police get to just over half of known
cases, lay charges in only 75% of those, and that prosecutors either
dismiss or stay 42% of those proposed charges because of evidentiary
or procedural issues.

Only 5,500 of the 25,129 cases went before a judge.

All but a few ended up in a plea bargain.

In the end, less than 1,000 offenders -- 7% of convictions and 1% of
original suspects -- see the inside of a jail cell.

The average prison term for the few who go to jail was 4.5 months -
without parole discounts.

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why there has been
such an explosion in this activity," says Prof. Darryl Plecas, who
headed what he calls the most "comprehensive study of grow houses on
the planet."

"It is so unbelievably profitable and the ultimate risk of having to
stand before a judge is so low. And even if you get before a judge,
the consequences are laughable."

A recent "Green Tide" study for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of
Police (OACP) found one-third of convicted drug growers saw jail terms
averaging less than five months.

Peel Regional Police report that 100 in 1,400 -- about 7% -- of
growers convicted in Brampton court in the past 42 months have seen
jail time.

Toronto Police have not compiled firm statistics on jail sentences,
but Insp. Dan Hayes suspects the reality is in line with the B.C.
study and Peel.

York Region Police say most convicted in the grow-op trade receive
conditional sentences and even the most serious offenders get less
than 12 months.

The B.C. study found that cases grew from 1,489 in 1997 to 4,776 in
2003. The average plant count rose from 149 to 233. Vietnamese gangs
with past and current ties to Toronto have increased involvement year
over year, and they now run a virtual monopoly.

Plecas, the B.C. professor, said profits are so high and penalties so
low that 31% of convicted growers are charged a second, third and
fourth time.

Plecas said the average accused is of Vietnamese origin, 32 years old
and has seven prior criminal convictions spanning his or her adult
life. He said his findings can be applied to the Toronto area.

Detection and punishment is light, Plecas said, because police and
prosecutors are overworked and judges are ignorant.

The B.C. courts have become so swamped and backlogged with drug cases,
he said, that the entire criminal justice system is "on the verge of a
total breakdown."

Plecas said police make little headway against the kingpins because
the low-end growers typically plead guilty to get a light sentence and
protect the gang hierarchy.

He said judges' sentences are "all over the map."

"People get such light, nonsensical, meaningless sentences they are
encouraged to commit further acts of the same kind.

"There is a complete unawareness ... about the nature and extent of
the problem and the individuals involved. Their decisions, however
legally correct, (are) competely out of sync with (what) motivates the
offender."

"Even somebody who has taken an introductory psychology course will
understand this is colossally stupid," he said.

Plecas said top mob bosses are shrewed enough to understand that all
they have to do is "increase the volume alone" and they can "decrease
the capacity of the system to respond."

The federal Liberals seek to decriminalize possession of small amounts
of weed. Critics say the proposals have no more teeth than the current
seven-year maximum sentence, because unlike federal U.S. jail
sentences for the same crimes, there still would be no minimum
sentences to force judges to put the worst offenders away for more
than just a few months. See the accompanying chart for
comparisons.

Toronto Police Det. John Babiar, declared an expert witness at 50
criminal trials, said police do not have the resources to root out the
big fish, and the minnows have no incentive to turn them in.

Babiar said the public and media that focus on "a few joints" blur the
real nature of grow houses. He said the proposed laws will just
exacerbate the problem.

"You know, 15 grams is about 30 to 105 joints. That's not just little
Johnny with a joint in his pocket," Babiar said.

Staff-Insp. Dan Hayes, head of Toronto drug squad, said the proposed
laws are "nothing more than ... smoke and mirrors.

"(The federal government) used increased maximum sentences to give the
illusion it is doing something, but nobody is going to jail now. The
judges will continue to use their discretion until there are minimum,
or rigid, sentencing guidelines."

Hayes believes Toronto's overworked and underpaid federal prosecutors
are "terribily underresourced" and "outgunned," and often do not have
the time for quality prosecutions.

"Some prosecutors are looking at a file an hour before they go to
court. My sense is the Crown's office accepts guilty pleas ... related
to the volume of workload, and they are not inclined to stick to their
guns and demand longer sentences."

Peel Regional Police morality squad Insp. Steve Asanin said busted
growers are telling his unit they'll keep on growing.

"They're telling us the money is unbelievable and all they have to do
is pay a fine," he said.

Sandy Thomas, team leader of 13 federal drug prosecutors at Old City
Hall, said it is only recently that the drug grow problem has
"mushroomed" in Toronto.

She agrees that the low-end gardeners get low sentences, but she said
it is changing.

Thomas said prosecutors are now more educated and are now taking a
harder line in cases where children are in the home, or in cases of
booby traps and weapons.

Thomas said her team is "extremely busy," what with being responsible
for 3,000 police briefs annually, bail hearings, pre-trial meetings,
trials, sentencing, youth court and special trials.

York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge said until sentences are
set at a two-year minimum, nothing will change.

"We are not telling someone it is not worth their while to get
involved in this," he said.