PUTTING LID ON POT OPS

Task force meets

Power bills will be used to zap indoor pot farmers as the first step in a
city-wide crackdown on marijuana grow operations. An education pamphlet on
how to spot illegal grow ops will be included in the city's utility bill and
sent to all homes in the city -- and that's just the first step, says the
alderman spearheading the suppression campaign.

"We want all these creeps out there to know we're after them, and we're
going to stop them dead in their tracks before they get started," said Ald.
Diane Colley-Urquhart.

"We don't want this scourge in Calgary - we're becoming known as the
capital of Canada for the best marijuana that one can find, and it's simply
not acceptable."

Colley-Urquhart co-chaired the first meeting of a new task force dedicated
to wiping out Calgary grow ops yesterday, a gathering that attracted more
than 40 people representing everyone from police to real estate agents.

Staff Sgt. Trevor Daroux, the meeting's co-chair, told reporters the
pot-growing problem has gotten too big for police alone to handle.

"This problem is bigger than any one single agency -- and that's why we need
to bring in all the stakeholders and take a multi-disciplinary approach,"
said Daroux.

Police have more than 800 tips on growing operations waiting to be
investigated, des-pite having shut down dozens already this year.

Those busts have taken drugs worth more than $70 million off the street.

Other groups represented at the meeting included the Calgary Health Region,
Enmax, the Calgary Fire Department, Block Watch and the Insurance Bureau of
Canada.

Enmax officials said they are currently losing about $14 million a year to
crooks who illegally tap into power lines for the electricity needed to fuel
hydroponic equipment.