. . . WHILE HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS OPT FOR CROP OF GRASS

MONTREAL -- High-school principal Claude Bernier has noticed that some of
his students undergo a startling transformation over the summer.

Despite their modest backgrounds, they show up at school in September with
thick gold chains, flashy clothes and the latest-model sports cars.

"Sometimes they have wads of cash in their pockets," he said yesterday.

"They're completely transformed."

The source of the teens' sudden wealth is an open secret around Nicolet, a
rural belt of farmers and working families 90 minutes northeast of
Montreal. The region has turned into a pot-growing hub in Quebec, and teens
are joining in the production effort.

Local officials say marijuana growers are hiring students to help plant
crops in the spring, guard them during the summer, and harvest them in the
fall.

Lured by quick cash, the students are turning up their noses at
old-fashioned summer jobs such as life-guarding or bagging groceries.

Mr. Bernier said kids can make $25 an hour working for drug producers, who
police say are linked to organized crime. Local businesses complain about a
worker shortage.

"They're not interested in working here. We can't hire them," said Carl
Thibault, who runs a fire-truck assembly plant in Pierreville. "Kids can
make in a few weeks [in the pot fields] what it would take a whole year for
them to make here. If they can earn $25 an hour, why would they come to
work for $9 an hour, and pay tax?"

Come fall, absenteeism starts to hit area high schools.

"Sometimes the kids don't show up for a day or two so they can go work
during peak harvest season," said Mr. Bernier, principal at Ecole
Secondaire Jean-Nicolet. "Then we see them at school the next day . . . and
they have a brand new wardrobe and have a wad of bills in their pocket,
which is pretty unusual for a high-school student."

Of the 1,000 students in his school, he estimates that 20 have jobs linked
to marijuana cultivation.

Marijuana cultivation in farmers' fields has been a worrisome trend in
southwestern Quebec. Quebec-grown pot is considered potent and highly
valued, which puts pressure on farmers to turn a blind eye to the drug
traffickers who plant pot amid their tall corn stalks.

For several years, farmers have spoken anonymously of death threats, armed
men and booby traps on their land. But now, the presence of marijuana is
having a ripple effect on the small-town populations.

Several people interviewed yesterday said at times it's surprising to see
some families in SUVs or new boats. Tensions are growing as townsfolk clam
up about their illicit activities.

For years, civic leaders and local residents stayed quiet, partly out of
fear of reprisals from the criminal pot growers. But rising fears have
prompted local officials to start speaking out. Local mayors say ordinary
citizens have become afraid to take walks in the woods or paddle their
canoes on local rivers, for fear of accidentally stumbling upon a criminal
pot grower.

"It's started to feel like Colombia," said Denise Gendron, a nurse and the
mayor of Sainte-Monique, a small community in the heart of the pot-growing
area. "People are scared. There used to be the law of omerta, but now we're
starting to speak up. We're seeing people are living beyond their means
around here, with fancy cars and motorcycles. We're seeing young people
with vehicles that don't correspond to their family's income levels."

She said she views the solution as the legalization of marijuana.