NOT SO FUNNY AFTER ALL

The huge grow-op bust at the old Molson plant in Barrie last month
provided tons of material for comedians and headline writers. A lot of
people had a big laugh about it. But if you look a little closer, you
won't find anything that's all that funny in the story.

Apart from putting the area on the map with the dubious distinction as
the pot capital of Canada, grow-ops of this size are about a lot more
than simply sparking a joint in a basement or park, or recreational
pot smoking. Such grow-ops are part and parcel of a cycle of crime
that sees pot flow south of the border, and cocaine come back north.
That cocaine, and its derivative, crack cocaine, is ending up on the
streets of Canadian communities, and contributing to the proliferation
of crime associated with this nasty drug.

Police aren't among those laughing at grow-op busts. They will tell
you the amount of cocaine on the streets in Canadian communities is
unprecedented. And, they say, it has everything to do with grow
operations. Police also maintain that when an operation like the
Barrie one is discovered, organized crime is usually lurking in the
background. So now we have a link between pot, cocaine and organized
crime. Still laughing?

What is laughable, police say, are the sentences meted out by the
courts to those convicted of operating grow-ops. One such grower
pleaded guilty to cultivating 30,000 marijuana plants, and received 30
months in jail. The Crown had sought a term of five years in the
penitentiary. Two others involved in the operation got conditional
sentences. Are Canadian communities becoming 'drug havens' because
those caught have little to fear in way of penalties? It's definitely
something to think about.

Grow-ops have little to do with recreational use of pot, and their
dangers should not derail moves to decriminalize possession of small
amounts of marijuana. Indeed, doing so would free up police and court
resources to tackle grow-ops. They are about big-time crime and,
ultimately, addiction and despair for many. And there's nothing funny
about that.

What is laughable, police says, are the sentences " meted out."