POT LUCK A RAW DEAL

Before everyone gets too comfortable with new marijuana laws we should
stand back and take a look at the ramifications the illegal drug trade is
inflicting on our society.

The bust of the huge pot lab in Barrie recently has put the national
spotlight on the issue and certainly has drawn the attention of the Toronto
media which has only just discovered what Peel Police have been complaining
about for a long time -- that there is a real problem out there.

Last year in Mississauga alone there were 240 illegal labs uncovered and
police expect there are dozens more operating throughout the city.

Most of these labs have been in rented units that have left unsuspecting
landlords with huge bills, mostly for electricity, but also for damage
which is not covered by insurance in these cases (some of the electric
bills have come in as high as $50,000).

Take it up a notch and you find that most of the backers of these
extravagant operations are not gentlemen farmers but members of organized
crime and the huge profits raised through the cultivation of marijuana is
plowed right back into other illegal activities including the sale and
purchase of other drugs, prostitution, extortion and the importation of
guns, to name a few.

Further, statistics released by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police
shows that most of the buildings used have been regular houses and that one
in five schools in Peel Region were located nearby a growing operation. Nice.

For police, what is even more frustrating is the general lack of concern
from all quarters about the problem. That, coupled with the perception that
marijuana is now totally legal in Canada leaves police fighting a public
relations battle as they try to win the war on drugs.

As some quietly marvel at the brashness of those who undertake such large
marijuana growth operations right under our noses, the social costs are
weighing heavily on a lot of people.

Think about that the next time you spark one up.