WEED LABS TOPS IN T.O.

Toronto is a pot of gold for marijuana grow operations, Toronto Police Chief
Julian Fantino said. "It's an epidemic," Fantino said. "It's out of
control."

While Barrie grabbed the spotlight for the biggest-ever bust, local cops
continued to have the munchies -- putting the bite on four grow operations
in apartment buildings.

The tipoffs usually come from nearby residents, or the superintendent who
sees water dripping out.

Fantino feels his force is doing a great deal to try and trash the pot
producers, but they're being handicapped by the courts.

"There's no real significant penalty being handed out," he said.

"These people know it's very profitable -- it's organized crime driven --
and (the courts) have this attitude that it's only pot," Fantino said. "All
of those things combined give this whole issue a whole lot of reason to
exist."

Fantino felt the Barrie bust would have no effect on Toronto's battle
against the weed.

"Not at all because this is only one of hundreds and hundreds that are out
there," he said. "We are known today in the United States as a source
country of hydropondic-grown marijuana."

TRAFFICKING PROBLEM

OPP statistics show the amount of pot seized by U.S. Customs heading south
from Canada soared almost 800% from 2001 to 2002. That reflects the
increased security at the border after Sept. 11 and the trafficking problem,
police said.

Fantino said those stats, along with the political debate on legalizing
marijuana, has the Yanks shaking their heads at us.

And setting up a grow operation is a breeze, Fantino said.

"But there's a significant danger here," he said. "The chemicals involved,
the possibility of fires and explosions, the stealing of hydro."

Unsuspecting home owners who lease their houses and see them turned into
marijuana farms come back to uninhabitable homes full of mould and insurance
companies aren't eager to pay for the damage.