POT PLANS CLEAR, CHIEF SAYS

Police Can Hit Pot Growers Harder With New Legislation, Ron Hoath
Says

Prime Minister Paul Martin's announcement that he plans
to increase criminal penalties for cultivating and distributing
marijuana while decriminalizing possession of small amounts is
legislation Port Hope Police Chief Ron Hoath said he can get used to.

"I like the clarity of it," said Chief Hoath, who declined to comment
on the morality of such proposed legislation.

Prime Minister Martin is suggesting more significant fines for
possession than spelled out in previous federal legislation, which
died on Parliament's order paper this past fall. But there still would
be no criminal charges for having small amounts of marijuana. Prime
Minister Martin has said he would make simple possession a ticketable
offence.

"With this new legislation we can now take stronger measures against
those who are cultivating the drug," Chief Hoath said.

He noted, however, that Port Hope doesn't have a major problem with
marijuana grow operations. With the exception of one major operation
on Cavan Street that was raided last year, Chief Hoath said there
hasn't been too much going on in terms of this particular type of
organized crime.

"This is not the type of community that is good for that," he said.
"Everybody knows everybody else's business."

The federal government's earlier legislation to change marijuana laws
was opposed by police across Canada, who criticized the
decriminalization of possession as sending the wrong message about the
drug.

"I think that one's got to take a look at the fines," Prime Minister
Martin is quoted as saying in a Toronto newspaper. "I think that you
have to look at the quantities, and I think that there has to be a
larger effort against the grow-ops and against those who
distribute."

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected arguments of three
B.C. marijuana enthusiasts that pot smoking is a constitutional right.
The court ruled Parliament can criminalize any behaviour it sees fit
to protect people from harm.

The ruling comes on the heels of a new study released this week by the
Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police on the adverse impacts of
indoor grow operations on society and public safety.

Costs stemming from higher insurance and stolen electricity total in
the millions of dollars, the report stated.

Some other problems with grow operations cited by Chief Hoath include
the deterioration it causes to residences which house them. In most
cases, these houses have to be torn down because mould sets into the
walls and "your house actually becomes sick.

"Violence that is generally a result of organized crime is a problem
that comes with grow operations," the report stated.

The Canadian Chiefs of Police has been calling for mandatory
sentencing guidelines for growing and trafficking to eliminate
disparity between jurisdictions.

These mandatory sentencing penalties would follow punishments for
crimes such as drinking and driving, which dictate an automatic jail
term on a second offence regardless of where the conviction takes place.

Educating the public about the signs of indoor grow operations will
also assist the police.

The signs include:

. a bare roof when neighbouring homes are snow covered;

. residents are only home for short periods of time and often enter
through the garage carrying in equipment such as fans, lights, soil
and plastic food containers at odd hours of the day;

. windows are covered but bright lights can be seen around the edges -
and often windows are covered in condensation;

. an untidy yard containing garbage bags of used soil or plant
material; and

. a skunk-like odour coming from the house or sounds of construction
and ventilation fans.