POLICE WORRIED BY PRODUCTION BOOST

CANNABIS production in the Ballarat region has more than doubled in
the past six months, according to police.

Police say more people are growing cannabis and in larger quantities
as a result of a nationwide downturn in heroin availability.

The revelation comes days after police from the Ballarat and Geelong
Traffic Management Units seized 268 cannabis plants in raids on three
Haddon properties and one in Melbourne.

The haul was the largest seized by Ballarat police in three years and
had a street value of $450,000.

Ballarat Regional Response Unit Senior Sergeant Ron Cosgrave said
demand for cannabis had ballooned now that less heroin was reaching
Australian shores. He said "old time" cannabis users were having
difficulty getting hold of the drug and as a result more and more
people were capitalising on the increased demand.

"The shed fulls of cannabis that we've received in Haddon recently are
indicative of the situation whereby the entrepreneurs of the illegal
industry are capitalising now on the shortage.

"The incidence of growing cannabis in the last six months has more
than doubled and a lot of people are trying to capitalise on the glut
in the market."

Last week police raided three rural properties in Sago Hill Rd, Bells
Rd and Haddon-Ross Creek Rd. Police discovered 268 mature cannabis
plants growing in sophisticated hydroponic systems in houses and sheds.

Sen Sgt Cosgrave said residents, particularly those in rural or remote
areas, should be wary about any suspicious activity, especially in
rental properties.

"I'd urge everybody, particularly those in the country areas, who have
any suspicions what so ever about the property, whether it be a house
or a shed next door to them, whereby the property is not permanently
used as a residence but frequented on a regular basis... to let us
know because I suggest that they very well may be used to grow
cannabis in large quantities."

Other "tell-tale" signs to look for include fluctuations in the power
supply which may be the result of a power overload caused by a
hydroponic system.

UnitingCare Ballarat mental illness and drug addiction clinician Leigh
Skewes said cannabis was a big problem among Ballarat youth, with up
to half of his clients regular users.