COLEMAN CALLS FOR U.S.-STYLE POT GROW PENALTIES

Solicitor General Rich Coleman has issued a call for tougher,
American-style penalties for pot growers.

"In Washington State, south of us, the minimum sentence on first
offence is three months in jail," Coleman stated in the provincial
legislature Thursday.

That's a stark contrast to Canadian pot growers who can rack up as
many as seven convictions without doing any jail time, according to a
provincial study.

That, Coleman suggested, is why there are far fewer grow ops found
south of the border.

"In Whatcom County, south of the Fraser Valley, they will deal with
maybe a handful of grow ops this year (while) in British Columbia, we
will deal with thousands of grow ops in the Fraser Valley," Coleman
complained.

He said it's up to the federal prosecutors who handle drug cases and
the courts to impose tougher punishments.

Coleman was responding to a question by Surrey-Tynehead MLA Dave
Hayer, who expressed concern about the boom in indoor marijuana grow
ops, warning "growers are increasingly moving to the family-orientated
neighbourhoods to conduct their operations."