MARIJUANA GROW OPERATIONS TARGETED IN NEW INITIATIVE

Main electricity lines cut with an axe and hand spliced to steal power.
Houses bought with cash and gutted to grow marijuana. Natural gas lines
punctured to allow carbon monoxide to fill the house so the hydroponically
grown plants will develop faster.

It's not the scene from some Hollywood movie or a gang run operation in a
major city, but one Det. Sgt. John Horne of Northwestern Ontario's
Tri-Force/Kenora Drug Unit says his officers are seeing increasingly in
this region.

This week, Horne announced the drug unit has launched an initiative to
crack down on the growing problem of marijuana grow houses before more can
take root in Northwestern Ontario.

Already this year, Horne said drug enforcement officers have raided four
grow houses where more than 100 plants were seized in each, an amount he
called "very unusual for us."

"What we're trying to do is nip this in the bud E We've noticed the size of
the grows are getting bigger and they all are in residential areas," he said.

One of those raids happened on Valentine's Day at a Wharf Street home in
Kenora where officers found 99 marijuana plants and another 60 starter plants.

Further, there was a half kilogram of dried marijuana, 1.8 kgs of marijuana
shake (parts of leaves and stems), three lighting systems, nine jars of
marijuana soaking in isopropanol (to produce hash oil) and a large quantity
of pills.

All of which had a street value of over $83,000, said Horne.

A 43-year-old man was arrested and charged with two counts of production of
a controlled substance and possession for the purpose of trafficking. He
was released and will appear in court in Kenora on March 24.

If he's convicted, Horne will be hoping for a tough penalty to get the
message out to other would be pot farmers.

Horne repeated the call he's made previously for Ontario's courts to hand
out stiffer sentences for those caught running hydroponic grow operations.

He notes a fine of even $10,000 for operators who purchase homes with cash
is no disincentive for someone to get out of the business.

"A 1,000 plant grow could yield them $1 million E The courts don't realize
how much money that they are making," he said.

"You don't like to say it, but somebody is going to have to get hurt before
the government and the courts take this seriously."

According to Horne, people are already being hurt as a result of what he
described as the spin-off crimes associated with marijuana selling and use.

"Marijuana is probably the major problem drug in the fact that the THC
(tetrahydrocannibinol, the chemical producing the "high") is so high. The
public is unaware of all the assaults and the thefts that are going on
because people are trying to keep their habits going," he said. "Because
marijuana is addictive."

The damage grow houses do to neighbourhoods is another problem.

Horne said the homes used by producers are often condemned because the
extreme moisture inside produces mold and spores that infest every corner
of the home.

When homes are torn down, that has an impact on property values, he said
adding home insurance rates are being increased by companies as a result of
settlements from claimants who unknowingly rented a house to producers
(it's estimated there are 50,000 in Canada).

Electrical systems are also frequently overloaded and gas lines tampered
with, creating an increased fire hazard in the neighbourhood.