CRACKING DOWN ON THE CANNABIS CROP

Cannabis is illegally but widely grown in Nelson, but how prevalent is it,
who is involved and is it big business? Reporters Sheriee Smith, Dave
Williams and Brandon Sparrow set out to investigate.

It grows all over the Nelson region: thousands of plants in hundreds of
plots. Altogether, the illegal cannabis being cultivated here is worth
millions of dollars.

Every year, police mount helicopter-borne raids on remote crops, some of
them with irrigation dams, electric fences, and poison laid to kill pests
that might eat the plants.

Every year, hundreds of people end up in court charged with cannabis-related
offences.

Police say their latest cannabis recovery operation, conducted this month,
netted 5363 plants across a swathe of country from Murchison to Golden Bay.

Police use a rule-of-thumb figure of about $500 a plant to calculate the
commercial value, which would put a price of about $2.6 million on this
year's haul - and these are only the plants that were found.

But, in reality, no one knows how much cannabis is grown in the Nelson
region, and where it ends up.

Much of it is intended for the growers' personal use, so arguably has no
street value at all.

The value of the cannabis reaching the market can vary, depending on the
quality of the plants.

The flower heads of the female plants ("buds") are the parts most sought by
smokers. The bigger the plant, the more valuable it is, and some cannabis
plants can grow to the size of small trees.

Police say cannabis growers come from all walks of life.

Nelson police prosecutor Senior Sergeant Rex Morris says those charged with
possession, cultivation and supply have ranged from students doing bedroom
experiments to beneficiaries, housewives, pilots, drivers and farmers.

"It is right across the board."

Sergeant Arthur Clarence of Takaka police agrees that there is no typical
grower stereotype.

"It's easy to look at someone and think `Yep, there's a grower' but that
does not mean anything.

"I think of some of the ones who have been good growers ... have been
tradesmen and people like that, who have never been suspected but were
actually really good and major growers."

Mr Morris says younger people are being caught with cannabis, and youths
under the age of 16 are appearing in the Youth Court on drug charges.

The usual fine for a possession charge is $150, but that increases for every
conviction, he says.

Cannabis operation coordinator Sergeant Mike Fitzsimmons says he believes
cannabis is a serious problem in the Nelson area.

"I think the Nelson climate attracts a lot of visitors and is one of the
reasons people choose to live here.

"It is also a good climate for growers of cannabis, and the large wilderness
and forestry areas give them a lot of scope."

Mr Fitzsimmons has been a policeman in the Nelson area for 20 years and has
noticed an increasing number of people becoming involved with the drug.

"They can make a lot of money out of it."

Mr Fitzsimmons says cannabis growers want to grow plants where people are
not going to stumble across them. During the recent operation, police found
plants in remote forestry blocks and on the Anatoki hills.

He says Nelson is one of the best growing areas in the South Island, along
with the West Coast, because it has a lot of sun and water - two vital
things needed to grow good cannabis plants.

Police apprehend a number of growers, sellers and smokers during their
day-to-day duties. There is also a drug detective who gathers intelligence
on large operations and the organised criminal element involved in cannabis
production.

As a result of this year's cannabis operation, 16 people were arrested and
charged with drug or firearms offences.

"I am really pleased with the efforts of the team," Mr Fitzsimmons says.

"A number of people came over to us during the operation and said `Good on
you' and were really pleased with what we were doing. That is a great part
of the job."

Senior Sergeant Grant Andrews of Motueka police says he has no idea how much
cannabis is grown in the region. However, in the year ended June 2002,
Motueka police - who also cover Golden Bay and parts of the West Coast -
investigated 266 drug-related offences, of which 244 were cleared.

"It can grow anywhere, but we are seeing more hydroponic-type operations."

The Motueka station deals with drug related offending daily, and cannabis is
still the drug of choice for most people in the area.

"We take a strong line. That's all there is to it. We won't tolerate people
who make a commercial operation out of it," Mr Andrews says.

He says the police are very lucky that there are also a lot of people in the
community who will not tolerate it.

"It's quite heartening, the feedback from the community saying the police
are out there and getting people."

He says he is sometimes astounded at the type of people growing or supplying
cannabis on a commercial scale.

"We keep an open mind as to who is growing. You can't stereotype them. It
could be your next-door neighbour and you would have no idea."

However, he says that as far as he is aware, no gangs in the area are
involved.