IS SAANICH GOING TO POT?

Around the province, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that
indoor marijuana grow operations are increasing in number and sophistication.

In Surrey, for example, police discovered several newly constructed homes
that had been specially designed and wired for the expressed purpose of
growing marijuana indoors.

So far in 2002, Saanich Police Department's street crime unit has shut down
37 grow-ops.

SCU Sgt. Doug Newman says that tally doesn't include busts by other
divisions of the police or accidental discoveries made by fire crews
responding to blazes.

While the SCU's main focus is on property crime, Newman thinks that Saanich
and perhaps even the entire Capital Region would be well-served by a
inter-disciplinary team of officers tasked exclusively with investigating
and shutting down grow-ops.

Newman was on such a team in 1997. The "Electrogrow" squad, as it was
called, shut down 20 large-scale commercial grow-ops in just 22 days of work.

"I, personally, believe this is an epidemic," Newman told the News.

The business of pot isn't isolated to the so-called "lower classes,"
either, he is quick to add. Growers come from all walks of life. "There are
all kinds of people in all kinds of homes. I've been involved with grows in
waterfront property that I could never live in all the way down to a basic
shack," he says.

Newman calls on the federal government to impose stiffer penalties to help
combat the problem. Repeat offenders often face a maximum of $2,000 in
fines and suspended or short-term prison sentences.

"We should start realizing what the costs are to the people --- around the
homeowners, insurance companies and Hydro --- and have sentences that would
be appropriate," he suggests.

While some advocate legalizing marijuana as a solution, Newman quickly
points out that most of the pot grown in the province is destined for south
of the border.

As much as 95 per cent of all indoor-grown BC bud is exported south and
consequently legalizing marijuana in Canada would do little to curtail BC
bootleggers from cultivating and exporting pot.

Last month, police across the country launched a massive and concerted
crackdown on marijuana growers.

Dubbed "Operation Green Sweep", the nationwide effort netted 73,000 pot
plants and resulted in 163 arrests.

But the crackdown will likely have little effect on the province's largest
cash crop.

Corp. Pete Zubersky heads the Vancouver Island District Drug Awareness
program for the RCMP. He says that police expect revenues from BC pot to
top three to four billion dollars annually.

Zubersky says that ineffective federal regulations, combined with
favourable shipping lanes to key markets in the United States have led to
an increase in pot-grow operations in the province.

The demand for "BC Bud" as it is referred to around the world is
considerable because it has as much as twice the levels of THC (the active
ingredient in marijuana that induces the high in users) found in outdoor
varieties of the drug.

THC levels are even higher in isolated female plants and knowledgeable
indoor growers seldom grow anything else.

Zubersky agrees that the grow-op industry in BC is approaching epidemic
proportions.

Twelve years ago, when he was a beat officer in the Western Communities,
Zubersky remembers executing search warrants in two home that were located
in the same neighbourhood within a couple hours of each other.

"Finding two (grow-ops) so close ... we sat around for days, talking about
it because it was so unusual," Zubersky recalls.

Today, such an occurrence would be nothing out of the ordinary for police
in Greater Victoria.

Zubersky says that most cultivators set up their grow-ops in rental units.
They generally use false names and pay for their rent each month in cash.
Sometimes, cultivators will have grow-ops on the go in two or three homes
at once.

"If one or even two houses are shut down, they still (might) have a third
and that will cover them," he explains.

"Right now, there are so many grow-ops, it's not a question of where they
are, it's a question of getting the resources to take them down," says
Zubersky. "We estimate that in any urban setting, such as Victoria or
Saanich, if you took a spot in a residential neighbourhood, and took a one
block radius around that neighbourhood, you'd find at least one grow-op as
an average."

Tips to Spot a Grow-Op

Const. Craig Sampson of the Saanich street crime unit urges members of the
public to assist police in shutting illegal grow-ops down and he says there
are clues to look for.

"If you see windows covered 24 hours a day, lots of condensation, odour,
and unkempt yards," there might be a grow-op in the home, says Sampson.

He also notes that at this time of the year, most homes will often have
frost on the roof but residences that contain growing operations generally
do not frost up because they lose so much heat.

"That one house will probably stick out because the roof will be dry," says
Sampson.

Corp. Pete Zubersky of the RCMP's Vancouver Island drug unit also reminds
landlords to be cautious if approached by individuals who wish to pay rent
in cash especially if the identity of the potential renters is uncertain.