ABBOTSFORD IN TOP 10 OF POT PRODUCTION IN B.C.

The bluish white haze hanging over the Fraser Valley may not just be smog -
it could include a hearty dose of cannabis smoke.

A ground-breaking study released this week by the University College of the
Fraser Valley (UCFV) shows B.C. marijuana cultivation has grown rapidly by
volume and value each year over a four-year period, from 1997 to 2000. And,
says Abbotsford's deputy police chief, these are not "ma and pa"
operations. Increasingly, organized crime is behind cultivation, police
believe.

Researchers at UCFV's criminology and criminal justice department and the
International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy
completed this first major study on the justice system's response to
marijuana grow operations and trafficking in British Columbia. It was
funded by the RCMP at a cost of about $115,000.

It was released in two reports: Marijuana Growing Operations in British
Columbia - An Empirical Survey (1997-2000) and Marijuana Trafficking
Incidents in British Columbia (1997-2000).

"If our objective so far was to reduce the availability of marijuana in the
province, we are not succeeding," said UCFV professor Yvon Dandurand. "In
spite of the fact that we are devoting more law enforcement and other
resources each year to address the problem, there is more marijuana grown
and available in British Columbia from year to year."

Abbotsford ranks among the top 10 B.C. cultivation centres. Some findings
of the study include:

* The number of marijuana grow-ops coming to the attention of the police is
increasing by 36 per cent each year.

* The average size of grow-ops discovered is increasing by 40 per cent each
year

* The average dollar value of the grow-ops discovered is between $100,000
and $130,000.

In Abbotsford, the report lists a 196 per cent increase in marijuana
cultivation files opened by police between 1997 and 2000.

In Chilliwack, that number is 200 per cent, and in Delta, a staggering
1,293 per cent.

Abbotsford Police Deputy Chief Paul Tinsley said the issue is not one of
busting "ma and pa grow ops," but dealing with organized criminal groups
who see B. C. as a good place to do business.

"If you read the report in whole, it in no way criticizes the police
response. It points out the phenomenon where B.C. is becoming the grow
capital of Canada, and the reasons for that," he told the Abbotsford News
yesterday.

Tinsley observed there is a migration of people to B.C., where compared to
other jurisdictions the penalties are more lenient.

The study shows prison sentences were ordered in only 18 per cent of cases,
with an average length of 4.5 months.

The typical cultivator is Caucasian (77 per cent), male (80 per cent), 35
years of age, with seven prior criminal convictions, but there is an
increasing incidence of suspects of Vietnamese origin.

"If somebody does do jail time, the average penalty is only four and a half
months. In western Washington, federal guidelines dictate a minimum of five
years," Tinsley said.

"It's attractive for criminal groups to run grow-ops here. You can't
maintain a large grow-op and distribute it on your own."

Abbotsford Police have a section devoted to busting grow-ops, and in 2001,
Tinsley estimated they shut down 131 in the city. In 2000, 181 cases of
cultivation were reported.

"This is not a battle for police to win - this requires a multi-agency
battle where everybody has to be onside," including corrections, the
provincial attorney-general and police, he said.

Tinsley noted the report clearly indicates police are spinning their
wheels: "If one guy with a $100,000 grow-op does four months (in jail),
that's good business."

That view is shared by one of the people who helped do research for the
report, UCFV professor Darryl Plecas.

He believes the incredible growth of the grow industry has outmatched the
capacity of the police to respond.

However, decriminalization is a separate debate, he stressed.

"People are coming here in droves from out of the province. Police no
sooner stop known growers and there's new people coming in to take their place.

"Once a case goes to the prosecutors, plea bargains take place, and you
have about half of your suspects walking away," Plecas added.

"There are virtually no grow-ops in Washington state, Alberta has a few.
What's the difference? One difference is sentencing."

Rather than the popular conception of a benign "farmer" growing one or two
plants for personal consumption, Plecas says the average size of a grow-op
determined by the study - 192 plants, and a value of about $130,000 -
indicates otherwise.

"The average person involved is 35 years old and has a 13-year criminal
history. This report says we're talking a collection of criminals here.
"The tragedy occurs when young offenders or minority groups are drafted
into trafficking - they're the ones with the greatest risk of getting
caught." Most grow-ops are busted through tips from the public, through
CrimeStoppers, for example, Plecas pointed out.

"Abbotsford as a police department is clearly doing everything right. But
everything that I know about psychology says that if you want to extinguish
the behaviour, make the penalties outweigh the benefits."

That has already happened in offences such as impaired driving, Plecas noted.

On the activist side of the debate, Jon Fulford, who ran for the B.C.
Marijuana Party in the Abbotsford-Clayburn riding in the last provincial
election - and who is considering running against Abbotsford Mayor George
Ferguson in November - told the Abbotsford News the study is "direct proof"
police are "absolutely ineffective" in stopping or controlling grow operations.

"I feel the B.C. pot industry is here to stay, and it will keep getting
larger because tighter borders mean the cash flow is gigantic," he said
yesterday. Over the four-year period of the study, police in B.C. seized
1.2 million marijuana plants and 8,646 kg of harvested marijuana.

* To view the entire report, see the web page at: http://www.icclr.law.ubc.ca