POT GROWER'S ONE YEAR IN JAIL SENDS MESSAGE

KITCHENER -- In a precedent-setting move yesterday, an Ontario court judge
sentenced a Kitchener man to 12 months in jail for operating a
sophisticated marijuana garden in the home he shared with his wife and two
children. Justice Colin Westman said Thao Van Huong, 45, will go to jail
for a year after Waterloo regional police raided his home at 50 Askin Place
in the Stanley Park area on Sept. 12, 2001, and found 313 marijuana plants
with a street value of $219,000.

It's the first time in Waterloo Region that a judge has sentenced someone
found guilty of growing marijuana indoors to a jail term. To date, local
courts have handed out conditional sentences to be served at home.

In one recent case, a 21-year-old man who was put under house arrest for 18
months for growing pot, was seen at a coffee shop in violation of his
sentence. A judge hit him with an additional sentence of 45 days behind bars.

Staff Sgt. Ray Massicotte of the police drug squad said yesterday he is
glad to see the courts sending pot-growers to jail.

"Being in jail for a year will prohibit him from putting three crops on the
street," he said.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Massicotte, who still hopes for
a much stiffer sentence in future cases.

Since 2000, police have busted 68 pot operations in local homes and suspect
another 200 homes are being used to grow dope.

Massicotte said a five-year jail term, which has been endorsed by regional
council and its three cities, would send a strong message to potential pot
farmers.

Crown prosecutor Gerry Taylor said yesterday's sentence could lead to
similar results in future cases.

"Hopefully it sends a message that these types of offences will be dealt
with in a serious fashion," he said.

Huong's lawyer, Kadir Baksh of Toronto, said jail sentences have not been a
deterrent in British Columbia, where the number of pot operations continues
to skyrocket. Police estimate there are 15,000 indoor marijuana gardens there.

Westman said Huong flaunted his criminal activity by exposing his
18-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter to his pot operation.

"This man used his family home as a location for an operation . . . he was
prepared to expose his family to criminal charges," he said.

Westman said that, for the first time, the Crown presented evidence to show
the dangers of marijuana grows, including the fire hazards and electrical
concerns.

Westman said the Crown prosecutor took time to show the impact of the grows
on the community.

In earlier testimony, the court heard from the president of the
Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro Commission, a fire captain and drug officers.

They described the dangers of illegally bypassing hydro, fires caused by
crude hookups and hundreds of hours spent investigating the dope-growing homes.