Pot Rot -- Pot-Marijuana-MaryJane and Organized Crime--Grow Ops--Fraser Institute Report

I had linked to this previously but the site is now defunct -- so here it is -- copied from that site. Good info needs to be in circulation.


The Pot Patrol: How spotters untangle web of B.C. bud

The Pot Patrol: How spotters untangle web of B.C. bud Jack Knox, Times Colonist, August 15, 2004, Third in a series of articles

Use the standard $1,000-a-plant formula and ...

They have found a million-dollar marijuana grow operation.

Not that this is anything new to them. Dennis and Grant do this full-time from May through October, flying the skies of Vancouver Island, looking for the outdoor grows that feed B.C.'s marijuana industry. Last year, 650 such sites were identified here.

"We find dope every day," says Grant. "Every day we go out, we find marijuana."

He's working on contract now, a recently retired 35-year Mountie brought back to be the eyes of the two-year-old, summer-long air program. (Previously, the choppers only looked for dope in late August.) Dennis, also in his fifties, has been an RCMP helicopter pilot for 20 years.

They don't usually land in the grow-ops they find. Standard practice for the pair -- let's call them the Pot Patrol -- is to take a Global Positioning System reading off each site and forward it to the local RCMP. The locals then use their own GPS -- every detachment on Vancouver Island now has its own -- to track down and chop up the marijuana. It's a big step up from the old process, in which police often relied on back-of-napkin maps and imprecise directions given to them by hikers who had stumbled into plantations.

[. . . . ] An outdoor operation yields just one crop a year, as opposed to three or four for an indoor site, but comes with little risk of arrest. After setting up on Crown land or remote forest company property, a grower who has put in an automated watering system need only visit the site a couple of times before harvest.

Police almost never charge anyone at an outdoor operation. Even if convicted, growers often regard the resulting fine as little more than a business licence. The real penalty is loss of income. [. . . . ]

Fraser Institute: BC’s Marijuana Crop Worth Over $7 Billion Annually -- Legalize marijuana and tax it? -- Download the .pdf file.

BC’s Marijuana Crop Worth Over $7 Billion Annually
Stephen T. Easton, Senior Fellow, The Fraser Institute. Download the complete copy in .pdf format from this site.

Vancouver, BC - BC’s annual marijuana crop, if valued at retail street prices and sold by the cigarette, is worth over $7 billion, according to a new study Marijuana Growth in British Columbia released today by The Fraser Institute.

Among issues considered in the paper are whether marijuana could be decriminalized, treated like any legal product, and the revenue taxed. Using conservative assumptions about Canadian consumption, this could translate into potential revenues for the government of over $2 billion.

The study’s author, Stephen Easton, professor of economics at Simon Fraser University and a Senior Fellow at The Fraser Institute, estimates that there are roughly 17,500 marijuana grow ops in BC.

Marijuana is produced extensively and over 23 percent of Canadians admit to having used it. Easton points out that the broader social question has become not whether we approve or disapprove of local production, but rather who shall enjoy the spoils.

“If we treat marijuana like any other commodity we can tax it, regulate it, and use the resources the industry generates rather than continue a war against consumption and production that has long since been lost,” said Easton. “It is apparent that we are reliving the experience of alcohol prohibition of the early years of the last century.”

Indoor marijuana cultivation and consumption appears to be higher in BC than in the rest of Canada. Easton points out that the most striking difference is that only 13 percent of offenders in BC are actually charged while that number climbs to 60 percent for the rest of Canada. In addition, the penalties for conviction in BC are low: fifty-five percent of those convicted receive no jail time.

While police resources are spent to destroy nearly 3,000 marijuana grow-ops a year in BC, the consequences are relatively minor for those convicted. The industry is simply too profitable to prevent new people moving into production and old producers from rebuilding. [. . . . ]

Tips For Landlords: How to Prevent Marijuana Grow Operations

Tips For Landlords: How to Prevent Marijuana Grow Operations City of Richmond, BC

In the last 5 years, the number of Commercial Marijuana grow-ops has increased dramatically. Like most Police agencies, Richmond RCMP have noted that the primary location for these illegal operations are in residential rental properties.

In 1996 there were 31 reported grow ops in Richmond. In 2000, the number had increased to 345. In some instances, we suspect that landlords rented their property with the knowledge that illegal activity was taking place, but in most cases we find that landlords were unaware of the activity, and were surprised to find thousands of dollars in damage to their property caused by commercial marijuana grow-ops.

[. . . . ] What to Look For

* Homes that do not appear to be lived in (may have little or no furniture in the main living areas) but have occasional visitors (1 or 2 times weekly) at unusual hours
* Homes that are lived in but that never have lights in the majority of basement windows
* Windows (particularly basements) that are always dark, boarded up or otherwise blacked out
* Condensation on darkened or blacked-out windows
* "Skunk" smell in the air, often at the same time each day/night
* Humming noise or motorized fan-like noises
* Discarded potting soil, small plastic "bedding" plant type pots, 1 gallon plastic pots
* Scraps of heavy black plastic, 4" & 6" dryer hose, cut pieces of garden hose. . . .

The rot/pot spreads: Grow Ops in Canada's Centre

Lax laws attract grow-op gangs Laura Czekaz, Ottawa Sun, Feb. 24, 04

Police forces on both sides of the Ottawa River say a large number of marijuana grow ops are being run by crooks with links to Asian organized crime. "The majority of the people that we see operating the grow ops in any type of organized fashion are Asians," said Ottawa police drug section Staff Sgt. Marc Pinault.

In 2003, Ottawa police busted 41 grow ops, seizing more than $14 million worth of the illegal drug. So far this year, the force has shut down close to a dozen grow ops. In Ontario, grow ops are big business, worth an estimated $13 billion a year.

[. . . . ] Gatineau police Lieut. Yves Martel said police have raided seven marijuana grow ops run by Asians in the past 13 months.

99% ASIAN

"There is a pattern in the last three years showing us that when we are talking about rented houses, converted for stealing electricity and marijuana plantations, almost all the time, 99% of the cases we are arresting Asian people," Martel said.

[. . . . ] Sgt. Mike Laviolette, of the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada, says Vietnamese-based organized crime locally and across the country has "thrived" with marijuana grow ops for the past two years.

"We have seen a large influx nationally of Vietnamese Australians coming in from Australia to crop-sit here in Canada," he said. "It's a large international network." [. . . . ]

And running grow ops in Canada is a less risky proposition than it is in the U.S. "They try it in the States, they are going to jail for a very long time. Here, politically, it's not considered as serious an offence." [. . . . ]

Another link is here -- Ottawa, Gatineau cops nip grow ops in the bud Andrew Seymour, Feb. 5, 04, Ottawa Sun



It is worthwhile looking at what MP Chuck Cadman, Independent MP, had to say in Parliament and elsewhere.

He is the MP whose riding association turfed him to choose a local radio host or local personality--I forget exactly--who then lost the June 28 election to Mr. Cadman, a law-and-order MP. Congratulations to the citizens who had the good sense to send him to Parliament again.


MP Cadman Questions Surrey Liberal “Promises”

Cadman Questions Surrey Liberal “Promises” April 27, 2004

Ottawa - Chuck Cadman, MP, calls yesterday’s ‘joint promise’ to rid neighbourhoods of marijuana grow-ops and meth labs, made by four Surrey Liberal candidates, as nothing more than an election ploy and just another promise waiting to be broken.

Cadman points to the more than a dozen times in this Parliament that he has pressed the Liberals on the grow-op issue. He cites the lack of response from Jean Chretien, who joked about marijuana, and Paul Martin who failed to even mention it in his Throne Speech, and had absolutely nothing about it in the budget.

In addition to questions, statements and speeches in the House, the Surrey MP has also consistently grilled cabinet ministers appearing before the Justice Committee. [. . . . ]

“Last month, when Anne McLellan, the Minister now responsible for the file, appeared at the Justice Committee, I gave her the whole story – just as I did last year to her predecessor. She agreed that grow-ops are a scourge in our country, so I extended an invitation to her to visit Surrey, saying the grow busters would love to speak with her. She said that she would be happy to do that,” Cadman recalls. . . .

Has Ms. McLellan visited?


Surrey MP Not Surprised by Ontario Grow-Op Findings -- Old News in BC - But Will Liberals Now Act as Green Tide Washes into Ontario

Surrey MP Not Surprised by Ontario Grow-Op Findings -- Old News in BC - But Will Liberals Now Act as Green Tide Washes into Ontario December 18, 2003

Surrey, BC - Chuck Cadman, Surrey North MP is not surprised by the findings of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police report released yesterday entitled, "Green Tide: Indoor Marihuana Cultivation and its Impact on Ontario". Cadman says, "This study rings an alarm in Ontario about a problem the RCMP labeled "epidemic" on a national scale over a year ago. Grow-ops have increased six fold in Canada since 1993 - under the current Liberal government's watch. British Columbia communities have been fighting grow-ops and suffering from the associated crime and violence for a number of years. But maybe now that grow-ops are a problem in vote-rich Ontario with 99 Liberal seats, the federal Liberal government will finally take action."

The Official Opposition Justice Critic continues, "Last year, the RCMP reported that marijuana grow-ops are epidemic. Last Spring, the Solicitor General saw the problem first-hand in my riding. All we've gotten since is another lesson in 'western alienation'. Last July, another RCMP report revealed that international drug gangs are spreading across Canada. Grow-ops threaten communities with drive-by shootings, home invasions, house fires, and many other problems."

Note the date on this post; Cadman, ousted as candidate for his Conservative riding, is now an independent -- courted by all parties, I suspect.

"The Liberals in Ottawa do not appear to grasp the serious and violent repercussions associated with a proliferation of marijuana grow-ops. Canada's lax laws and lenient penalties actually work to attract international organized crime to set up grow-ops here to export their product to the U.S. market. In their latest report, July 2003, the RCMP warns that marijuana cultivation is spreading throughout Canada as organized crime hooks up with biker gangs. In 2002, 54 million grams of bulk marijuana were seized; up from 28 million in 2001. The estimated 3,500 to 4,500 grow-ops in Surrey alone generate an estimated $2 billion in annual revenue - money used by organized crime to finance other illicit activities.[. . . . ]

Grow-ops ‘No Joke” – Cadman To Prime Minister Jean Chretien who has said:

“I don’t know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand.”

Grow-ops ‘No Joke” – Cadman To Prime Minister October 7, 2003

The Prime Minister made headlines around the world over the weekend when he quipped, “I don’t know what is marijuana. Perhaps I will try it when it will no longer be criminal. I will have my money for my fine and a joint in the other hand.”

Outside the House Cadman said, “My first concern over the PM’s reckless statement is the mixed message sent to kids. According to the country’s leader smoking marijuana is something to be joked about. Secondly, these remarks show clearly that this government does not appear to grasp the serious and violent repercussions associated with a proliferation of marijuana grow-ops.

[. . . . ] The estimated 3,500 to 4,500 grow-ops in Surrey alone generate an estimated $2 billion in annual revenue – money used by organized crime to finance other illicit activities. This is not a joking matter.”

Do read the Report from the Fraser Institute:

BC’s Marijuana Crop Worth Over $7 Billion Annually


Then, decide for yourself whether pot should be legalized, not decriminalized, but legalized -- and taxed with the usual exorbitant "sin taxes".

Maybe then, as with wine kits, Canadians will be able to go to their local bulk food and wine kit store and pick up seeds to grow their own -- perhaps not as good as the commercially available, government approved pot, but passable, as with the home-made wines that people settle for. Is it an idea whose time has come? Perhaps it would be better to put high "sin taxes" on junk food?

Do you think this is a good idea? Think about it. Stop thinking about the relatively poor and harmless amateur gardeners and characters we know who probably are involved in growing pot--no-one wants harm to come to the "little people" with whom we are acquainted and who may be involved. Instead, think of the networks, the criminality and meshing of criminal networks which have burgeoned, and reconsider after you re-read some of the above and check studies on it.

Consider the current attempt--or is that initiative?--to legalize something which our best friend, internationally, still deems illegal. Consider what has happened to the family since the sixties and seventies era of "free love", communal living and joints floating around the group. Has marijuana added positively to the lives of children or the solidity of the family? Think of what has evolved since--grow-ops manned by criminals. It is not simply a local who grows a few plants and still remembers his/her days of passing joints in a haze of communal comraderie. If he/she partakes in growing today it means being involved with international criminal networks--all that is entailed when our society has not firmly decided one way or another whether marijuana should be a criminal or a benign activity, whether what comes with it is too high a price to pay. What is your answer?

Have you considered the implications of what seems like nothing but planting a few seeds? Would government involvement change this -- and are there any medical implications? I remember seeing an article on this but I cannot find it now. The study concluded that marijuana is not harmless medically, that there are consequences beyond the usual from smoking, but why or of what import, I cannot remember. It might even have been a poor study, or the only one that came to these conclusions. I simply do not remember. It seems to me the words "medical consequences" and "marijuana" were used and that the study was written up in something I read from the UK. Search.