cannabisnews.com: Experts Don't Agree on Marijuana Grow Op Problem Experts Don't Agree on Marijuana Grow Op Problem Posted by CN Staff on June 25, 2002 at 22:32:35 PT By Robert Freeman Source: Chilliwack Progress Defence lawyers – who stand to gain most from a crackdown on marijuana grow operations – are lambasting Chilliwack’s get-tough response to grow-ops here. And even the authors of a University College of the Fraser Valley report on marijuana grow operations in B.C. disagree on how best to deal with the problem.“We’ve tried and spent a whole lot of money to eliminate the supply of the stuff and it doesn’t work,” says Yvon Dandurand, head of the UCFV criminology department. “It’s time to try something new.” But exactly what, he isn’t sure.“If we were to decriminalize or legalize or regulate ... then we would still have to worry about the huge black market south of the border,” he says. “There’s no easy solution.”But he suggests one thing that could be done is direct police resources more toward the organizers of the network feeding on the huge black market demand for marijuana.“There is a high level of organization,” to the B.C. grow-ops, he says, “but not organized in the sense we traditionally think of it.”“If you’re looking for a kingpin you may not find one, but a network of people,” he says.UCFV Professor Darryl Plecas, who co-authored the study, says the findings show marijuana grow-ops are clearly not “mom and pop” operations growing a couple of pot plants for a second income.And the phenomenal growth recorded by the study shows that the profit-making enterprise in B.C. is “outstripping the capacity of police to respond,” he says.Most of the 8,010 cases of marijuana grow-operations found by police between January 1997 and December 2000 came as a result of anonymous tips and of searches on other criminal matters, not police investigations.“The police aren’t going out of way to get these grow-ops, but tripping over them or getting anonymous complaints,” Professor Plecas says.Tougher court sentences in B.C. may be the key to driving grow-ops out of business, he says.“There are no grow-ops to speak of in Washington State,” he points out, “because the penalties are so severe, why would anybody risk it.”Prison sentences were imposed by B.C. judges in only 18 percent of the cases, with an average length of 4.5 months, according to the study. Half the suspects in B.C. grow-ops walk away without any conviction at all, and more than half of those had prior drug convictions. Forty percent had violent offences on their record.“The notion that they are mom and pop operations going on in Chilliwack is just not true,” Prof. Plecas says.He also notes that the convicted pot growers in B.C. had seven convictions on record, sometimes for multiple counts of marijuana production, but “no incremental penalties for prior convictions” imposed by court judges.He says that only encourages growers to plant larger and larger operations after a conviction brings no larger punishment. And the $130,000 income from one grow operation, with the potential for three grows a year, is incentive enough for anyone with no prospect of higher earnings by legal means.“All of a sudden, you’re making pretty good coin,” Prof. Plecas says.However, he does not believe that decriminalization or legalization would significantly alter the grow-op situation because of the “incredible market” for B.C. pot around the world.Even if a standard marijuana product was legalized, he believes there would still be a black market for strains of marijuana with boosted THC levels that would not be tolerated even by governments that had legalized its use.“The only thing I would say on the positive side of the ledger (of the UCFV study),” he says, “is that there’s hardly any incidents of violence at the time when the police show up” to take down a grow-op.Chilliwack City and RCMP officials have announced formation of a “strike force” of four officers dedicated to busting marijuana grow-ops, and directing more plainclothes and uniformed officers to drug enforcement duties.But defence lawyer John Conroy says taking the profit out of black market enterprises like marijuana grow-ops by legalizing or regulating the product like government do with alcohol and tobacco is the only way to deal with the problem.“We just can’t get it through the thick skulls of the people in power,” he says.“Why don’t they prohibit alcohol and tobacco, which are far more harmful,” he says. Canadian courts have found as found as a fact that there is “no significant” harm to smoking marijuana, he adds.“The police want this (tougher enforcement) because it helps expand their power to intrude into peoples’ private affairs,” he suggests.“The whole thing is ludicrous,” he adds, because it is the law criminalizing marijuana that creates the black market that the grow-ops feed on.He says the only danger of the grow-ops is that they are forced to operate underground, without safety inspections, because of the law.But the police see enforcement as the only answer because they get to “snoop around” neighbourhoods with their infra-red devices seeking the heat generated by grow-ops, Mr. Conroy says.“It’s more fun,” he suggests, than investigating the disappearance of native women from the wrong side of Vancouver streets.“It’s absurd. The whole drug war is just a crock of absolute nonsense.”Defence lawyer Suzanne Paterson says she is not surprised by the Chilliwack RCMP’s request for additional resources as a result of the study findings.“This is a new (RCMP) inspector and very quickly he has enlarged his kingdom,” she says, adding that the $160,000 now earmarked for two more RCMP officers could be better spent on shelter and activities for children in Chilliwack.She also disputes Insp. Mercer’s warning about violence around marijuana grow-ops.“I do a lot of cases with violence, but I can’t think of one that’s associated with pot growing,” she says.There have been two drive-by shootings in Chilliwack, both of them in 1996, and neither directly related to marijuana grow-operations. Keitha Joan Llewellyn, 59, was shot to death in her Tretheway Avenue home in March 1996, and 31-year-old Gary Autenreith was shot and killed while standing in a front window of his Hazel Street home the same month. The two shootings were not related.Psychologist Rob Lees fears increased enforcement could backfire and drive the price of pot up further making grow-ops “more risky” than ever for the general public.“If you stack marijuana up against tobacco or alcohol, there aren’t many people around who would say it’s worse,” says Mr. Lees, who advocated marijuana decriminalization as an election candidate for the New Democratic Party.He says Chilliwack City and RCMP officials may be focusing too tightly on the local picture and “making the assumption, if you try and limit the supply then it will stop people from using a substance.”But he says the experience of addiction counsellors, where a supply is limited, “the addiction goes elsewhere” and no real solution achieved.He says the goal of child psychologists is “resilient kids making healthy choices” rather than children fearing harsh punishment for breaking the rules.Source: Chilliwack Progress (CN BC)Author: Robert FreemanPublished: June 25, 2002Copyright: 2002 The Chilliwack ProgressContact: editor theprogress.comWebsite: http://www.theprogress.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmLivin' in Grass Houseshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13168.shtml Pot Farms Conceal Deadly Risks http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13136.shtmlMarijuana Grow-Ops in B.C. Jump 222 Percent http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13118.shtmlDrug Czar Wants Tougher Stance Against Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread13116.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #23 posted by FoM on June 26, 2002 at 22:16:22 PT ekim That was a very nice compliment. Thank you! [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by ekim on June 26, 2002 at 19:59:55 PT take care Fom you have become one with the plant. happy trails~~~~ to you. mike:) [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by FoM on June 26, 2002 at 18:33:17 PT Hi freedom fighter Thank you for being concerned. I'm fine now. I fell backwards down the basement steps and hit a cement block then cement with my derriere. Ouch and my arm was a mess but I'm fine. Passed out once more that night but since then I'm doing fine. Very weird but it sure did happen and it could have been worse and I'm happy it wasn't. I'm a tough cookie! LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by freedom fighter on June 26, 2002 at 17:40:55 PT Ouch! FoM! You passed out and fell down the steps.. I hope nothing serious. In other word, the world needs you. :)Please take care. I will think of good thoughts for a friend who gave so much to this world so far and will continue so. Oh, I know I have never met you personally face to face, but you are like a kind stranger walking by me saying "Howdy" without much thought. I felt no fear. I felt no need to glance over my shoulder wondering if you would stick a gun in my back. Indeed, I felt safeTake care with much respect.ff [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by BGreen on June 26, 2002 at 16:15:45 PT Euphoria in the treatment of sickness One of the biggest complaints against using medical cannabis seems to be the possibility of the patient getting "high." I'd argue that euphoria is an important component in the patients ability to cope with pain and the emotional turbulence that accompanies it. That would explain why people drink hot buttered rum, take natural and synthetic opiates, and why benzodiazepines, barbiturates and/or hypnotics are routinely prescribed along with the narcotic analgesics.However, when it comes to cannabis, any aspect of pleasure is considered by prohibitionists to be undesirable, and is used as grounds for dismissing the efficacy of cannabis in the treatment of disease, or in supporting the emotional well-being and quality of life in those who are ill. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on June 26, 2002 at 13:54:03 PT Dr. Russo and everyone I've always believe this scripture. I try to stay in an upbeat mood but recently I allowed things to get me very angry and I passed out and fell down the steps. I am not comfortable saying what helped me but we know what did. Proverbs 17:22, "A merry heart does good, like medicine." [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by SpaceCat on June 26, 2002 at 13:37:48 PT Mood and immunity Definitely. Everytime my wife and I have a fight, we get sick for days afterwards, and I've had asthma attacks directly triggered by stress. We're a couple of overly-sensitive artists, so your mileage may vary. It's a wonderfully self-reinforcing negative feedback mechanism, really! [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2002 at 13:23:32 PT We'll have to credit Harry Anslinger Cannabis as medicine does nothing better than to adjust people's attitudes, help them gain perspective, and even smile when they may have little reason. That is powerful.Wasn't it Harry Anslinger who said, "Reefer makes a darkie think he's equal to the white man."Perhaps Anslinger could be credited as someone with early insight into the powers of the herb to heal victims of socioeconomic abuse. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Ethan Russo MD on June 26, 2002 at 13:15:03 PT: Psychoneuroimmunology E_J, immunological status is absolutely affected by mood. The field of psychoneuroimmunology has taught us these lessons. Stress, abuse, hunger, malnutrition and the lack of hope all make people sick and sicker the longer they last.Cannabis as medicine does nothing better than to adjust people's attitudes, help them gain perspective, and even smile when they may have little reason. That is powerful. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2002 at 13:01:29 PT Politics, power and genes, Dr. Ethan I am certain that in some years, at least outside the USA, cannabis will be recognized as a preventive medicine for many degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.I'm interested in the question of what subpopulations in a given society tend to suffer more from chronic inflammatory degenerative diseases. I'll bet it's the abused subpopulations, the groups undergoing the most stress in their society. If that were so then that would make a case for marijuana prohibition as a way to use disease as a form of political control. Deny people access to the universal free anti-inflammatory and keep people in the abused subpopulation too sick from stress to fight back.Biological warfare using free radicals as a weapon of social control...Or economic, social or genetic competition.This war against weed has been going on for along time so there must be a pretty good reason for it that all of those times have in common. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by WolfgangWylde on June 26, 2002 at 10:57:11 PT I'd Say B.C. Officials Are Having Their Cake... ...and eating it too. By all accounts, the marijuana trade outstrips all other money makers in B.C. Its the number one cash crop,even ahead of lumber. B.C. pols would make in their pants if that money dried up. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Naaps on June 26, 2002 at 10:54:57 PT Sorry about the overwhelming Italics I didn't use the forward slash inside the brackets to turn off the italics. Next time, I'll do better. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Naaps on June 26, 2002 at 10:50:50 PT Start the Chainsaw At least this article does make an effort to cover both sides of the issue. While, Criminologist Darryl Plecas has his prohibitionist view opining that tougher court sentences may be required. Eminent BC defense lawyer John Conroy actually has his words printed. “It’s absurd. The whole drug war is just a crock of absolute nonsense.” The strategy by Chilliwack City and the RCMP to have a “strike force” is similar to what is happening in many lower mainland municipalities. More money is being directed to police resources, while other things suffer. Just this week, the Vancouver Sun reported that there is a dearth of funds available for purchasing books for children at schools and public libraries. Meanwhile, the missing women/pig farm investigation, which John Conroy alluded, is sure to cost BC taxpayers huge sums. Considering that our resources are limited, advocating more cops and longer sentences means services not related to interdicting drugs will suffer or have user fees, and more of the taxpayer bill will go to support prisons, court costs, and police; undoubtedly, all ineffective in controlling the trade anyway. Incidentally, the original report, which Plecas authored, is available here. http://www.icclr.law.ubc.ca/Site%20Map/Publications%20Page/Marihuana.htm I want to take a chainsaw to the branches and limbs from which the anti’s cling to their misguided - though presently rewarded at the public trough stances – supported through propaganda on a compliant and mostly apathetic populace, cheered by commissioned criminologists, and cut, cut, cut. Voorrmm. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on June 26, 2002 at 10:15:30 PT National Review Article on Legalization Just Say Yes: Legalization is the Only Way To Keep Children Off Drugs June 26, 2002 By Adam Schaeffer Source: National Review In the war on drugs, the news is almost never good. A Canadian university criminologist recently released a report detailing a striking 222 percent increase in marijuana-growing operations in British Columbia between 1997 and 2000. Needless to say, it has officials on both sides of the border voicing concern. Drug Czar John Walters made known his displeasure with Canadian drug laws at the international meeting of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence, but Canadian marijuana should be the least of our worries when it comes to drugs in America. http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread13232.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by John Tyler on June 26, 2002 at 10:02:39 PT Legalize it then there would be no need for hidden grow-ops in residential areas. It would be grown in hot houses or on farms or nurseries for commercial operations or backyards for personal use. Even the good professor (Prof. Plecas) says there is an “incredible market” for B.C. pot around the world. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on June 26, 2002 at 08:21:06 PT: The thinking processes of antis... Yes, I know, many are saying in pure reaction "What processes?" But here it is:“If we were to decriminalize or legalize or regulate ... then we would still have to worry about the huge black market south of the border..."Now, other more worthy folks have already declared their incredulity at this bit of incredulity. I'll add to it...raise you one:The antis are back to running on fumes for arguments. And seemingly being incapable of logical reasoning beyond syllogisms, they instead rely upon rank disingenuousness. Pathetic. Like the White House saying it wasn't prepared for 9/11 because it was expecting a 'traditional hijacking' when all the pointers show the basic plot was something written about in both government studies on terrorism and a highly popular Tom Clancy spy thriller, fer Gawd's sake!Nothing but 'reaching' out on a limb...and there's plenty of ticked-off people, victims of these cretins, that are waiting with saws. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on June 26, 2002 at 05:36:45 PT All of a sudden you're making pretty good coin No need to wonder why these grow-ops exist. No demand, no supply.You do not have to be a Russian rocket scientist to snatch to draft. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Ethan Russo MD on June 26, 2002 at 03:49:09 PT: E_J I am certain that in some years, at least outside the USA, cannabis will be recognized as a preventive medicine for many degenerative diseases due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.Hampson's paper, IMHO, was one of the landmarks of medical literature of the past decade. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2002 at 00:49:06 PT Time to investigate marijuana and Alzheimer's This news story came out on the wire: The connection, at least, is considered plausible: Antioxidant vitamins have been shown to block the effects of oxygen molecules called free radicals, which can damage cells and are thought to contribute to cancer and heart disease. And lesions typically associated with exposure to free radicals have been found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.One of the studies found strong effects from vitamins E and C. In the other, results from vitamin E foods were more conclusive, but researchers said there was a suggestion vitamin C also provided benefits.It has been shown pretty conclusively that THC and CBD act in the brain as antioxidants just like vitamins C and E only more effective.Here is the article in the PNAS that says THC and CBD and neuroprotective antioxidants:http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/95/14/8268They compare them directly with C and E and THC and CBD both were more effective as antioxidants. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on June 26, 2002 at 00:44:26 PT I can think of one ?If we were to decriminalize or legalize or regulate ... then we would still have to worry about the huge black market south of the border,? he says. ?There?s no easy solution.? Declare America a rogue nation and join with the EU to impose sanctions on us until we change our policy? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Industrial Strength on June 25, 2002 at 22:53:07 PT huh?? "Even if a standard marijuana product was legalized, he believes there would still be a black market for strains of marijuana with boosted THC levels that would not be tolerated even by governments that had legalized its use."What a moron! Argh, I can't even really think of much else to say. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by BGreen on June 25, 2002 at 22:48:34 PT Strike 2 Even if a standard marijuana product was legalized, he believes there would still be a black market for strains of marijuana with boosted THC levels that would not be tolerated even by governments that had legalized its use.Plant a seed. Don't go to the black market, bucko. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by BGreen on June 25, 2002 at 22:46:11 PT Wanna bet? “There are no grow-ops to speak of in Washington State,” he points out, “because the penalties are so severe, why would anybody risk it.”How about all 50 states, bucko. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment