A GROWING CONCERN

MOUNTIES' GREEN TEAM TARGETS BOOMING HYDROPONIC MARIJUANA FARMS

The RCMP have added a new weapon to their anti-drug arsenal in hopes of
nipping Alberta's growing hydroponic marijuana industry in the bud.

It's a squad of expert detectives put together at the beginning of the year
to sniff out and dig up high-tech indoor pot farms that are producing
potent, top-quality dope for distribution around the world.

And they call themselves the Green Team.

"The green team is an investigative team that is specifically targeting
hydroponic grow operations in and around Edmonton and northern Alberta,''
says Cpl. Bob Simmonds, of the RCMP drug section.

There are up to eight cops on the team at any given time - members from the
RCMP drug section and investigators from the RCMP proceeds of crime
section, which targets property and assets obtained through crime, he added.

The special unit was formed in response to the increasing popularity of
hydroponic pot operations in Alberta.

Over the past 10 years, Mounties in northern Alberta have seen a 240%
increase in the number of hydroponic cases they've handled, up from 66
busts in 1987 to 223 last year.

Simmonds believes the industry growth is largely the result of a surge in
demand from south of the border. Pot dealers from Mexico and the U.S. are
looking to Alberta and B.C. for marijuana characterized by its potent punch
of THC - the active ingredient in weed. He says it's a matter of people in
other countries wanting a top-of-the-line product.

"You're a person who likes luxury vehicles, but rather than be satisfied
with the Cadillac, you import the Rolls Royce,'' he says.

Tests on Alberta marijuana plants have shown THC concentrations as high as
20%, which is 10 times stronger than the dope that was being smoked in the
1960s.

Simmonds couldn't pinpoint what makes the Alberta pot growers so good at
what they do but said it probably has something to do with the large number
of indoor marijuana grow operations.

Growing dope inside allows the cultivator to have control over the
conditions and engineer the perfect plant, he said.

Computer-controlled lighting and growing conditions powered by pairs of
$25,000 industrial generators that alone could run whole farms have been
discovered. They are fed by elaborate plumbing and powered by electrical
systems so complex they can require an electrician's expertise to set up.

Cops say hydroponic "consultants'' are even available for hire - a
weed-growing whiz who helps set up large-scale growing operations for a price.

Simmonds has seen some grow operations where the trailers from 18-wheelers
have been buried underground to house the grow operation.

"Clearly, the brains behind the operation are very knowledgeable and
experienced,'' he said.

Costs for setting up a high-tech grow operation - including land,
generators, fertilizer and electrical equipment - can go over $100,000, he
said.

But with prices for premium weed reaching $3,500 a pound, a grower can
quickly recover the costs.

And cops say with such profits comes the involvement of organized crime and
the financing of more weed factories.

"We are increasingly becoming aware of financial involvement of outlaw
motorcycle groups in the financing of these operations," says Simmonds.
"Clearly, it's an area where organized crime is becoming actively involved.''

In some cases, the hydroponic dope is being traded for other drugs like
cocaine, he adds.

A grow operation usually begins with a "mother'' plant, from which samples
can be cut to grow another "clone'' plant, Simmonds says.

Cloning pot plants allows the grower to genetically engineer the amount of
"bud'' - which is eventually smoked - and the strength of the weed, he says.

Simmonds has heard claims from some dope growers that up to two pounds of
bud can be harvested from a single plant. At top prices, the profit from
one plant can run as high as $7,000, he says.

The locations for the operations are typically rural and spread throughout
Alberta. RCMP have recently hit grow operations around Lamont, Vegreville,
Two Hills, Grand Centre, Barrhead, Drayton Valley and Evansburg.

Copyright (c) 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.