Pubdate: Thu, 29 May 2003 Source: Richmond News (CN BC) Copyright: 2003, Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc. Contact: http://www.richmond-news.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1244 Author: Darah Hansen Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) POT LAWS WON'T SLOW HARVEST Getting busted with a few joints in your pocket won't leave you with a criminal record if a federal Liberal bid to decriminalize small amounts of pot is passed by Parliament. But neither will such a bill stem the explosion of marijuana grow-operations in Richmond and Lower Mainland, says Canadian Alliance MP for Delta-South Richmond John Cummins. "It's one of those issues that I don't think has been thought out as clearly as it should have been," Cummins said Tuesday after the legislation was introduced in the House of Commons. "I think the first priority really has to be addressing these grow-operations. That's the biggest problem out here right now." Under the Liberal bill, possessing a small amount of marijuana will land you a fine, but no criminal charges. It also calls for a decrease in the maximum jail sentence imposed for growers with less than 25 plants, from seven years to five. Cummins said that sends the wrong message to those engaged in the marijuana trade. "It's an indicator that the government isn't taking these issues seriously," he said. "And this is a serious matter." Busting grow-ops in Richmond is full-time work for the marijuana production unit of the RCMP. Some 50 cases have gone forward to be dealt with in the courts since the team was introduced last September - a fraction of the illegal grows police know are out there. Of those, said Corp. Sanjaya Wijayakoon, head of the Richmond unit, only about one in 20 cases are of the smalltime mom-and-pop variety. The overwhelming majority, he said, "are all organized-crime related on some level." Wijayakoon can never see a day when his line of work will run dry. Demographically, teenagers, age 13 to 19 years, make up a huge portion of those buying and smoking pot and it's unlikely, he said, that government will ever completely legalize their access. "So there will always be this huge, huge black market." - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager