Pubdate: Mon, 20 Sep 2004
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2004, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Setion: page A1
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Author: Ingrid Peritz
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

. . . WHILE HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS OPT FOR CROP OF GRASS

MONTREAL -- High-school principal Claude Bernier has noticed that some of 
his students undergo a startling transformation over the summer.

Despite their modest backgrounds, they show up at school in September with 
thick gold chains, flashy clothes and the latest-model sports cars.

"Sometimes they have wads of cash in their pockets," he said yesterday.

"They're completely transformed."

The source of the teens' sudden wealth is an open secret around Nicolet, a 
rural belt of farmers and working families 90 minutes northeast of 
Montreal. The region has turned into a pot-growing hub in Quebec, and teens 
are joining in the production effort.

Local officials say marijuana growers are hiring students to help plant 
crops in the spring, guard them during the summer, and harvest them in the 
fall.

Lured by quick cash, the students are turning up their noses at 
old-fashioned summer jobs such as life-guarding or bagging groceries.

Mr. Bernier said kids can make $25 an hour working for drug producers, who 
police say are linked to organized crime. Local businesses complain about a 
worker shortage.

"They're not interested in working here. We can't hire them," said Carl 
Thibault, who runs a fire-truck assembly plant in Pierreville. "Kids can 
make in a few weeks [in the pot fields] what it would take a whole year for 
them to make here. If they can earn $25 an hour, why would they come to 
work for $9 an hour, and pay tax?"

Come fall, absenteeism starts to hit area high schools.

"Sometimes the kids don't show up for a day or two so they can go work 
during peak harvest season," said Mr. Bernier, principal at Ecole 
Secondaire Jean-Nicolet. "Then we see them at school the next day . . . and 
they have a brand new wardrobe and have a wad of bills in their pocket, 
which is pretty unusual for a high-school student."

Of the 1,000 students in his school, he estimates that 20 have jobs linked 
to marijuana cultivation.

Marijuana cultivation in farmers' fields has been a worrisome trend in 
southwestern Quebec. Quebec-grown pot is considered potent and highly 
valued, which puts pressure on farmers to turn a blind eye to the drug 
traffickers who plant pot amid their tall corn stalks.

For several years, farmers have spoken anonymously of death threats, armed 
men and booby traps on their land. But now, the presence of marijuana is 
having a ripple effect on the small-town populations.

Several people interviewed yesterday said at times it's surprising to see 
some families in SUVs or new boats. Tensions are growing as townsfolk clam 
up about their illicit activities.

For years, civic leaders and local residents stayed quiet, partly out of 
fear of reprisals from the criminal pot growers. But rising fears have 
prompted local officials to start speaking out. Local mayors say ordinary 
citizens have become afraid to take walks in the woods or paddle their 
canoes on local rivers, for fear of accidentally stumbling upon a criminal 
pot grower.

"It's started to feel like Colombia," said Denise Gendron, a nurse and the 
mayor of Sainte-Monique, a small community in the heart of the pot-growing 
area. "People are scared. There used to be the law of omerta, but now we're 
starting to speak up. We're seeing people are living beyond their means 
around here, with fancy cars and motorcycles. We're seeing young people 
with vehicles that don't correspond to their family's income levels."

She said she views the solution as the legalization of marijuana.
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MAP posted-by: Jo-D