Pubdate: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 Source: Coquitlam Now, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2005Lower Mainland Publishing Group, Inc. Contact: http://www.thenownews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1340 Author: Harry Warren Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) 'EPIDEMIC' PLAGUING COMMUNITY After the recent tragic deaths of four RCMP officers in Alberta linked to a grow operation, I hope the proposed federal legislation dealing with marijuana cultivation will finally come forward so that we can deal with the violence associated with the organized crime involved in this activity. Locally, I hope mayors and councils will start taking policing ratios a lot more seriously. We have had one of the lowest numbers of police officers to population in past years, in B.C. and in Canada, and this is not helping enforcement in our region. The past week showed 28 grow operations in an 82-unit townhouse complex in Coquitlam. This indicates that the mayor and council should allocate more resources to the marijuana enforcement team so they can better handle the epidemic that is plaguing our entire community. Harry Warren Coquitlam - --- MAP posted-by: Beth