Pubdate: Wed, 04 May 2005
Source: East Valley Tribune (AZ)
Copyright: 2005 East Valley Tribune.
Contact:  http://www.eastvalleytribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2708
Author: Gary Grado
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

POLICE WARN OF POTENT MARIJUANA

It's not your father's weed. Canadian-grown "B.C. Bud" is the latest
variety of marijuana that teens are using. It is four to 12 times more
potent than Mexican, naturally grown marijuana, and it could be coming
to a high school near you, police warn.

With the higher potency comes a higher price. A pound of B.C. Bud
costs between $3,500 and $4,500, compared with $400 to $1,000 for
Mexican marijuana.

And with that higher price comes an increased risk of violence
associated with its sale - typically done by young, white males living
in the north East Valley, including Paradise Valley and Scottsdale,
police said.

"We've recovered a lot of guns , we've recovered assault rifles, we've
recovered bulletproof vests off these kids - 20-year-old kids that live with
mom and dad," said detective Matt Shay, a Phoenix Police Department
narcotics investigator.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew
Thomas talked about a 60-pound seizure of B.C. Bud - the largest bust
of that type of marijuana to date in the county - from a 51-year-old
Canadian man arrested April 20 in Paradise Valley.

Graham Leslie Lidiard was indicted Friday on two marijuana felony
offenses. Police stopped him at 5600 E. Lincoln Blvd. and could smell
a strong scent of marijuana coming from his trunk, where they found
the stash, according to court documents.

B.C. stands for the Canadian province British Columbia, where the
variety originated. B.C. Bud is carefully cultivated to increase its
level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical ingredient that
causes a person to get high, officials said.

B.C. Bud has a reddish tint to it and a citrus smell, unlike Mexican
pot, which is identifiable by stems and seeds mixed with it. The
Canadian variety contains about 25 percent THC while the Mexican
version contains between 2 percent and 6 percent, Thomas said.

Police started seeing the drug over the past 18 months to two years.
They've arrested a number of students from Paradise Valley High School
and Shadow Mountain High School, and suspects have said they are
selling it in Scottsdale and at the Paradise Valley Mall in Phoenix,
Shay said.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin