Pubdate: Fri, 24 Aug 2012
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2012 The London Free Press
Contact: http://www.lfpress.com/comment/letters/write/
Website: http://www.lfpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
Author: Scott Taylor

POT PLOTS BOOBY-TRAPPED

MARIJUANA: Police Say Unsuspecting Hikers at Risk of Harm

With Southwestern Ontario's fall harvest nearing, some producers are 
trying to keep a step ahead.

Problem is, they're growing marijuana. Staying ahead means being one 
up on rivals and police, either of whom might uproot their illegal crop.

Enter the booby-trapped marijuana plot.

Trip-wired shotguns to scare off intruders, animal traps, 
razor-infused tree branches tied down to whip back on snoops - 
they're all in the drug grower's defences.

It makes the harvest period dangerous for people stumble upon the 
clandestine mini-farms, police warn.

"All of these factors could lead to dangerous confrontations for 
unsuspecting, innocent people - including children - who just happen 
to be in the area of these illegal crops," OPP said Thursday.

With its high heat and humidity, and vast farm fields, Southwestern 
Ontario is fertile ground for illegal pot producers.

Annual campaigns by police to root out the drug while it's growing 
include hunting it down from the air, where its dark green stands can 
easily be spotted, often growing between rows of ripened corn or 
along the edges of fields.

Other favourite growing areas include swamps, wooded areas, along 
rivers and on large rural spreads whose owners rent out the land.

How dangerous are the lengths to which growers go to keep police and 
pot pirates at bay?

Plenty.

Last year in Nova Scotia, authorities swooped down on a field where 
six-inch, nail-like spikes were found in the ground, just waiting for 
someone to step on them.

Drug growers can even be armed, working in their hidden fields.

Anyone who happens across a suspicious plot, or signs of activity, 
should steer clear of it but alert authorities, police say.

[sidebar]

TELL-TALE SIGNS

Possible indicators of pot fields:

Vehicles inexplicably parked on roadsides or trails Recent "no 
trespassing" signs People spotted in remote areas for no apparent 
reason Fertilizer bags, plant trays or chemicals Well-trampled 
trails, well off the beaten path Cleared-out areas in swamps, woods 
or corn fields.

PROTECTING POT

Some techniques used to protect pot fields:

Nail-like ground spikes like the ones shown in the photo above 
Trip-wired shotguns Animal traps Booby-trapped trees
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom