Pubdate: Fri, 08 Mar 2013 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2013 The Leader-Post Ltd. Website: http://www.leaderpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: Douglas Quan Page: B10 POLICE CITE MEDICAL MARIJUANA ABUSE Several members of an Ontario family and their associates raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits from the "egregious exploitation" of Canada's medical marijuana laws, police alleged Thursday. Authorities say the group, based in Hamilton, obtained "several dozen" licences to produce marijuana under the guise they were for medical purposes when, in reality, they were running a profitable marijuana grow operation whose distribution network stretched to Newfoundland. A spokesman for Health Canada, which distributes the licences, said Thursday cases like the one in Hamilton are a reason why the federal government is looking to phase out the distribution of licences for home production. Stephane Shank said he couldn't say how many people have been caught defrauding the system but said "the government is concerned that the current medical marijuana access program is open to abuse." Over the past decade, the number of Canadians authorized to possess marijuana for medical purposes has ballooned to more than 28,000. More than 21,000 have been issued licences to produce small amounts for themselves or for others. The rest get their marijuana couriered to them from a government distributor. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq announced in December that the government was moving to eliminate all personal production in favour of a new industry of licensed commercial producers. Officials believe this will allow for more control over production in Canada. The proposed changes, which just underwent a public comment phase, have the support of Canada's public safety officials. They are not only concerned about criminal exploitation but the risk of fires - about one out of every 22 grow operations catches fire, they say. Canada's doctors, however, have said they are concerned the government is abdicating its role as a regulator of medical marijuana. RCMP officials said Thursday that a joint investigation with the Hamilton Police Service revealed that several members of a Hamilton family and their associates - including their lawyer - were involved in a scheme in which dozens of licences were obtained from Health Canada to develop a "profitable, and seemingly legal, marijuana grow operation." Insp. Steve Martin of the RCMP's Hamilton-Niagara detachment said in an interview that the sale of the marijuana on the black market resulted in profits of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Police conducted extensive surveillance on the group and uncovered "hallmark indicators" of a "well disciplined" criminal organization and hierarchy, he said. In all, 12 individuals were charged with a variety of offences, including participation in a criminal organization, conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance, production of a controlled substance, and possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance. Also ensnared in the investigation was Hamilton lawyer Ira Greenspoon. He was charged with counselling to commit an indictable offence, police said. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt