Pubdate: Thu, 26 Jun 2014
Source: Daily Telegraph (UK)
Copyright: 2014 Telegraph Media Group Limited
Contact:  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/114
Author: Tom Whitehead
Page: 11

TO FIND DRUG FARMS, JUST SCRATCH AND SNIFF

CANNABIS "scratch and sniff" cards are to be handed out to the public 
so they can recognise the smell and alert the police to local drug 
factories and dealers.

Tens of thousands of the cards are to be put through letterboxes in a 
campaign run by Crimestoppers.

Under the initiative, up to 150,000 cards will be posted to homes in 
drug hot spots in 17 police force areas.

The cards carry advice on tell-tale signs that indicate drug farms, 
including one tip to watch for "cannabis growing equipment".

The advice includes looking out for a property with constantly 
covered windows and strong lighting always on. There may be visitors 
at antisocial hours, high levels of heat and condensation, the buzz 
of ventilators and lots of cables.

Chief Superintendent Bill Jephson, the national police lead for 
cannabis, said: "Those who commercially cultivate cannabis are 
organised criminals often involved in other criminal ventures. Houses 
in residential areas are used to produce the cannabis, which brings 
violent offenders into the heart of our communities, and leads to a 
real risk of fire and flood."

According to the UK Human Trafficking Centre, in 2012 around a fifth 
of human trafficking victims thought to have been criminally 
exploited were forced into growing cannabis. Most of those, 81 per 
cent, were children.

Det Supt Kath Barnes, of Hampshire Police, said: "Cannabis is often 
seen as harmless and somehow acceptable. This is just not the case. 
It's harmful to use and many people including children across the 
world are exploited in furtherance of the cannabis trade."

However, two official bodies representing police officers and prison 
governors have joined a separate campaign calling for the 
legalisation of drug use.

The National Black Police Association and the Prison Governors 
Association were among 80 signatories to an open letter to David 
Cameron demanding an urgent review of drug laws.

Nick Glynn, the vice-president of the National Black Police 
Association, said: "It is time for a mature, informed, objective 
debate around the UK's drugs laws."
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