MARIJUANA FLOURISHES IN B.C. AS METHAMPHETAMINE CRISIS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VANCOUVER 001524

SIPDIS

DEA OFFICIALS TOLD US THAT ORGANIZED CRIME IS BEHIND ALMOST ALL
OF B.C.'S DRUG TRADE (SEE REFTEL). WHILE ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE
PROVINCE IS TRADITIONALLY DEFINED AS MOTORCYCLE AND ETHNIC
GANGS, AN RCMP REPORT EXPLAINS THAT ETHNIC BARRIERS ARE
DISSOLVING, MAKING WAY FOR HIGH LEVELS OF COOPERATION AMONG THE
VARIOUS ORGANIZED CRIME GROUPS, WHICH SPECIALIZE IN SPECIFIC
ASPECTS OF THE TRADE AND SHARE THEIR EARNINGS. FOR EXAMPLE,
VIETNAMESE GANGS GROW MARIJUANA, WHICH INDO-CANADIAN
ORGANIZATIONS THEN TRANSPORT INTO THE UNITED STATES. HELLS
ANGELS OFTEN OVERSEE NETWORKS OF GROWERS AND HELP COORDINATE
SMUGGLING RUNS INTO THE U.S. CRIME RINGS USE MARIJUANA GROW-OPS
TO FUND OTHER SERIOUS CRIMES-SUCH AS U.S.-AND-MEXICAN-BASED
COCAINE TRAFFICKING INTO CANADA, WEAPONS IMPORTATION, AND THE
MOVEMENT OF EPHEDRINE AND ECSTASY-THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE BEYOND
THEIR REACH. LESS INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON METHAMPHETAMINE
LINKS TO ORGANIZED CRIME, BUT THE JUNE RCMP REPORT ATTRIBUTES
MOST METHAMPHETAMINE AND OTHER CHEMICAL DRUGS TO HELLS ANGELS
AND ASIAN-BASED ORGANIZATIONS.
WHA/CAN; INL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CA SNAR PREL ECIN
SUBJECT: MARIJUANA FLOURISHES IN B.C. AS METHAMPHETAMINE CRISIS
HEIGHTENS

REF: VANCOUVER 1470


1. Summary: The number of individual marijuana grow
operations, or grow-ops, in British Columbia has leveled-off
since 2000, but they continue to increase in size and
sophistication, according to a June 2005 RCMP report and a study
by the University College of the Fraser Valley's Department of
Criminology and Criminal Justice. Law enforcement is becoming
progressively less effective in stopping marijuana grow-op
crimes in the province. B.C. is a very large supplier of
smuggled marijuana and ecstasy to the U.S., and crime groups
have started using helicopters as a more secure way of transit
across the border. Methamphetamine is a major and growing
source of concern in the province, and production has shifted
away from the U.S. and more to B.C. where domestic demand for
the drug is on the rise. Organized crime groups are believed to
be the main players in the drug trade, the profits for which
they use to finance other crimes. End Summary.

New trends in marijuana grow-ops

2. British Columbia has the worst cultivation of marijuana
problem in Canada, reporting almost three times the national
average for grow-ops. Although the number of grow-ops in B.C.
has leveled-off since skyrocketing in the late 1990s, the size
of grow-ops has increased dramatically. Since 1997, there has
been a 60% increase in the number of plants seized in grow-op
raids, and the average quantity of harvested marijuana seized
has tripled. For example, in a number of recent raids, RCMP
seized up to 15,000 plants. This increase in size of grow-ops
correlates with two other noticeable changes-a location shift
from urban to rural and more sophisticated operations.


3. While the overall number of grow-ops uncovered in the Lower
Mainland and Greater Victoria urban areas has decreased since
2000, a shift from the cities to more rural areas is on the
rise. This shift from urban to rural areas has given marijuana
growers opportunities to procure larger properties, allowing for
greater production and less police and community detection.
While three-fourths of grow-ops occur in homes or apartments,
the recent shift has taken many operations out of the smaller
urban homes into multimillion dollar suburban and rural houses,
many of which are used solely for growing marijuana. Public
sources recounted some recent cases of drug lords owning
mortgage companies and renting homes to known marijuana
producers.


4. Marijuana grow operations have become more sophisticated
than in past years. More specialized equipment is used today
than a few years ago. For example, growers use high-voltage
light bulbs more often and in greater quantities than they did
in 1997. In addition, growers are using more electric
generators, and are coming up with more ways to steal and divert
energy.

Prosecution of marijuana growers is lacking

5. Even though the number of reported grow-ops has leveled-off,
the criminal justice system is increasingly unwilling to
prosecute growers caught in the act. Each year fewer cases are
being fully investigated, fewer offenders are charged and
convicted, and sentences are more lenient. In fact, 50% of
marijuana seizures terminate in "no case," leaving the offender
free to continue his/her crime. The vast majority of
individuals actually charged in grow-ops are convicted; however,
only 16% of these offenders go to prison, with an average prison
sentence of 4.9 months. Conditional sentences and probation
frequently take the place of prison time.

Where all the marijuana goes

6. RCMP reports that B.C. produces much more marijuana than it
actually uses. RCMP believes that up to 95% of the province's
marijuana is smuggled mostly into the western U.S., other
Canadian provinces, the eastern United States., and Europe.
Canada is the second-largest supplier of smuggled marijuana to
the U.S., behind only Mexico, and most of the Canadian marijuana
sent to the U.S. is from British Columbia.


7. According to a Vancouver Sun report and Consulate law
enforcement staff, the use of helicopters to transport marijuana
from Canada to the U.S. is a new trend. Criminal groups use drug
money to buy used helicopters for as little as $100,000. They
generally hire a pilot to teach group members how to fly the
helicopter, and pay a farmer near the border to store their
helicopter. Trafficking by air is faster and more secure than
on land and even if air traffic control signals the pilot,
police have no way to pull him over or verify his identity.

The scourge of methamphetamine

8. Of increasing concern in B.C. is the significant increase in
the availability and production of methamphetamine, particularly
crystal meth. Authorities are locating more and more "meth"
labs in B.C., and in September, police responded to a "break and
enter" 911 call and uncovered a lab containing $2.5 million
worth of methamphetamine. The lab was capable of producing more
than twelve kilograms of the drug every 48 hours. An RCMP
report indicates that methamphetamine laboratories are expanding
at an alarming rate.


9. Previously, Canada's methamphetamine supply came primarily
from the U.S. (via Mexico); however, circumstances have shifted
most major labs north into B.C. In the U.S., restrictions on
the sale of chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine force
manufacturers to divert legitimate ephedrine from distributors
and extract ephedrine from medication. These difficulties,
together with effective prosecution of methamphetamine producers
and the relative lack of such deterrents in Canada, have slowed
the expansion of most major labs in the U.S., and the smaller
labs are unable to supply the Canadian demand, opening wide the
way for large domestic "meth" labs, such as the one uncovered in
September. Most meth manufactured in BC is for domestic
consumption. DEA tells us that there is little evidence to show
a trend in bulk shipments of meth going south. However, that
said, the precursors for making meth are routinely and
legitimately sent south. Canadian export restrictions for these
precursors is lax, according to DEA staff stationed in
Vancouver. Also, the precursors for making ecstasy are imported
from several different places and the finished product is then
moved south into the U.S., mainly by Vietnamese crime groups.


10. The Province newspaper reports that in B.C. one can buy all
the raw materials needed to produce methamphetamine for roughly
$100 at almost any local drug store or hardware store. Weak
sentencing guidelines give police little incentive to
investigate meth producers, and create little deterrent to
manufacturers and dealers of the drug.


11. Senior officials in B.C. have begun to take the
methamphetamine crisis seriously. For example, Premier Gordon
Campbell recently announced a $7 million increase in funding and
several new initiatives to strengthen the province's fight
against crystal meth, including funding campaigns against the
drug in local communities, launching a public awareness
campaign, and expanding treatment across the province. He also
pledged to continue working with the federal government to
toughen sentencing for meth dealers and producers. The RCMP
recently asked the DEA for help fighting methamphetamine with
training and expertise. And the Minister for Public Safety and
Solicitor General asked the Consul General to assist him in
identifying and sending US experts to come to BC to speak out on
the dangers of methamphetamine use and to provide advice on how
to attack this growing drug problem.

Links to organized crime

12. DEA officials told us that organized crime is behind almost
all of B.C.'s drug trade (see reftel). While organized crime in
the province is traditionally defined as motorcycle and ethnic
gangs, an RCMP report explains that ethnic barriers are
dissolving, making way for high levels of cooperation among the
various organized crime groups, which specialize in specific
aspects of the trade and share their earnings. For example,
Vietnamese gangs grow marijuana, which Indo-Canadian
organizations then transport into the United States. Hells
Angels often oversee networks of growers and help coordinate
smuggling runs into the U.S. Crime rings use marijuana grow-ops
to fund other serious crimes-such as U.S.-and-Mexican-based
cocaine trafficking into Canada, weapons importation, and the
movement of ephedrine and Ecstasy-that would otherwise be beyond
their reach. Less information is available on methamphetamine
links to organized crime, but the June RCMP report attributes
most methamphetamine and other chemical drugs to Hells Angels
and Asian-based organizations.
LUKENS