Pubdate: Mon, 03 Apr 2000
Source: Toronto Sun (CN ON)
Copyright: 2000, Canoe Limited Partnership.
Contact:  333 King St. E., Toronto, Ontario M5A 3X5 Canada
Fax: (416) 947-3228
Website: http://www.canoe.ca/TorontoSun/
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Author: Brian Gray

MANITOBA'S RATED A TOP SPOT FOR POT

High Levels Of THC

Move over Mexico and Colombia -- Canadian-grown marijuana is top-grade
weed, man.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency spokesman says Manitoba has become the
source for premium pot south of the border.

And the province is also known by law enforcers in both countries to
export more hydroponically grown dope than it imports.

Manitoba's pot popularity comes from high levels of THC -- the active
ingredient that provides the high.

Winnipeg Police say the THC levels can reach 15% to 20% because
growers can control every detail -- from the hours of light to the
temperature and nutrient levels -- because it is grown indoors.

In contrast, pot grown outdoors in Mexico, South America and the
Caribbean only reaches THC levels of 3% to 7%.

"People around (the U.S.) buy Canadian," The DEA's Bret Eaton said
from Miami. "If somebody's taken a liking to Manitoban, that's what
they'll get."

Meanwhile, Manitoba's superior stuff is equalled by Ontario growers,
according to Corey Johnson of the Toronto Hemp Co.  on Yonge St.

"I would say they aren't the only ones (reaching the high THC
levels)," he said, adding 13% is often the low end for Ontario
indoor-grown pot.

Marijuana activist Marc Emery, who sells seeds from his
Vancouver-based business, said the court system's increased leniency
toward marijuana-related charges has spurred an increase in the number
of people willing to grow the illegal product for personal use -- a
number he estimated between 8,000 and 10,000 in Manitoba alone.

B.C. has effectively decriminalized use of marijuana by not charging
people for possession. 
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