Pubdate: Fri, 04 Jan 2002 Source: Cambridge Reporter, The (CN ON) Copyright: 2002 The Cambridge Reporter Contact: http://www.cambridge-reporter.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1470 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) LITTLE COURT SUPPORT When Minh Hai Tai's illegal marijuana-growing operation re-sulted in his Hespeler home burning to the ground, it should have signalled a big police crackdown on the unwelcome growth of these "home grow" enterprises. Instead, a year later, it's business as usual, with police estimating - probably on the conservative side - that at least 200 basement pot farmers are probably thriving in the region. Regional police have busted 60 such operations in the past year, but growers continue to thrive because little more than a hand slap awaits them in court. Tai was accused of illegally tapping his neighbourhood's hydro lines to power his operation, the likely cause of the fire, which threatened the safety of his neighbourhood and the security of the police and firefighters who investigated it. Police didn't provide an estimate of the street value of the pot Tai was growing, but a typical basement full of plants fetches upwards in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Convicted of trafficking and cultivating a controlled substance, Tai left the courtroom virtually a free man - sentenced to 20 months of house arrest, community service, and fines and restitution totalling $4,300. This is the crux of the problem police have dealing with such growers: the law just isn't punishing the offenders. It's telling that of the 60 cases so far brought before the local courts, little or nothing has been said about the people who employ men like Tai to grow the weed. Faced with the prospect of house arrest versus the ignominy of becoming a stoolie, Tai and others have been singing like clams, which is, sharing little except the obvious. While police need to continue busting the pot houses, they know the real enemy isn't the growers but the buyers, the organized criminals who are beckoning the Tais with promises of quick riches at little risk. Those villains will continue to elude justice as long as the courts continue to treat home growers like jay walkers. Recognizing that, Cambridge council in December voted to ask that the federal government ensure stiffer such sentences in the future. The government has yet to respond. Bt whether the legalization of pot is being considered or not, Ottawa has to recognize that the proliferation of home grows poses a threat to communities that can only be stopped with tough, serious sentencing. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager