Pubdate: Tue, 08 Mar 2005 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2005 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: Tom Blackwell, CanWest News Service Cited: New York Times article "Violent New Front in Drug War Opens on the Canadian Border" http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n360/a04.html Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Rochfort+Bridge (Rochfort Bridge) U.S FEARS FREE-FLOW OF POT OVER BORDER WASHINGTON -- The murder of four RCMP officers in Alberta last week may or may not end up having much to do with the marijuana grow operation the killer maintained. But the incident has still managed to generate fresh irritation and fear in America over the growing flood of potent Canadian pot into the U.S. As if the two countries needed another irritant, the murders have only underlined concern among officials and politicians here that Canada's relatively lax treatment of grow-op criminals is fuelling the influx of drugs. There are calls for more agents at the northern frontier, and parallels drawn between Canada and what has traditionally been considered a much more lawless neighbour -- Mexico. The fears were embodied in the headline for a recent front-page New York Times article: Violent New Front in Drug War opens on the Canadian Border. The problem is especially bad in British Columbia, which is showing early signs of becoming a "narco-province" along the lines of some South American countries, charged Representative Mark Soude of Indiana, chair of the congressional sub-committee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources. "In British Columbia, one of the things they seem to be in a state of denial about is that they have become a huge exporter of this really lethal form of marijuana," he said in an interview. "It's close to getting out of hand ... I feel sorry if four police officers died because of the mistakes of politicians." He acknowledged that the pot is being traded for cocaine and guns from the U.S., but said the marijuana business is fueling that exchange. Just a day after the killings in Mayerthorpe, Alta., the State Department coincidentally released its annual report on the illegal drug business around the world. It concluded that Thailand is no longer a major drug-producing country, praised Haiti for the anti-narcotics strides it has made -- and warned that lack of judicial sanctions is leading to a "burgeoning" marijuana sector in Canada, managed by organized crime. "We've tended to view Canada as our front door. And we've certainly come to the point where we don't feel that we can leave the front door unlocked any more," said Chris Sands, an expert on Canada at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He called the issue another example of the culture clashes erupting between the two nations. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake