Pubdate: Tue, 18 Dec 2007
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2007 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Note: Report is at http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/drugs/drugs_2006_e.htm
Author: Meagan Fitzpatrick, CanWest News Service

RCMP SAY DRUG RINGS MORE SOPHISTICATED

OTTAWA (CNS) -- Organized crime is continuing to fuel the drug trade 
in Canada and a new report notes that criminal organizations are 
branching out and becoming more sophisticated.

"These organizations are powerful, well-connected and are dealing in 
high profit-yielding illicit ventures across the globe," said the 
RCMP's Drug Situation Report 2006, released Monday.

The annual report is based on seizure data and investigations 
conducted by the RCMP and other enforcement agencies.

The report found that organized crime is a driving force behind an 
expanding drug trade in Canada. Whereas in previous years criminal 
groups specialized in just one drug, they are now spreading out and 
involved in dealing multiple drugs, both importing and exporting.

The report provides an overview of the drug trade in Canada and 
highlights new and emerging trends.

Cannabis products -- which include marijuana and hashish -- represent 
the world's largest illicit drug market, with approximately 160 
million customers around the world. That market, specifically the 
production of marijuana, is flourishing in Canada, according to the 
RCMP report. Demand for pot is high both at home and abroad, 
particularly in the United States, the report found.

Statistics Canada however, reported a decrease of four per cent in 
cannabis-related offences in 2006. The RCMP study said there has been 
a noticeable decline of pot seizures in British Columbia since 2003 
but that the number of seizures in Ontario and Quebec remain stable. 
Those three provinces are responsible for 90 per cent of the 
marijuana grown in Canada.

The report noted several emerging trends in 2006 in the marijuana 
market. Among them, it found that crime groups are producing 
increasingly potent marijuana and that there's a shift towards using 
private aircraft for smuggling drugs between British Columbia and the 
United States.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom