Pubdate: Tue, 18 Dec 2007
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2007 The Edmonton Journal
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Meagan Fitzpatrick, CanWest News Service
Note: Report is at http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/drugs/drugs_2006_e.htm

DRUG RINGS GROW MORE REFINED: RCMP

Mounties Especially Worried About Use Of 'Budder' And 'Cheese'

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, now they are spreading out and 
involved in dealing multiple drugs -- importing and exporting.

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

Cannabis products, including 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 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 report said there has been a 
noticeable decline of pot seizures in British Columbia since 2003 but 
the number of seizures in Ontario and Quebec remain stable. The 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 there's a shift towards using 
private aircraft for smuggling drugs between B.C. and the U.S.

Police are concerned about two new innovations known as "budder" and 
"cheese." Budder, made by whipping air into hashish oil and freezing 
it, is much more potent when smoked than regular marijuana and 
emerged in Vancouver in 2004.

The report said cheese is a deadly combination of heroin and cold 
medicine that is inexpensive to make and easier to use because it can 
be smoked or snorted rather than injected. Cheese has been blamed for 
more than a dozen deaths in the U.S.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom