Pubdate: Wed, 27 Jun 2012 Source: Coquitlam Now, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2012Lower Mainland Publishing Group, Inc. Contact: http://www.thenownews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1340 Author: Todd Lumley READER TAKES ISSUE WITH COP TALK COLUMN ON MARIJUANA GROW-OPS Re: "Grow-ops: how to recognize and report them," Cop Talk column, Friday, June 22. The dangers of indoor growing Cpl. Jamie Chung speaks of are 90-per-cent fiction, and need to be addressed in a serious and rational debate. Fact 1: The laws of possession and cultivation of cannabis are in fact invalid at this time. The most recent case, of Matt Mernagh in St. Catharines Ont., ruled these laws are invalid without a constitutionally valid medical marijuana program in place to protect Mr. Mernagh from prosecution. The ruling was stayed for three months so the government could fix the problem, but the government appealed and it was heard in May. While we're awaiting the ruling from Ontario's Court of Appeal, no one can be convicted in a lower court until the higher court decides if this law is in fact valid or not, unless of course you willingly plead guilty. Fact 2: This is the most outrageous fact of all posted by Cpl. Chung. The truth is the level of THC varies enormously among the thousands of varieties of cannabis out there. This very argument has been used by police for at least 20 years and every time they claim the THC levels keep going up by 10 times from the previous five to 10 years. If Cpl. Chung was being accurate here then the THC level of today's cannabis would be in the range of 80 to 90 per cent THC, and we all know that is not reality. It's propaganda. Fact 3: These toxic chemicals Cpl. Chung mentions are in fact the same chemicals used in all our commercial food production. The only danger I can even remotely agree with is the fact that overloading electrical services and doing a hydro bypass can create a very dangerous situation. This is only done for the greed of profit, and the enormous profit has been created by the prohibition of cannabis. Any residential and commercial building can house a safe and efficient grow room without destroying the building it's housed in, so long as the grow room isn't too big for the building. In reality, the main cause for concern here is directly related to the laws prohibiting cannabis. For it is prohibition that is fueling the ever-growing desire for the enormous profits it has created. Kill the profits and you will kill the $15-billion-a-year industry surrounding cannabis today. Todd Lumley Sarnia, Ont. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom