Pubdate: Wed, 31 Jul 2013
Source: Norwich Gazette, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2013 Sun Media
Contact: http://www.norwichgazette.com/letters
Website: http://www.norwichgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2384
Author: Stephen Pierce

POT AN UNWELCOME 'INVASIVE SPECIES'

It's marijuana planting season and farmers' fields around the area 
will once again be targeted by illegal growers looking for a place to 
sow their seeds.

"It's definitely an issue, and this is the time of year for it," says 
Oxford OPP officer Derrick Harrison. " they'll be planting it shortly 
if they haven't already."

Corn fields are often targeted because the height of the stalks 
conceals the marijuana, and planting on someone else's property 
minimizes the risk of getting caught.

"It's harder to get caught when you're on someone else's property," 
says Harrison. "So people trespass and plant it out in the fields 
amongst the corn."

The costs of this practice go well beyond having additional drugs on 
the street, as the economic losses from dis-placed crops and damage 
caused by people moving in and out of the field can add up quickly, 
and place a burden on farmers.

And in addition to financial dam- ages, landowners have to deal with 
the uneasiness of having people trespassing on their land.

Oxford County Warden and farmer Don McKay says it was actually the 
latter that was most bothersome when his field was targeted a few years ago.

"I was driving home about three or four years ago and came across 
police taking plants out of our field," says McKay. "The damage to 
the rest of the field and the lost production was negligible - I 
think it was an annoyance and an invasion of privacy more than anything.

"People didn't just plant it one day and come back to harvest, they 
had obviously been there a number of times," he says. "And that's 
disturbing to know that you have a family on the property and there 
are unwelcome people there as well."

Const. Harrison says the OPP utilizes aerial surveillance and a 
number of other methods to seek out and eradicate illegal marijuana, 
although it can often be di cult to spot until the farmer goes to 
harvest the crop.

"We're conducting searches with helicopters and atvs," says Harrison. 
"And we're pooling together (information) on suspicious vehicles 
parked next to corn fields or people out in the area that shouldn't be."

Harrison says farmers should report any marijuana found in their 
fields and call in the license plate number of any suspicious 
vehicles, but also stressed they should not approach any person or 
any plants found in their fields.

"We always tell people: let us investigate, let us go out and make 
sure every-thing is ok," says Harrison. "Sometimes people set traps 
to protect their plants, so it's best to contact the police and we'll 
come out and dismantle it and dispose of it."

To report a suspicious person or vehicle, or to inform police of any 
marijuana plants found in your field, call the Ontario Provincial 
Police at 1-888-310- 1122, or the Tillsonburg detachment directly at 
519-688-6540.
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