Easy targets. When are the RCMP or any other law enforcement going to bust the drugs that actually cause harm, like crack and heroin.

All we hear about is pot busts. Woop tee do!
This one recreational, medicinal, and industrial plant whose legal status is being strongly contested causes less harm than any other consumable including some foods. Yet the illegal substances that are known to be extremely harmful to the consumer of that product is never more than a chance bust of a few grams, personal only.

The RCMP should at least make a show of trying to get those off the streets. Instead they take the easy road. Grow shows are pretty easy to detect, due to size, smell, heat signature, power consumption, and and the laissez-fair attitude of those around the grow show.

With crack, there is very little processing in-country. Same with heroin. This makes it much too hard for law enforcement to be effective, so they go after the easy target.

With the other recreational illicit substances, it is usually prepared in a lab. Whether that lab is a legitimate producer that loses parts of shipments or a totally underground lab, makes no difference. This is the stuff that is killing people and ruining lives.

If it is a legitimate producer losing shipments, then they have a more serious problem than they thought. Surely there are chemical signatures on manufactured products that could be traced to origin.

If it is illicit underground labs, how do they stay under the radar so well? The precursors themselves have their own schedule in the Controlled Drugs and
Substances Act. SCHEDULE VI, (Sections 2, 6, 55 and 60). For someone to "acquire" those precursors in any quantity takes a lot of legal paper work just to transport let alone take ownership of those substances. It is very messy and very stinky and extremely volatile (it go big boom with just a spark). Add in the element of society known to be involved, it should be achievable to bust a few a year. But, that would take effort and action.

"causes less harm than any other consumable"
Should read
"causes less harm than many other consumables"

I agree with Loki for the most part, but would add that although the RCMP is definitely picking the low hanging fruit in the 'easy target' grow ops' busts, at least the busts are causing some damage to the bottom line of the criminal gangs
(it's gotta have a negative effect, don't you think?) If the yankees ever become more liberal in their attitude toward marijuana, there may be a chance of legalizing it some day in good old Canada, and that is the ONLY solution that makes sense. People want to smoke it, thus there is a market, thus someone will supply that market.
metalman.

Loki, did you not read the part of the article where is says:

"Police believe the males have links with Asian organized crime in the lower mainland"?

Yup, sound like harmless folks growing some simple herb to me. Get real!

I tried marijuana forty some years ago.Did`nd care for it.If it were legalized and taxed these grow ops would not be profitable and the RCMP would have more time to stop REAL crime.

So true ervboy ! Except my experience was, 'bout 50 years ago...honestly.. why would I lie on a site like this??? Seriously 50 years ago---and nothing has changed.

And the woman from the hit and run article gets her name posted but these guys don't..... Just goes to show they have more rights than the average Joe....
Not very consistent reporting 250, why is this?

NMG:
"Police believe the males have links with Asian organized crime in the lower mainland"

Yes, they suspect or have circumstantial evidence there MAY be links to a suspected organized crime group. That could mean that because they were Asian and recently moved to the area from the lower mainland. Yellow stripe pants can spin as well as any other public body. Not only that, but this is a very old tactic of creating an association with a undesirable element so the public is appalled. Very much to do with the spin that Justice Craig has been talking about through the last three articles of his.

I never said that those involved in growing were harmless. Just the substance itself. Read for content.