PRESCOTT - The corn is as high as a moose’s eye and you’re rollng along on your tractor, not a care in the world, when suddenly you come across a completely different crop that you know you didn’t plant, but someone has obviously taken a lot of care to cultivate.
Chances are that someone has taken it upon himself to liberate a small plot of your land to cultivate a crop of marijuana, hoping to harvest the notorious weed before you get around to bringing in your corn.
That’s what happened last month to a Grenville County farmer who found a neatly marked plot while combining his corn. He did exactly what he should have done - he called the police.
Senior Constable Mike Ostrander, communications officer at the Prescott branch of the Ontario Provincial Police, says illegal marijuana plantations are a recurring problem across Ontario, though it is difficult to gauge just how widespread the problem is.
'For every illegal crop we find, there are probably several more out there that we haven’t detected,' Ostander said. 'Province-wide it is not a major problem, but it is a regular occurence on a small scale. I suspect that there isn’t an OPP branch in Ontario that doesn’t have an occurrence from time to time.'
Marijuana growers often choose a corn field to hide their contraband crop, ripping out the corn and planting marijuana in the midst of a field when the corn is about a foot high to serve as a camouflage for the illegal plants.
'We recommend that farmers get in the habit of taking a walk through their corn fields two or three times a month, particularly in June and July, to make sure that a small part of their field hasn’t been planted with marijuana,' Ostander said.
'If they do find some, farmers should not cut it down themselves, but give us a call immediately,' he said. 'We would like them to feel comfortable with calling us if they find even a few plants.' Farmers have no liability provided they report their find in a timely manner.
The OPP also advises farmers to be on the lookout for strange vehicles parked in the vicinity of their fields which may be there because someone is pulling out their corn to plant marijuana. If they see anything suspicious, farmers are encouraged to call the OPP.
When a marijuana plot is reported, the OPP goes out and cuts down the plants, then gets permission from the narcotics division of the RCMP to destroy it. The RCMP has a say in determining if any charges should be laid.
The OPP does regular low-level flyovers to spot any contraband crops. When they identify an illegal crop, they initiate an investigation to determine who owns the land. If they determine that the land is owned by a legitimate farmer, he is notified and the illegal crop destroyed. Hobby farms might arouse more suspicion, so their owners should be particularly careful to check their land on a regular basis.
Anyone found guilty of cultivating marijuana faces a criminal record and a possible jail sentence.
Ostrander doesn’t see the recent legalisation of the cultivation of hemp, a distant cousin of the marijuana plant also classified as cannabis sativa , as an additional problem in their war against illicit drugs. Cultivation of hemp is regulated and licensed by Health Canada, and regularly checked by Health Canada officials to ensure that the level of THC (tetrahydracannabanol), the psychoactive ingredient found in both plants, is within the prescribed 0.3 limit set by Health Canada.
In fact, illegal growers would stay away from planting marijuana near hemp plants because cross-pollination would significantly reduce THC levels in their illegal plants and therefore reduce the black market value of their contraband.