22/07/2007 00:00:00
UK: Cannabis factories found weekly
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At least one cannabis factory is being shut down by police in Scotland
every week, one of the country's most senior officers has warned.
Graeme Pearson, head of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency,
said more than 60 industrial-level cannabis farms had been raided in the
last year.
Mr Pearson revealed there had been virtually no major cannabis
production in Scotland until 12 months ago.
He said the illegal factories were being set up by organised crime gangs.
Mr Pearson said workers in the factories, which are often set up in
residential areas, were frequently kept locked inside like slaves.
The factories produced super-strength cannabis, which Mr Pearson said he
believed was causing an increasing number of young people to suffer
mental health problems.
Recent estimates have suggested that about 60% of cannabis smoked in
Britain is now home-produced, compared with only 11% a decade ago.
The UK government downgraded cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug
in 2004, but has recently indicated it is considering reversing that
decision.
The original reclassification was criticised by many experts, who said
it sent out the wrong message about the potential dangers of using the drug.
Mr Pearson said: "It has gone from virtually no production just over a
year ago to over 60 such productions being discovered by forces across
Scotland in the last nine months.
"What we have got is these types of developments within houses,
factories, garages and so forth.
"In a very high number of them we have got Chinese or Vietnamese people
who are locked in the premises, kept sleeping on the floor amongst
mattresses with no visible means of support. They are virtually slaves
within the production mechanism."
'Mental health'
Many of the factories contain up to 1,000 cannabis plants and are
capable of producing £100,000-worth of cannabis, making production in
Scotland worth at least £7m a year.
He said the trend of factories being set up to mass-produce cannabis was
one that had spread around the world in recent years before finally
arriving in the UK.
He added: "Australia saw the trend, Canada saw the trend and now we now
have it in the UK, where organised crime gangs are focusing on the
industrial production of cannabis in order that they can up the potency
of the product and therefore have a more marketable product.
"Doctors have done experiments and gathered statistics which have shown
that more people are coming to the attention of the health service
because of difficulties with mental health.
"I don't think it is a problem that law enforcement alone can deal with."
Carla Ellis, project manager for the Crew 2000 drugs advice group, said
more research needed to be done on the potential links between mental
health and cannabis use.
She added: "I think we have to remind ourselves that the vast majority
of people who smoke cannabis will not have any problems associated with
their use.
"They will probably use it for a very short period of time and they will
probably stop as the consequences of their use clash with their lifestyle.
"Many people do see it as relatively harmless compared to other drugs."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6910570.stm
Source:
http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=12725
Author:
BBC News via UKCIA
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