Police Raid Huge Toronto Grow-Op

Pot Bust

First Posted: 06/11/11 04:34 PM ET Updated: 08/11/11 06:12 AM ET

CBC -- Toronto police said they dismantled a large marijuana grow operation in northwest Toronto, and said was one of the larger busts so far this year.

The Toronto drug squad found some 3,000 marijuana plants in an industrial unit near Steeles Avenue and Highway 27.

Police said the entire unit had been converted into a highly sophisticated hydroponic grow operation.
The estimated value of the plants was about $3 million.

Const. Wendy Drummond said it is a major seizure in what has been a busy year for the drug squad.

"There [have been] 72 grow operations dismantled so far this year which has yielded 24,760 plants. So, in relation to this one here, this was a fairly large one."

Police are confident arrests will be made in connection with the bust.

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CBC -- Toronto police said they dismantled a large marijuana grow operation in northwest Toronto, and said was one of the larger busts so far this year. The Toronto drug squad found some 3,000 mari...
CBC -- Toronto police said they dismantled a large marijuana grow operation in northwest Toronto, and said was one of the larger busts so far this year. The Toronto drug squad found some 3,000 mari...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JackHoffman
Pundit
03:56 PM on 07/20/2011
Government, once again, telling us how to live. No harm no foul. Leave us alone!
SamEasy
You really don`t want to know.
12:40 AM on 06/13/2011
Lets see, christal meth or pot...............huuummmm, not sure.......gotta think about it.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ender Wiggin
All Hail Discordia!
11:12 PM on 06/12/2011
25k plants off the street...
net effect on availability: 0
effect on street price: 0
congratulations on pissing away a few million dollars in tax money and destroying the lives of a few more people harmlessly choosing to smoke a plant that's never caused a single death. (but might just cure cancer)
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Savage Saint Roger
Card Carrying Liberal
05:32 PM on 06/12/2011
''My high is always reflective­, peaceable, intellectu­ally exciting, and sociable, unlike most alcohol highs, and there is never a hangover. Through the years I find that slightly smaller amounts of cannabis suffice to produce the same degree of high, and in one movie theater recently I found I could get high just by inhaling the cannabis smoke which permeated the theater.

There is a very nice self-titer­ing aspect to cannabis. Each puff is a very small dose; the time lag between inhaling a puff and sensing its effect is small; and there is no desire for more after the high is there. The illegality of cannabis is outrageous­, an impediment to full utilizatio­n of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivit­y and fellowship so desperatel­y needed in this increasing­ly mad and dangerous world." ~Carl Sagan
http://www­.veryimpor­tantpothea­ds.com/
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fumes
Midnight Toker
08:05 AM on 06/13/2011
"I am convinced that there are genuine and valid levels of perception available with cannabis (and probably with other drugs) which are, through the defects of our society and our educational system, unavailable to us without such drugs."

~ Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan (1934-1996) was a lifelong user of marijuana.

Under the pseudonym "Mr. X," he contributed an essay about smoking cannabis to Dr. Lester Grinspoon's 1971 book Marihuana Reconsidered. After the famous astronomer's death, his friend Dr. Grinspoon revealed this information to Sagan's biographer, Keay Davidson.

The publishing of Davidon's biography, Carl Sagan: A Life in 1999 brought attention to Sagan's cannabis use and advocacy.

http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2011/06/cannabis_quote_of_the_day_carl_sagan.php
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Savage Saint Roger
Card Carrying Liberal
05:25 PM on 06/12/2011
What a complete waste! It's a waste of pot, a waste of law enforcement time and a waste of money not to mention the hardship down the line it will cause to people acustomed to getting their medicine. Regardless of whether or not it is legal or medically legal, people still NEED it to sleep, to stop pain, and to replace Prozac.
Between the pharmaceutical companies and egotistical do-gooders, the peace of the sweet leaf is hindered but we will not ever give up and never ever let it be over! NEVER!
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
rickthaluddite
What noisy cats are we
08:17 PM on 06/12/2011
Fanned Saint Rog
http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/hemp/history/first12000/abel.htm

This book Marijuana: The First Twelve Thousand Years says exactly that, twelve thousand years and counting....we're always going to have pot-- it just is. Cannibis has always been part of human trade and commerce. Why can't lawmakers understand that. I'm sure there are lots of farmers who would allow a row or two to decorate the field and put a few dollars in the bank at harvest--- Stop Marijuana Prohibition
04:20 PM on 06/12/2011
A lot of people think if you support the re-legalization of cannabis you are pro-pot. Entirely not the case. It is precisely the people who do not take drugs who should be most alarmed at this atrocious waste of OUR money chasing a proven unwinnable war on (some) drugs. Legal maihuana would make it harder for our children to get it. Lets do it for the children.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
rickthaluddite
What noisy cats are we
05:05 PM on 06/12/2011
Exactly. I met an OPP officer who works as a high school liaison and he told me it's easier for students to get pot than to get smokes and booze. He was adamant in his belief that adults should be able to buy cannabis legally. The same strict regulations we apply to tobacco and liquor would work for pot. ----END PROHIBITION NOW----
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
tweed7t
wear sunscreen and dance
04:11 PM on 06/12/2011
Too funny. Not one post that says "way to go!"
02:25 PM on 06/12/2011
I think there should be no one in jail for a marijuana offence. Either have the government sell and tax it or just leave it alone. Putting people in jail for pot is travesty. Drugs should be a health issue
not a crime problem.
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Irazu
I have nothing to declare
01:22 PM on 06/12/2011
Congratulations to the Toronto police, who have managed to provide support for the continued profits of growers who have NOT been busted.

Ask a big-time grower whether they support legalization, and don't be surprised when you receive a negative response: continued prohibition (just like the alcohol experience) ensures continued profits for the growers who remain operational.

Thus, the interests of the criminals and those of the police are aligned - the police seek to bust more grow-ops, while the growers themselves applaud the continued winnowing of the competition. It is, after all, literally impossible to stop people from growing a plant described as "weed" for very good reason. Thus, all the police can hope to do is somewhat reduce supply while they wage an unwinnable battle against nature and provide a "demand/supply" adjustment to prices.

What a huge waste of policing resources, which could be better spent in more productive activities - like beating protesters senseless and refusing to identify and prosecute the miscreants within their own ranks...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
stopgeorge
Paper Ballots WORK. Unverifiable e-voting doesn't
01:54 PM on 06/12/2011
And let's not forget that marijuana is a completely harmless drug that has many beneficial uses with respect to treating chronic pain.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
rickthaluddite
What noisy cats are we
05:21 PM on 06/12/2011
F&F A couple of marijuana cookies would ease the pain of some arthritis sufferers as effectively as some opiates. A lot of the damage caused by chronic pain is psychological as much as it is physical pain-- marijuana also has this strange mood elevating quality, which might be why the puritans are so opposed to it ;-(
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ryan Devine
12:51 PM on 06/12/2011
The war on drugs is gettiing so tiresome. I'm pretty sure even with all those busts i can go find a dime of weed in under 10 minutes after arriving in Toronto.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Ryan Devine
01:52 PM on 06/12/2011
hi ryan
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OhMyDog
OhMyDog ate my microbio.
12:48 PM on 06/12/2011
If pot weren't illegal and so easy to bust, there'd be thousands of cops out of work.
02:38 PM on 06/12/2011
Not at all. Their skills could be used to fight crime that we actually want out of our society. They don't have to lose their jobs, they just have to redirect the focus of their jobs.
12:43 PM on 06/12/2011
That's nothing compared to when they found the closed-up Molson Brewery in Barrie, ON filled with plants wherever they could find room. THAT was a big operation, and pretty ironic. This is nothing.
These large operations exist because of large demand and healthy profit margins. It is absolutely impossible to combat those two forces. Given how less-dangerous and addictive pot is compared to booze, why bother fighting it?
12:25 PM on 06/12/2011
It really is a waste of time going after these growers. More will just show up to replace them. If we really want to stop this, we must go after the users. Put the users in jail or rehab or whatever and there will not be the need for the growers...
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Shouc
12:39 PM on 06/12/2011
Wow...have you read ANY of the recent reports on the effectiveness of criminalizing the end-user? Try Science, it's good for the brain.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
stopgeorge
Paper Ballots WORK. Unverifiable e-voting doesn't
01:58 PM on 06/12/2011
Stop what? People enjoying themselves and relaxing with a few tokes?

Why not put all of the people who drink alcohol in jail. At least alcohol is the cause of much violence and serious health problems.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Netflyer
Tree Hugger in firm support of President Obama!
12:10 PM on 06/12/2011
There are not many drugs, if any, that have so few interactions with other drugs. It seems very strange that society would rather see people on zanex or prozac which have devistating side effects and drug interactions, rather than a little maryjane... Seems illogical.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Netflyer
Tree Hugger in firm support of President Obama!
12:07 PM on 06/12/2011
Bummmmmer! 27k some odd plants, WOW, just think if they exported that or sold it and taxed it... or made shirts/hats/pants, etc out of the stems, what a waste of biomass...