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U.S. / Canada Grass Wars

Broadcast: Tuesday March 14, 2006

Reporter: Mark Simkin

Copyright: 2006 © ABC

 

LEAD STORY

SERIES 15

EPISODE 24

 

 

U.S. / Canada Grass Wars

 

Synopsis

 

North America correspondent Mark Simkin, goes north of the border to report on Canada’s biggest growth industry – dope.

 

He travels to the picturesque province of British Colombia, which is at the centre of the multi-billion dollar trade. Growers specialise in indoor operations, using private homes with powerful lights and carbon dioxide to make the plants grow faster and stronger. The result is some of the most powerful cannabis in the world, known as “BC Bud”.

 

Huge quantities of this powerful “BC Bud” are being smuggled into the US, and the Americans are putting pressure on the Canadian government to crack down on the easy going cannabis culture.

 

The US is trying to extradite Canada’s self-styled “Prince of Pot”, Marc Emory, who runs a huge marijuana media empire, built with funds from his former mail order seed business – with thousands of clients in Canada, the US and Australia. If the extradition succeeds, Emory faces 35 years in prison – for a crime the Canadian authorities refuse to prosecute.

 

Canada has a very relaxed attitude to marijuana. It’s not strictly legal, but the laws are very loosely enforced, and it’s easy to gain legal access to the drug with a doctor’s certificate. There are even special clubs where Canadians can go to buy, and smoke.

 

A senate report has just recommended that cannabis be legalised, and treated like alcohol, and pretty soon the government will be distributing its own crop of medical marijuana in pharmacies.

 

All of this is anathema to the US, which arrests far more people for marijuana offences than for any other drug. And US authorities are determined to use the “Prince of Pot” as an example, with a senior Drug Enforcement Agency official telling Simkin:

 

“Marc Emory managed a massive criminal enterprise making millions of millions of dollars at the expense of our communities and children here in the US … someone might think they’re safe in another part of the world and that no one’s ever going to get them, well they better think twice about that.”

 

The US prosecution of Emory has Canadians up in arms – they see the case as an example of a powerful neighbour trying to impose its moral code on a country that traditionally takes a more liberal attitude to a whole host of issues. “The United States to me operates not just like a bully but it’s also an abusive relationship,” one Canadian tells Simkin. But as Simkin reports – there’s a lot more than cannabis at stake for Canada, which is heavily reliant on American trade.

[Guest niall]

U.S. / Canada Grass Wars

Broadcast: Tuesday March 14, 2006

Reporter: Mark Simkin

Copyright: 2006 © ABC

 

LEAD STORY

SERIES 15

EPISODE 24

U.S. / Canada Grass Wars

 

I'm capturing it in HD, should be up on pot.tv later this week.