The top cop in Kelowna, B.C., says Mounties are overwhelmed by the number of marijuana grow operations in the area, and lenient sentences for pot growers are only adding to the frustration.
Kelowna RCMP Supt. Bill McKinnon said that there are enough grow-ops in the jurisdiction that police could take down one a day for the next three or four months.
A study conducted by the Kelowna RCMP found that out of 44 people convicted and sentenced for marijuana production, only 10 were sent to jail.
"From a police perspective, I don't think that's enough," McKinnon said.
"The only way you stop bad behaviour is by having a consequence, and it has to be such that people really think about what they're doing."
He says that more than half of residential fires happen at grow-ops, and he's concerned about the links to gangs, guns, violence and murder.
"It concerns me that marijuana is being traded straight across the border for cocaine, and it's brought back and we all know what goes on in our community with cocaine."
Premier Gordon Campbell said that he would not comment on how the courts deal with suspected marijuana producers.
"I'm not going to comment on how the courts deal with various issues. They have a responsibility to follow through, and we have to lay the groundwork to make safe communities. We expect the judges are going to follow the law."
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat
