Smoking out Bedfordshire's ganja gardeners

IT is widely believed the majority of cannabis found in the UK is grown here.

Considering the rain and lack of sunshine you might wonder where it's produced but it is in houses and flats that the plant is cultivated.

In the past five years in Bedfordshire 302 cannabis factories have been discovered in properties by police.

They can house thousands of plants, feed the underground market with drugs and cash, and wreck the dwellings they are set up in.

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman said: "Cannabis plants need heat and humidity to produce a good crop, so to help the plants reach maturity fast, the growers rig up sophisticated hydroponic systems.

"To provide the 24-hour water and lighting required, pipes, ducts and electric cables are run through holes drilled through ceilings and heavy duty insulation fixed to the walls."

By this stage properties would have suffered thousands of pounds of damage leaving unsuspecting landlords to deal with the mess.

In October last year, Bedfordshire on Sunday witnessed the destruction caused to a two bedroom flat in Bedford which had been converted for marijuana production.

Holes had been cut through to the roof to make room for bulky ventilation shafts, generators lined the walls and row after row of plants at various stages of maturity sat on the floor.

The spokesman added: "To avoid arousing the suspicion of the electricity companies, growers bypass the electric meter to tap straight into the main grid. Running huge amounts of unregulated electricity is highly dangerous and can result in fires."

According to the National Crime Agency the factories are often set up wherever people see an opportunity. They can be established by individuals or gangs and there is often be a human trafficking element as people are forced to work on them.

The issue is worsening across the country as 3032 were discovered in 2007/8, 6866 in 2009/10 and 7865 in 2011/12.

Campaigners for cannabis law reform claim to have a simple solution to the problem - legalise the drug.

That approach has recently been taken in Colorado where regulated taxable marijuana will generate around $40 million per year for school construction.

Peter Reynolds, head of cannabis law reform group CLEAR, said: "Cannabis farms are growing exponentially. It is ridiculous to think that we can hold back this tide, particularly as reform is happening all over the world.

"If we had a properly regulated supply chain we'd have no more dangerous cannabis farms, causing fires, destroying rental properties and blighting neighbourhoods. Instead we'd have tens of thousands of new jobs in new businesses. We'd have some control over the safety and strength of the product and it would be sold through licensed outlets to adults only."

Reynolds claims three million people use cannabis regularly in the UK and to satiate that demand it seems the factories are unlikely to go away.

HOW TO SPOT A CANNABIS FACTORY -

Smell - Cannabis has a notorious stink especially when produced in bulk
Light - Curtains will always be drawn as the plants need intense artificial light
Condensation - Humidity may lead to vapour clinging to the windows
Activity - Factories may not be inhabited so keep an eye out for signs nobody is living there

http://www.bedfordshire-news.co.uk 02/03/2014