The Union: The Business Behind Getting High Page #6

a huge range of people

involved in the marijuana

industry in British Columbia.

It's not a hierarchy.

People don't beat you up if you

go into the marijuana industry.

It ranges from people

growing a few plants

to members of motorcycle clubs

and others

possibly being

involved in the business.

( Darryl )

Police, at one time, used to

attend to every single call

that came to their attention.

Somebody would call and say,

"I think there's a grow-op."

Police would do an

investigation,

do a full investigation.

Well, that has dropped

over seven years

to where it's only

about half the time.

But is seems to me that if we

look around and talk to people

who are living in

the real world,

one of the things we discover

is that we don't understand it

very well.

And when

we see these numbers,

like 1% of all dwelling units,

potentially,

are involved in

marijuana grow-ops,

it certainly ought to give our

politicians perspective

on what it is

they're trying to do.

So how does one find

these grow-ops ?

For police,

it involves the use

of forward-looking

infrared cameras

that can detect the above-normal

heat radiating from a grow-op,

or the sniff test.

But if all else fails, this--

Grow Watch.

Communities have become so

flooded with grow-ops in BC

that some neighborhoods

have started their own

watch programs.

This one, set up

by the Chilliwack RCMP,

even has an education package

with phases, training,

neighborhood cooperation,

certification.

Once certified,

you are able to hang this sign

which shows that you are

a neighborhood

that does not approve of

marijuana grow operations.

There are questions provided

to citizens

in order to aid them

in identifying a grow-op.

Questions like,

"Do the residents keep

to themselves ?"

"Was the sound of construction

heard coming from the basement

soon after occupants took over

the residence ?"

"Is there condensation

visible on the windows ?"

"Is the yard unkempt ?"

The education package does state

that a positive response

to one or some

of these questions

does not necessarily indicate

that the residents are involved

in criminal activity.

Maybe that's a good thing.

But why is it that grow-ops

are popping up

in virtually

every neighborhood of BC ?

How much money can

actually be made

by simply growing some plants

in your basement ?

And what do these

grow-ops look like, anyway ?

We finally got a grower.

Right now,

we're driving to meet them.

It's around eight lights--

it's not a huge, huge show.

This is what they use for

clippers and stuff like that.

When they hire clippers to do

a show, you put these on,

and if people are

looking from the outside,

it just looks pretty much like

you're wearing sunglasses.

But when you're on--

I mean, I can't put them on

right now because I'm driving--

won't be able to see.

Everyone's getting glasses,

director, other producer.

Where's my phone ?

We just wait for the phone call,

so keep in line

for when this comes to--

oh, I see a vehicle pulled up.

Maybe that's them.

Hello ?

Okay, so put

the glasses on ?

Okay.

( man )

Now, can you tell them

we're just gonna have

the camera running, but we're

going to have the lens cap on--

is that cool ?

Hey, Diggs, we're going

to have the camera running,

but we're going to have the

cap on so there's no video.

Sh*t.

Yeah, just do it,

just keep it on.

Just put the cap on.

How are you guys feeling ?

Feel that heart rate

increased ?

You want the camera ?

Yeah, cool.

You're not feeling

motion sickness ?

Oh, yeah, now I am feeling--

I'm feeling sick.

( man )

We're just gonna hold

people's arms

and kind of

guide them inside.

Yeah, yeah, yeah,

that's what I was saying,

so I don't fall

on my face here.

A real grow-op.

The grower admitted that this

wasn't the biggest of grow-ops.

In fact, it was probably on

the small end of the scale

in terms of size...

but I really didn't care.

There were just so many

things to see.

The lights,

the tools, the power,

the pots...

and of course,

the marijuana.

What do you guys do

for the smell ?

I noticed there's a big--

Well, we got this

carbon filter here, whatever,

it just kind of filters

the air in there,

and then it goes

underneath the house,

and we have it so it goes

into, like, a dog shed.

I'm in the beginning stage

and I'm learning.

Over here, there's

also another room in there.

So you have a total of--

is it eight lights ?

Eight lights, yeah,

they go on 12 hours.

This one runs 12 hours

in the daytime.

This one comes on

at 8:
00 at night.

Would you say a majority

of the guys you know

are just growing

to earn some extra money ?

Yeah, yeah, they have normal

jobs, and you know,

they're normal

The grower told me he cropped

out about every two months,

and every crop

was worth about $20,000.

That's $120,000 a year.

Even though this was

a small grow-op,

the numbers didn't

seem small at all.

If those kind of numbers

are coming out of a set-up

of eight lights,

what kind of numbers are

coming out of the big ones ?

And where do you find them ?

Well, it would seem

just about everywhere.

Barges, semi trucks.

( man )

Whether it was for

the mobility of it

or whether it was an attempt

to disguise the smell

of growing marijuana,

in any event,

it's unusual for that reason.

Even in...

( train whistle )

... train cars ?

Yes, it seems as though

even our beloved caboose

cannot escape grow-op fever.

When we read that 20 train cars

were buried underground

to grow marijuana,

busted or not,

we had to see this,

so we set out.

But not before asking our sound

man if we could use his SUV

and coaxing him

with a little free gas.

Where we were going,

we would need it.

We're in the boondocks,

way up here.

Wouldn't wanna

go over that puppy.

This is what they brought up--

diesel fuel to power

the generators in.

With how much

they were growing

and how much the generators

needed,

I mean, that's

a full truckload there.

And finally, after a few hours

on the highway

and climbing up the side

of a mountain, we get there.

We had to go into four-low

just to get up here,

and you can see,

I'm dressed right.

I'm in jeans

and frickin' sneakers.

F***...

My feet are cold !

There's no neighbors--

like, look to the right.

There's nobody there.

Nobody here,

nobody there.

I mean, I imaging they're

probably laid this way.

They've been obviously

following you,

like, where are

you getting your diesel ?

Where are you getting

the tanks ?

Where do you

buy ten train carts ?

Where do you buy 150 lights ?

These are diesel pumps,

and it looks like

there's still diesel

leaking in these things here.

This is how you got

down there.

Just wanna make sure

it's okay to go down here.

Feel like I'm going

into a cave.

All right,

watch your feet there.

Not as cold under here.

About eight train carts down

that way, I'm guessing.

I can't even see to the end.

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