18,000 cannabis plants hauled out of forests
Kelly Makiha | 24th August 2009
The biggest drug bust in the region is putting Rotorua cannabis smokers, dealers and growers on notice.
Police have just released the details of this year's annual drug raids and they want growers to know they still take cannabis seriously.
Nearly 18,000 cannabis plants were hauled out of forest plantations and from sophisticated hydroponic set-ups throughout the Bay of Plenty. A total of 181 people have been charged - double the number of arrests in previous years.
Detective Inspector Tim Anderson, who is the Bay of Plenty police district's intelligence manager, said unfortunately the region ranked among the highest - second only to Northland - for cannabis cultivation.
Mr Anderson said too many people locally had a blase attitude towards the harm caused by cannabis.
"They think it's just a bit of smoke or a bit of this and that, but it can change some people's chemical make-up ... The harm is well documented in health data. Sustained cannabis use can also cause psychosis in the mentally unwell."
Mr Anderson said police had noticed a drop in the number of methamphetamine, or P, laboratories being found in the local area during the past year.
He said it was too early to say whether the P epidemic was starting to abate or whether P manufacturers were finding different ways to go about their crimes without the attention of police - such as using motels or mobile laboratories in cars.
"While meth is an insidious drug and does cause a huge amount of harm, we must not forget that the research shows that cannabis still causes the most amount of harm within Bay of Plenty communities."
He said "fad drugs" came and went, with the Wellington district currently battling the "Fantasy" drug and CD cleaning solution.
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"That never took off here," he said of the Bay of Plenty region. "The drug of choice is still very much cannabis and for some, methamphetamine."
Mr Anderson said during the annual police raids in March this year, five people were arrested for buying cannabis after they were caught trying to buy a "tinnie", or a small amount of cannabis.
"We would turn up at a house and there would be someone standing there with $20 in their hand ready to hand over for a tinnie."
Mr Anderson said the Bay's huge numbers of arrest in this year's raid could be attributed to good intelligence gathering in the area.
He said there was, however, room for improvement in Rotorua in the number of people dobbing in drug dealers. As far as tip-offs went in the Bay of Plenty, the least came from Rotorua.
"Some people might not think that cannabis is such a big issue, but to us it is. The results of this raid prove it."
