Police Bust Poppy Grow-Op in Calgary (Canada) Backyard

Gaz_hmmmm

Gaz_hmmmm

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A raid on a Calgary backyard has uncovered what appears to be the city's only known opium poppy grow-op.

poppies-cbc-070727.jpg


Police on Thursday found 1,000 opium poppy plants growing under a clear tarp in a Calgary backyard.Police on Thursday found 1,000 opium poppy plants growing under a clear tarp in a Calgary backyard.
(CBC)

A 62-year-old man was charged with production and possession for the purpose of trafficking after police raided the northeast home on Thursday, finding 1,000 opium poppy plants growing under a clear tarp, worth an estimated $40,000.

"It's something very unusual for this part of the country," said Calgary police Insp. Luch Berti. "I've never seen anything remotely similar to this."

The poppies would need to have been imported illegally and are a type listed under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Berti said police investigated to make sure the poppies weren't the typical kind that grows in backyards, even calling in an expert from the University of Calgary.

Police said more charges are pending.

Opium from the the poppy plant can be used to extract drugs such as codeine and morphine, and can also be converted to heroin.

Duty Insp. Kevan Stuart said that since this is the first bust of its kind, it's too soon to draw any links to international dealers or organized crime.

Source -
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/2007/07/27/poppy-bust.html?ref=rss
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1,000 opium poppy plants growing under a clear tarp, worth an estimated $40,000.
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Surely they couldn't be worth that much!?
 
They're certainly not. It takes a shit load to even get a kilo of wet opium, which is about 10-20% morphine. At that point it's not worth it to attempt to make heroin.

He was most likely growing them for a little bit of opium, or more likely for poppy pod tea.

I wonder how they were discovered? I'm leaning towards someone snitching.
 
In a way that's sort of unsettling......well very unsettling.

Thats not a big field, and Calgary?!
 
WTF im worried. what if you grow the poppies for poppy seed?? this is disturbing. the guy wouldve had what, 100 grams of opium thats nothing. but the question is was he even extracting it? they have to have evidence of that dont they
 
Gaz_hmmmm said:
Duty Insp. Kevan Stuart said that since this is the first bust of its kind, it's too soon to draw any links to international dealers or organized crime.
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OMG these cops are idiots! its only economically feasable to produce opium on alot or land with cheap labour. thats why they do it in places like afghanistan and south amercia. 1000 plants is nothing this is fucked. dried flower shops will have hundreds of those exact same flowers LOL
 
poor guy... maybe hes having cancer and needs the poppies for pain because he cant afford pharmaceutical opiates, or hes just addicted - than hes fucked now.
thats shit.
 
Id like to know whether the pods were scored or not.

Its a shame hes probably going to do some time over such a small garden. There are many varieties of poppies that produce opium. Maybe he has a thing for poppies, they are quite beautiful!
 
I guess i phrased that wrong. I know its papaver somniferum, i was meaning like persian, hens and chickens etc. And they do differ slightly, some are more potent, different colours etc. There are poppiphiles out there.
 
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