Drugs

Illicit drugs are someone else’s problem? Maybe not. There could be a marihuana grow operation in your neighbourhood. Illegal drugs could be sold in your local school. Or, they could be handed out at a party or dropped into a drink before a sexual assault.

And chances are organized crime is behind all this – importing, cultivating, manufacturing, and selling.

• Large amounts of marihuana are grown right across Canada. Often, criminals will buy a house in a quiet neighbourhood and install hundreds of plants.
• To grow marihuana indoors, criminals steal electricity, raising local hydro rates. To protect the “grow ops” guns are widespread, threatening violence in our communities.
• Heroin is smuggled into Canada by gangs connected to Asia and South America and consumed in large cities. Cocaine is shipped from South America into Canada through airports and ports by organized gangs.
• Criminal gangs also import ingredients for manufacturing synthetic drugs such as ecstasy. After making these drugs in Canada, they smuggle them into the United States and other countries.

Illicit drugs are costly to Canadians. They are a threat to health. They can lead to other crimes. You may be in a position to help fight drug-dealing. Report suspicious activity to the police. Avoid situations where illicit drugs are sold.