CANADA: STAGGERING STATS

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STAGGERING STATS

Dollar value of marijuana seized from grow operation busts in Calgary by
city police

2001: $9 million

2002: $18 million

2003: $54 million

2004: $18 million

(year to date)

- In 2003 in Calgary, city police laid 1,794 drug offence charges

- 45.7 per cent of them were for possession. And 54.3 per cent were for
trafficking, possession, cultivation and production, importation and
exportation.

- 2004 year-to-date: Of 624 charges, 35 per cent involved crack and
cocaine, 59 per cent marijuana and six per cent all other drugs.


Drug Prices On Calgary Streets


Marijuana: $200 to $250 per ounce

Powdered cocaine: $80 to $100 per gam

Crack: $80 to $100 per gram

Methamphetamines: $80 to $100 per gram


Calgary police are becoming increasingly worried about the amount of
methamphetamine (speed) they are seeing on city streets.

- Powdered methamphetamine is traded pound for pound for Calgary dope at a
street value of $12,000 to $15,000 US

- Methamphetamine use commonly causes what is feared and widely known as
Meth Rage Violence

- Six pounds of toxic waste is left to contaminate the environment for
every pound of methamphetamine produced


Some Chemicals In Methamphetamine

- Toluene (brake cleaner)

- Sulfuric acid (drain cleaner)

- Hydrous Ammonia (farm fertilizer)

- Acetone (kitty litter)

- Sodium Hydroxide (lye)

- Ephedrine (cold tablets)

- Trichloroethane (gun scrubber)

- Alcohol (Isopropyl or rubbing)

- Ether (engine starter)

- Pseudoephedrine (cold tablets)


Marijuana In Canada - Stats As Of March 3, 2004


- Number of marijuana users: 2.3 million

- Annual marijuana consumption: 770,000 kilograms

- Annual marijuana production: 2.6 million kilograms

- Amount of domestic production consumed in Canada: 30 per cent

- Number of grow operations (personal use and commercial): 215,000

- Number of people employed in marijuana growing: 500,000

- Annual number of reported arrests for offences covering all illegal
drugs: 90,000

- Number of reported marijuana offences in 2001: 71,600 (70 per cent
possession, 16 per cent trafficking, 13 per cent cultivation, one per cent
importation)

- Percentage of population (ages 12-64) that has used marijuana at least
once: 30

- Number of youths aged 12-17 who use it daily: 225,000

- Average age of introduction to marijuana: 15

- Substance abuse costs associated with all illegal drugs: $1.4 billion. Of
alcohol: $7.5 billion. Of tobacco: $9.6 billion.

- Annual cost of enforcing the marijuana laws for courts and police: $500
million


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Sources: 2002 Report of the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs;
Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse; Marijuana Party of Canada; Marc Emery,
Vancouver.