This report describes the nature and extent of marihuana growing operations in Mission British Columbia. The report is based on an examination of operations coming to the attention of police over the 14 year period of January 01, 1997 to the end of 2010. Using the same methodology of the 2002 research conducted by Plecas et al.1 and the 2005 research conducted by Plecas et al.2, this examination joined data collected through that previous research with data collected through recent police file reviews of cases coming to the attention of police for the seven year period 2004 through 2010. Those police file reviews were completed in 2011 and collected data about the location of the grow operation, the nature and origin of the complaint, the police investigation, the size and type of the growing operation, the amount of marihuana seized, the presence of other drugs, the presence of various cultivation equipment, and decisions made by the prosecution with respect to criminal charges. Importantly, for comparison purposes, the researcher also had the benefit of being provided with police statistics on the number of marihuana growing operations coming to the attention of police in British Columbia overall for the period 2004 through 2010.
