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Some high school students in rural Quebec are being recruited for work as part-time marijuana pickers.
They are being lured to pick the illicit plants, often hidden in corn fields, by the growers who are often associated with organized crime.
It often consumes two to three days of their week -- causing them to skip school in the process, said Claude Bernier, principal of a local high school in the region southeast of Montreal.
If they aren't picking, they're on guard keeping locals away from the crop.
The mayor said the growers give 14-year-olds an all-terrain vehicle, a cellphone and pay them $25 per hour in cash.
The high pay is creating a local labour shortage in traditional student jobs like washing dishes.
"I know some guys who work for marijuana growers. I've been approached too, but I haven't done it," said one student -- who has a more standard part-time job.
Police say growers take over patches of farmers' fields and then intimidate the landowners into silence.
It's a big business in parts of Quebec. While police make constant seizures, they certainly aren't finding all of it.
The Surete du Quebec launched a major operations this week. Four hundred officers raided 250 fields and forests, arresting dozens of growers.
"Last year we seized over 300,000 plants. So far we've seized 400,000 plants and the year isn't over yet," said Francois Dore, a police spokesman.
CTV.ca
Genevieve Beauchemin
Sep. 20 2004
© 2004 Bell Globemedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1095650287335_15/?hub=TopStories
They are being lured to pick the illicit plants, often hidden in corn fields, by the growers who are often associated with organized crime.
It often consumes two to three days of their week -- causing them to skip school in the process, said Claude Bernier, principal of a local high school in the region southeast of Montreal.
If they aren't picking, they're on guard keeping locals away from the crop.
The mayor said the growers give 14-year-olds an all-terrain vehicle, a cellphone and pay them $25 per hour in cash.
The high pay is creating a local labour shortage in traditional student jobs like washing dishes.
"I know some guys who work for marijuana growers. I've been approached too, but I haven't done it," said one student -- who has a more standard part-time job.
Police say growers take over patches of farmers' fields and then intimidate the landowners into silence.
It's a big business in parts of Quebec. While police make constant seizures, they certainly aren't finding all of it.
The Surete du Quebec launched a major operations this week. Four hundred officers raided 250 fields and forests, arresting dozens of growers.
"Last year we seized over 300,000 plants. So far we've seized 400,000 plants and the year isn't over yet," said Francois Dore, a police spokesman.
CTV.ca
Genevieve Beauchemin
Sep. 20 2004
© 2004 Bell Globemedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1095650287335_15/?hub=TopStories
