TRIPPING DOWN BRITISH COLUMBIA’S HO CHI MINH TRAIL

BLAINE, Washington - On a typical evening near this small U.S. border town, Patrick Guimond can be found lying in the forest, in a camouflage uniform, armed with a handgun and staring into the darkness with a pair of night vision glasses.

If he is lucky, the veteran U.S. customs officer might catch a glimpse of someone creeping over the border, a backpack full of Canada’s latest high-grade export to the U.S.: British Columbia marijuana. But most of the time, Mr. Guimond spends his nights sitting in the bush in vain as there are too many forest and mountain paths along the border to monitor effectively. Nicknamed by police the Ho Chi Minh trails, a reference to the secret Communist supply lines used during the Vietnam War, the paths have helped make the 40-kilometre piece of U.S.-Canadian border near Blaine one of the busiest drug smuggling zones in North America. It’s estimated there is more marijuana smuggling in this sector than anywhere along the border between the two countries.
(Marijuananews note: Of course, the total of marijuana smuggled from Canada is less than one tenth of one percent of the supply from Mexico.)

The smuggling of B.C. marijuana, the so-called green gold from Canada, is so prevalent that the U.S. government’s National Drug Control Policy office has designated the Interstate 5 corridor, which begins at the Canadian border at Blaine, as a "high-intensity" drug trafficking area. The designation puts the area in the same league as heavy-hitters in the drug smuggling world such as Miami.

"We only get a drop of what is coming over," said Mr. Guimond, who for security reasons declines to have his photo taken. "The chances are still pretty good (marijuana smugglers) aren’t going to get caught."

For Mr. Guimond, the B.C.-Washington border is part of the American government’s continuing war on drugs. Border patrol aircraft monitor the trails which are also sprinkled with motion detectors.

Drug-sniffing dogs are stationed at the main crossings. Roving patrols of camouflaged officers creep in the night in hopes of nabbing smugglers.

But for supporters of the recreational use of marijuana and the relaxing of laws governing the substance, the B.C.-Washington border is a shining example of how the war on drugs has become a bust.

"The U.S. and Canadian governments are waging a war on our border all for what—a plant?," said Robin Ellins, a spokesman for Friendly Stranger, a Toronto-based group dedicated to the decriminalization of marijuana. "It ridiculous. All those police resources aimed at a product of nature."

B.C’s marijuana crop is estimated at being worth up $3 billion annually, a position that ranks it second only to the province’s tourism industry. The RCMP estimates that every city in the lower area of the province has at least 1,000 clandestine marijuana growing operations. In Surrey, near the U.S.-Canadian border, that estimate jumps up to about 3,000.

Mr. Ellins has what he calls a fool-proof way to stop the smuggling in its tracks. Decriminalize marijuana, have the government regulate it, and offer it to American tourists, some of whom would eagerly spend their money for a legalized puff. "It’s a multi-billion dollar underground economy that should be channeled through Revenue Canada," he said.

In contrast, Mexican marijuana sells in Washington state for about $1,000 Canadian for about half a kilogram.
(Marijuananews note: The Canadian dollar is around 65 DEAland cents.)

Police acknowledge that the border terrain works against any anti-smuggling operation. The southern B.C. border runs along three American states, Washington, Idaho and Montana, and except for the official border crossing points, most of the terrain is isolated, heavily wooded and rugged.

There are thousands of Ho Chi Minh trails. Even in urban areas, the proximity of the U.S. is inviting to smugglers. Along Zero avenue in Langley, B.C. only a ditch separates roads in Canada and the U.S. Police say one method smugglers have used in the past is to simply toss a bag of marijuana across the ditch from their car and keep on driving while their counterpart on the other side quickly picks it up. Last year $100,000 of marijuana packed in plastic bags was found abandoned on Zero Avenue.

Most growers hire people to smuggle the marijuana across the border, rather than take the risk themselves. Fees for making a smuggling run vary from $2,000 to $6,000 depending on the load. Many pack 27 to 36 kilograms (60 to 80 pounds) of the B.C. Bud into large hockey bags and set off on any of the trails dotting the border. They are usually met on the other side by a contact in a car.

The high incidents of smuggling have made for some bizarre incidents. In one case last year a U.S. border patrol officer turned his search light on some bushes. A Canadian man, thinking it was a signal from his pickup contact, came down the trail and jumped into the unmarked police vehicle. In his packsack were 5.4 kilograms of marijuana.

On another occasion last year, U.S. Customs arrested a man, outfitted in camouflage fatigues, who was making the crossing with several thousand dollars and dope. He told officers he had dipped his uniform in a chemical to make it less susceptible to sensors on border patrol aircraft. Another time customs officers stopped a Mexican citizen coming down one of the trails on a mountain bike. He had $40,000 strapped to his waist, which police believe he was going to use to buy B.C. Bud.

Smugglers have been caught outfitted with their own night vision goggles, Global Positioning Systems which use satellites to guide a person through rough terrain, as well as bullet proof vests and guns. The guns aren’t for doing battle with the police. Mr. Guimond said they’re mainly for protection against other drug dealers who will wait along the trails to rip off fellow smugglers.

For Mr. Guimond, the difference between the smuggling along the Canadian border and the U.S.-Mexican border, where he worked for the last several decades, is the intensity. Along the Mexican-U.S. border, there was a defined harvest season for marijuana and agents would lie in wait for smugglers during particular times. Since much of the B.C. Bud is grown indoors there is no one harvest season, he explains. "It’s a continual flow. We’re going around the clock," said Mr. Guimond, who has nine other agents to cover the 40 kilometer stretch from Blaine to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains.

He doesn’t see the marijuana smugglers as typical criminals, but more as opportunistic types lured by the attraction of large profits.

Even seniors seem to be getting into the act. Two months ago, a 65-year retired Canadian man was caught picking up his son as he emerged from the bush. The son had 27 kilograms of marijuana strapped to his back. Earlier this month a mother and daughter were caught at one of border crossings with 14 kilograms of marijuana in their van.

RCMP Cpl. Pete Thompson is the Canadian counterpart to Mr. Guimond. His unit, which deals with smuggling of all types of contraband along the B.C.-Washington border, has seen a major increase in movement of marijuana over the last 18 months. At that time seven out of 10 seizures were liquor and tobacco. Now nine out of 10 seizures are illegal drugs, mainly B.C. Bud.

Police believe that motorcycle gangs have gained a hold on the marijuana trade and are making vast profits. "In crime the commodity is irrelevant," said Cpl. Thompson. "If all of a sudden jelly beans were valuable then they’d be smuggling jelly beans."

The cameras will have a night vision capability to scan the dark and will be linked to central monitoring stations by either fibre optic cable or microwave. But even technology has its drawbacks as the high cost of the system will mean there will be only one camera to per kilometre.

Smugglers are also already getting wise to any potential roadblocks on the ground. Some pot smugglers have switched to transporting their product by ship or small boat along the countless lakes or small inlets that dot the border and coastline of B.C. and Washington.

Both Cpl. Thompson and Mr. Guimond acknowledge that law enforcement is only scratching the surface of the smuggling operations. In May alone, about $2.5-million U.S. worth of drugs was confiscated from smugglers by U.S. officials patrolling the border in the Blaine area. So far this year Vancouver police have raided 95 major grow operations compared to 62 at this time in 1998.

In June a 30-day police surveillance operation along the border from Langley to Chilliwack, B.C. netted 158 kilograms of marijuana and 17 kilograms of cocaine. Thirty-nine people were arrested. Mr. Guimond said his customs agents are making a contribution, but "the problem keeps growing. All we can do is give it our best effort."

But Mr. Ellins doesn’t buy into that argument. He said the cocaine angle is an excuse to justify the "war on drugs" and police overtime directed toward that conflict. Most of those growing marijuana, he said, have no interest in other drugs.

(Marijuananews note: It is good that the Citizen had someone respond to this nonsense, but it really needs some good investigative reporting. This has become the new party line to try to reinforce Canadian support for marijuana prohibition. The truth would do just the opposite.)

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But again he points to a solution—decriminalization. If B.C. Bud is being traded pound for pound for cocaine then government control of marijuana would take it out of the hands of any criminals. Cocaine would have to be traded or bought by criminals using other resources. "Organized crime is involved in smuggling because there is money to be made, not because it involves marijuana," Mr. Ellins said. "Police are fighting a losing battle and they know it."