I'm referring of course to marijuana-growing operations, or grow-ops for short, which supposedly form a $6 billion, $11 billion, or $13 billion industry in this province.
The difference in numbers depends on how the police and other authorities feel on different days. When the numbers quoted are ..um ..high, the message is that "this is big, and we have to do something about it - we're losing tax money!". When numbers are lower, they're trying to control the BC brand, and so massage the message to "Grow-Ops? No big deal. It's under control".
But I couldn't let a recent revelation go by without some observation: Dope growing is going mobile.
Not in terms of cell-phone use. Everybody does that. I suspect the dope trade was one of the early adopters of mobile communication technology.
No, I mean that grow-ops have taken the concept of mobile one step farther and are moving their operations into trailers that can be pulled around and so more easily avoid the prying eyes of neighbors and police.
At least that's what the police in Langley, where they have found five such mobile grow-ops in recent weeks, say is the reason.
I think it's just a clever operational innovation.
Traditionally, grow-ops have been installed in some rented old house with an absentee landlord who either didn't know what was going on, or suddenly went blind when the renters agreed readily to some exorbitant rent. Or growers bought some rattletrap house instead and crammed it full of plants.
But, eventually that became so common that everybody knew it was happening.
Besides, in this crazy real estate market renting or buying a house isn't as easy as it used to be. Today, one of those unliveable tear-downs is going for over $700,000, which can put a considerable dent in a business' cash flow.
So, a smart grower looks at those rising costs, sees a trailer that costs under $100,000 and can take almost as many plants as a small house. Plus, it can be moved occasionally so doesn't become too obvious. An idea forms. Kaching.
Sounds like a smart business process innovation to me. But then, these guys are clever and always seem to devise a solution to whatever problem confronts them.
Maybe there's a place for them in an MBA school.
