[420 Girl]

British Columbia's marijuana industry is poised to lose $1-billion this year if the constant rainy weather battering the region doesn't stop, activist Marc Emery said yesterday.

The B.C. Marijuana Party founder says the mid-May to mid-June growing season has been attacked by the big three - "cold, clouds and excessive moisture" - leaving most outdoor plants only about 15 centimetres tall, much smaller than they should be. "When the soil is really, really wet it tends to move and cause root rot and waterlogged soil," he said. "Plants can't handle that much water." Marijuana buds are also growing mould and a dusting of mildew, compounding the problem.

Weather is the No. 1 help or hindrance to the illicit $6-billion to $8-billion B.C. industry. And the problem is stretched right across the province, "from Vancouver to the Kootenays," Mr. Emery said.

While "$1-billion is nothing to sniff at," he said, about 85 per cent of B.C.'s pot revenue comes from indoor crops that are not affected by the rain.

A splash of sun over the next few days might help save the plants, Mr. Emery said. If it doesn't come before June 25, the end of the growing season, growers will have to give up on what they've planted and start over. That's when starter plant and seed merchants will really make the big bucks, Mr. Emery added. Most outdoor growers also plant indoors and should bring their plants inside, if possible, to save them.

Although the B.C. crop is set to suffer, Mr. Emery predicts a bumper crop in regions west of the Rockies, especially Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia where sunshine is in full supply. Their success will keep weed prices high - at about $25 to $35 per 0.8-ounce bag.

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away," he said.

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