[420 Girl]

As much as $46 million in marijuana is being grown annually in Abbotsford, according to a tool developed at the University of the Fraser Valley, intended to help police and policy-makers come up with estimates around illegal indoor grow-ops in their community.

UFV researchers have come up with an indoor marijuana production calculator which projects how much pot is being produced, its value, and if it's headed for domestic or export markets.

UFV criminologist Darryl Plecas said the clandestine nature of illegal marijuana production makes it difficult to accurately measure its scope within a given community or region.

"The calculator allows people to quickly know - without doing a lot of homework - the number of pounds of marijuana being produced in their jurisdiction," he said.

According to the calculator, as many as 17,664 pounds of pot is being produced in Abbotsford, with 61 per cent of the crop likely being exported to the United States by organized crime.

Those involved in the illegal drug trade stand to gain an estimated $32 million.

Four numbers are needed: the total population of a city or country; the average number of lights per grow-op; the percentage of people who have smoked marijuana in the last year; and the estimated total number of grow-ops in the community.

Research shows there are an average of 16 lights per grow and that 16.4 per cent of Canadians have smoked pot, said Plecas.

Abbotsford Police raided 69 grows in 2009, a number that can be multiplied by four to arrive at a likely total of 276 grow operations within the city, he said.

The most important estimates show how much pot is produced for export and how much money is earned in the process, said Plecas.

Marijuana for export is a commodity monopolized by gangs, which send B.C. bud south and move hard drugs and guns north.

As such, decriminalization in Canada would not eliminate the dangers associated with pot production, said Plecas.

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