Four teenagers entered the property of Pat Kellar, a Casselman resident in his third summer, and stole “a good chunk” of the top of his cannabis plants.
On Wednesday, October 9, Kellar was sitting in his garage around 11 a.m. when he heard a “weird shaking” sound. He turned the corner to see four teenagers jump over his six-foot (1.83-metre) fence and cut off the tops of his cannabis plants before fleeing. Kellar tried to pursue them, but they quickly disappeared.
It’s more than just personal use, the cannabis act as medication for Kellar.
“People are supposed to have emotions. The drugs that they put you on, they give you like a baseline where you stay there’s no ups, no downs, it zombifies you. At least with cannabis, I have emotions again. I would much rather have a little bit of fluctuation than be a zombie. And the fluctuations aren’t as extreme as just not being on medication. So yeah, saves my I’ve been a whole new person the last 10 years since I started doing this.”
In all, Kellar estimated that he lost about six ounces of cannabis, which is the equivalent of a month’s growth.
He posted the crime on Facebook, where comments indicated they’ve seen the four teens before.
“Honestly, my cannabis is the least of my worries (…) It’s the fact that there are kids flying around in broad daylight that concerns me,” Kellar said.
He believes the thieves may have been seen from VIA Rail’s security camera, but employees told him “They couldn’t confirm or deny whether the boys were being filmed so I may or may not call the police and waste time.” So, he didn’t call the police, feeling that he didn’t have enough evidence to charge the teens with theft and that “I can’t even get a police officer to say ‘Yeah, do that’ because he doesn’t care.”
While the Russell OPP can’t give specific numbers on the increase in trespassing and thefts of this type following the legalization of cannabis on October 17, 2018, “we certainly haven’t seen a significant increase,” said Acting Staff Sergeant Shaun Cameron.
“What I can say is that thefts of this type generally occur when the plants are easily visible from outside the property, or the suspects know the location of the plants. Trying to secure the areas where the plants grow, by adding cameras and motion-activated lighting systems, can help reduce these incidents. Also, trying to grow the plants in areas that are out of plain sight, if possible, can help.”
Since the theft, Kellar has installed surveillance cameras in his yard to keep a constant eye on his property.
“And now I have a camera on my property, which I’ve never had to do in my life. Yes, and it gives me the creeps that I have to go to this extreme to protect my property.”
Kellar is still looking for the missing tops of the cannabis plants. Due to the rarity of the brand, the smell is just as special. Kellar described it as minty eucalyptus.
Residents who smell the smell or spot the missing cannabis tops of the plants can contact its owner. But Kellar isn’t hopeful.
“I know (those) kids are going to go sit in these back alleys and smoke a joint with their friends and have fun. (…) But now, well, I don’t think those four will be back.”
Safe and responsible cannabis storage
The Government of Canada has published an article entitled “Growing cannabis safely at home”. In the article, there is a section on security measures to prevent cannabis theft. The government suggests that people who grow their own cannabis plants take measures to ensure that people don’t find out about it, such as installing an alarm system, installing a large fence with a lockable gate, limiting the smell of cannabis coming from where it’s planted, and ensuring that the plants aren’t visible from outside the yard.
More information is available on the Government of Canada website, under the “Personal Cannabis Consumption” section.
