This month police have cracked down on dope-growers with swoops across the region, but they realise that thousands of plants are still being carefully tended.

Cannabis crops are the financial basis for several small communities in the Eastern Bay, including East Cape, says the district's CIB head, Detective Sergeant Ross Everest of Whakatane.

"It is one of the best growing areas in New Zealand, with its own micro-climate, remoteness and rugged terrain."

Opotiki retailers are already saying that spending has dropped since the crackdown of the past few weeks.

The cannabis spotlight has long been on Northland, where the drug is the area's biggest cash crop. But police headquarters confirmed yesterday that the Eastern Bay of Plenty now ranks second, with Coromandel third. The exact figures are still being analysed.

The result is that Opotiki police are working shifts of up to 36 hours. Opotiki's police chief, Senior Sergeant Tony Wakelin, is full of praise for his small team, who face testing conditions in their efforts to curb the cannabis traffic.

But he is adamant that Opotiki is "a paradise," where 90 per cent of the population are law-abiding and the remaining 10 per cent ruin it for everyone.

He has support from local MP Tony Ryall, the Minister of Justice, who has called for moral leadership from families and communities.

Opotiki mayor Don Riesterer wants to see police allocated more manpower and resources for an all-out assault on cannabis-growing "if they are serious about controlling it."

Both the MP and the mayor say the cannabis problem has been around for a long time but there is much more awareness now of the social effects.

These are being addressed by a number of agencies and organisations, including the Safer Community Council.

Linked to these programmes is Opotiki College where principal Andrew Taylor says keeping cannabis out of school is a constant battle.

"We have to be very vigilant."

A minority of the 490 pupils have access to the drug but Mr Taylor acknowledges that it gets spread around.

A swoop on Opotiki saw 9000 mature cannabis plants worth an estimated $8 million either sprayed with herbicide or pulled out.

In the Eastern Bay of Plenty, more than 200kg of dried cannabis and over 10,000 quality plants, worth millions of dollars, have been seized so far this season.

There have been 26 arrests for cultivating or possessing cannabis for supply. Those arrested range from professional and business people to unemployed, and are aged in their 20s and upward.

Last week, an 82-year-old man was charged with possession of cannabis for supply. He has allegedly been growing dope for years to supplement his income. A husband and wife apprehended in a bivvy in the bush had apparently been living there, leaving their children in someone else's care, while they dried their crop in a lean-to. Police seized more than 16kg of high-quality head material and 271 cannabis plants.

But despite making inroads, police know there is still a lot of cannabis out there.

They are also frustrated that many residents, perhaps out of fear of retaliation, are reluctant to report drug activity, even though they are assured of confidentiality.

Detective Sergeant Everest believes a large number of home invasions and aggravated robberies go unreported because of the fear of repercussions.

His biggest concerns are gang involvement and the prevalence of violence and firearms as more bulk cannabis, increasing amounts of cannabis oil and class A drugs such as LSD and speed filter down through the Eastern Bay of Plenty.

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