Marijuana-scented scratch cards are to be posted to households in the Burnham-On-Sea area in a bid to detect illegal cannabis farms.
Crimestoppers, which runs the campaign, says it hopes the cards will help people to recognise the smell of cannabis and report suspected plantations to police.
The charity said there has been a 15% rise in the number of cannabis farms found in homes between 2011 and 2012.
A major farm was discovered by police in Burnham last December, when £600,000 of plants were found, as we reported here.
The green and black cards release a scent that replicates the actual smell of cannabis during its growing state when scratched. They are being distributed across the Avon and Somerset police area.
Andy Bliss, from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), said: “Many people don’t realise that the empty, run-down house or flat on their street with people coming and going late at night may actually be a commercial cannabis farm.”
“It’s not just the stereotype of the remote rural set or disused industrial estate unit. These farms are often run by organised criminals [and] they bring crime and anti-social behaviour into local communities causing real harm and leaving people feeling unsafe.”
