People are being asked to help police bust cannabis farms by sniffing them out.
Cannabis gives off a different smell when it is growing than when it is being smoked.
More than seven hundred farms have been raided in the West Midlands in the past two years.
Today the Crimestoppers charity has been out and about with a scratch and sniff card impregnated with the smell of a cannabis plant to help people spot if someone's cultivating near them.
People are being asked to use their nose to help police bust cannabis farms.
The charity, Crimestoppers, has produced a scratch and sniff card which carries the aroma of a cannabis farm.
The smell is different to cannabis when it's smoked. They hope people will recognise the smell of cannabis if it is growing near them and report it to police.
Independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers is today launching a campaign to tackle cannabis cultivation in the UK.
This week Crimestoppers and police forces across the country, including the West Midlands, will be distributing “scratch and sniff” cards to the public to educate and inform them about the signs to spot and detect cannabis farms by recognising the specific smell of growing cannabis.
The cards contain an element that replicates the smell of cannabis in its growing state.
Hotspot areas targeted in this campaign include the West Midlands where over 700 cannabis farms were identified by Association of Chief Police Officers across 2010 and 2012.
This figure is the seventh highest across the UK for this period.
West Midlands Police has released a video that shows around £2m worth of cannabis being incinerated, after seizing thousands of plants across the county.
Several tonnes of cannabis were loaded into a van at a secret location and taken to an incinerator for destroying.
Mike Hall, a member of the Cannabis Disposal Team, says the energy generated by burning the plants is turned into energy, so criminals are inadvertently powering homes and factories.
Six people are still being questioned in connection with the discovery of a cannabis farm in Stourport.
A total of 14 arrests were made.
A man has been arrested in Peterborough after police found 300 cannabis plants during a raid.
The plants, with a street value of around £250,000 at an address in Orton Malborne, were found this morning around 8.30am.
The 46-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of producing cannabis and remains in police custody.
– Sergeant Derren Seager"This raid was a result of members of the public sharing information and shows how residents and the police can work together.
"I would urge the public to report any suspicious activity or contact us if they suspect crime is taking place in their area.
"We take all such reports seriously and will investigate."
A report by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) has revealed there are 25 cannabis farms per 100,000 people in the West Midlands.
The latest report from the Acpo show the figures have gone up, with a total 663 farms across the region.
They say much of the production is moving to smaller residential properties rather than large-scale farms.
Scotland Yard Commander Allan Gibson, the lead on cannabis cultivation for police chiefs, said:
"Commercial cannabis cultivation continues to pose a significant risk to the UK."
"Increasing numbers of organised crime groups are diverting into this area of criminality but we are determined to continue to disrupt such networks and reduce the harm caused by drugs."
Four people are being questioned after police raided a supermarket in Worcester and found between 100 and 200 cannabis plants.
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