Cheshire Constabulary is taking part in a regional operation to crackdown on cannabis cultivation.
They will join officers from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (Titan) and five other regional police forces for the month-long crackdown on cannabis farms.
During the month there will an increase in police activity, including a number of strike days, to raise awareness of the problem as well as to highlight the dangers of cannabis cultivation and urge members of the community who suspect cannabis is being grown in their neighbourhoods to call police.
There has been an increase in the number of cannabis factories across the region with a steady rise in the number of smaller cannabis farms, often in rental properties, which are linked to organised crime groups.
More than 5,120 cannabis factories containing an excess of 345,000 plants with an estimated potential street value of around £140 million have been discovered across the North West in the last three years.
Detective Chief Inspector Pete Shaw from the Constabulary′s crime operations department said: "We are fully committed to tackling drugs supply and use in Cheshire. We can only act if members of communities are willing to work with us, information is key to disrupting the supply of cannabis on the streets. Neighbourhood officers will be at the forefront of the Cheshire crackdown. The work they carry out in local communities and the relationships they build with local people, will allow us to tap into the concerns people have about cannabis.
"Production and cultivation is more of a problem for society today than ever before. Organised crime gangs use coercive methods on some of the most vulnerable people in our society to forcing them to grow cannabis for their profit.
"The involvement of organised crime gangs has coincided with increases in the strength and potency of cannabis. Research is now suggesting there is a definite link between the increase in cannabis strength and mental health issues.
"We need to change public perception that cannabis doesn′t cause any harm, the involvement of organised crime gangs preying on vulnerable people, the increase in the strength and the link to mental health issues and the misery it causes to people who live and work in local communities definitely dispels that myth."
Cheshire Constabulary is asking members of the public to contact them on the non-emergency number 101 if they suspect cannabis farms are operating in their community.
Anyone with any information about cannabis cultivation is asked to call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
