Lothian and Borders Police want posties and landlords to help them 'weed out' people who grow cannabis.
They say cannabis cultivation is becoming increasingly prevelant in the region.
And they say, not only is it illegal and damaging to communities, but it can cause tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage to properties as drugs producers rip out walls and overload electrical systems to increase their crop.
The force has now launched a new scheme designed to educate the public about the issue of drugs cultivation.
The first “Weed Them Out” conference was held in Newtongrange on Friday, with a second scheduled in Livingston on October 16.
The events are aimed at landlords, letting agencies and business managers and aim to encourage them to scrutinise rental properties more thoroughly.
Council and postal workers are also invited to take part. Officers aim to make them more aware of the tell-tale signs that indicate the presence of a drugs factory.
Inspector Derek Fairley added: “Cannabis cultivations are a serious risk, not only to the property they are sited within but to surrounding properties as well.
"The majority of cultivations fund other serious crimes such as human trafficking, prostitution and money laundering and Lothian and Borders Police are committed to ridding this menace from our society."
Officers say a private property used to produce drugs will suffer an average of £15,000 of damage, while the increase in drugs available can cause serious problems for the communities where the plants are situated.
Chief Superintendent Gillian Imery said: "For some people it seems like something that happens somewhere else, a long way away. But it is happenening on the streets, on the residential streets of Scotland and in this area. It's probably more common than people think, and certainly than we even know about.
"We have seen hundreds of cultivations discovered since 2006, in Scotland itself we're looking at nearly 300 of those cultivations, but more importantly, it's the ones we don't know about that, by the time we find them, you could argue it's too late.
"We really need to make people aware of the tell-tale signs so that they can alert us to them earlier and we can do something to stop them."
