Cannabis plantations are springing up in suburban basements following the softening of drug laws.

More than 250 homes in Brighton and Hove are estimated to have underground cellars packed with the plant.

Small syndicates are making up to £10,000 every three months as the market for homegrown grass blossoms.

These new marijuana growers claim they are providing a service and taking profits away from the major-league dealers.

The downgrading of cannabis by Home Secretary David Blunkett has, in just one week, led to a greater number of respectable households turning their basements over to drug-growing to make a quick profit.

Equipment such as halogen lights and hydroponics kits needed to grow high-grade cannabis are freely available in shops in Brighton. Owners say they are experiencing a boom in sales.

New syndicates, each with an expert gardener, are willing to invest thousands of pounds to help homeowners convert basements into cannabis farms - in return for the first £10,000 harvest.

One teacher in his 30s told The Argus Brighton was now growing enough cannabis to cater for the entire city.

He sells cannabis in £25 packs to friends from his home. The drug has a street value of £52,000 a year - but he considers himself a small dealer.

The family man, who gave his name as Morgan, is just two steps removed from the original grower.

By contrast, a chain of drug barons and small-time crooks would be needed to ferry in cannabis from Afghanistan, Lebanon and Colombia.

Morgan said: "There are plenty of cannabis dealers in Brighton like me. There is no way I am going to get busted."

For the main members of even a small syndicate, annual profit will exceed £25,000 each - higher than the average wage for workers in the city.

Morgan said: "The people who have plantations are those with families and mortgages and jobs - respectable enough to be below police radar.

"There are no Mafiosi and none of those unpleasant characters - they don't carry guns, they don't shoot people and they don't sell heroin. And you are not funding terrorism.

"The man I get it off is in a syndicate of six guys, pooling their resources to pay for lamps. Each syndicate will know a guy who is an expert and all they need is someone with a mortgage and a basement.

"I expect they will grow a crop worth between £5,000 and £10,000 every three months.

"About four of the syndicate will know people who sell and they will put it on to the streets.

"They are all ordinary guys looking for a little earner on the side - and they make a mint."

The quality and strength of the drug has also increased.

Cannabis today tends to contain larger quantities of THC, the drug's active ingredient which causes feelings of euphoria.

But dealers selling cannabis from pubs or bedsits are much less likely to also supply hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

Staff at Evergreen Hydroponics in Park Crescent Place, Brighton, said lighting and irrigation equipment for a 10ft by 12ft indoor garden would cost about £200.

The law changed on Thursday to downgrade cannabis from a Class B to a Class C drug.

Police officers now decide whether to arrest people for possession. However, anyone found selling cannabis or smoking it in public will be arrested and children with the drug will be taken to a police station and offered advice.

A police spokeswoman said: "The supply of all drugs, including cannabis, is a serious crime which will be dealt with stringently by Sussex Police.

"We will prioritise activity against those drugs that cause the greatest harm to the individual and community, particularly heroin and cocaine.

"But we accept cannabis is also a harmful substance and its use needs to be discouraged and dealt with as a criminal offence."

The presenter of a radio gardening programme who unwittingly gave a caller advice on how to grow cannabis has apologised. Frieda Morrison, co-presenter of Beechgrove Potting Shed, said she thought the caller was discussing cabbages.

Frieda and fellow host Jim McColl spent more than three minutes explaining which compost to use and how to water the hallucinogenic herb.

When the caller referred to Northern Lights - very strong marijuana - the gardeners thought he was referring to a variety of cabbage of the same name. The duo were caught out during the show, which was aired on Sunday on BBC Radio Scotland.