GROW-OPS CONTRIBUTING TO THE RENTAL CRUNCH

Marijuana grow operations are a major concern for law-enforcement
agencies, but perhaps they should also be troubling to renters.
That's because the indoor farming of cannabis-a multibillion-dollar
crop in British Columbia-may be contributing the rental crunch.
According to police, growers often use rental homes and commercial
buildings to avoid damage to their own property.

The City of Vancouver shuts down an average of 300 grow-ops a year,
said Carlene Robbins, manager of City Hall's property-use branch.

"A lot of the grow-ops, the majority of the grow-ops that we bust,
are in residential buildings, most of them single-family [houses] and
many of them are rental," Robbins told the Georgia Straight.

"Basically, they're not being used for living. They're being used to
grow marijuana, so there is an impact."

The city's has had a Grow Busters Program since 2000. In her report
to council in April 2005, Robbins noted that 2,135 indoor farms had
been closed over the previous four and a half years. She also stated
that although the number of reported grow-ops in the city declined in
2004, there was a noted increase in cannabis cultivation in the Metro
Vancouver region.

A paper prepared by Surrey fire chief Len Garis cited estimates of
the total number of grow-ops in the province that range from 7,000 to
as many as 20,000.

Garis's Eliminating Residential Marijuana Grow Operations-An
Alternate Approach noted that a 2004 report by the Fraser Institute
reckoned that the province has 7,000 to 17,500 indoor cannabis farms,
yielding about $2 billion worth of pot per year.

"However, those estimates are considerably lower than those used by
RCMP "E" Division. RCMP analysis gauges the annual marijuana trade in
B.C. at $7 billion-placing it in the vicinity of agriculture,
tourism, and forestry in terms of impact on the B.C. economy," Garis
wrote. "That number is based on the assumption that B.C. has 20,000
grow operations (each with 250 plants) that produce a combined total
of 3.7 million pounds (1,678 metric tonnes) of product per year."

Garis also cited a study done in 2005 stating that the number of
cases brought to the attention of various police agencies in the
province tripled from 1,489 in 1997 to 4,514 cases in 2003.

In Surrey, the fire chief pointed out that the RCMP busted 257
grow-ops in 2004-13 percent of the city's estimated 2,000 marijuana
grow houses.

In Richmond, the RCMP detachment takes down about one or two grow-ops
a week, according to spokesperson Corporal Nycki Basra.

"That's an interesting way to look at it," Basra told the Straight,
when asked whether grow-ops are depriving law-abiding citizens of a
chance to lease residential properties. "It's probably true. It's not
something we would be able to comment on. We can only comment how
many we take down. But yeah, you could do the math. Of course you've
got thousands and hundreds of houses that are used for grow-ops that
are potential homes for people to live in."

Landlords can take simple steps to prevent their properties from
becoming marijuana farms. A Richmond RCMP Web page
(www.richmond.ca/safety/police/growops.htm) suggests screening
prospective tenants and conducting regular inspections, for example.

A walk-through at the property could provide hints of a grow-op.
Growers use high-intensity light bulbs, and they hide bright lights
by blacking out or boarding up windows. A "skunk" smell in the air
could also be a giveaway. The Richmond RCMP recommends landlords
check their property every four to five weeks. They advise that
owners should avoid confronting the tenant if there is reason to
believe that there's a grow-op on the property. Instead, call the police.

Managers of multi-unit dwellings like condos can look for
fast-spinning hydro meters. "Checks should be conducted at staggered
times, preferably over 12 hours apart, since marihuana grow operation
equipment is often found to be on 12-18 hour timers," according to
the Richmond RCMP Web site. The RCMP detachment also suggests the
adoption of certain strata bylaws. These include mandatory annual
in-suite fire-alarm-device testing. This would allow a strata council
to order a locksmith to open the door of a unit if the resident does
not provide access.