LIVING IN GROW-OP DANGER

As many as 30 per cent of the 150 grow operations inspected and shut
down by the City of Abbotsford last year may have housed children
living in dangerous conditions.

The city's public safety inspection division -- conceived to fight
grow operations by allowing fire and city inspectors to enter suspect
properties -- has reported 54 cases to the Ministry of Children in the
last year and a half, said City of Abbotsford spokesman Jay Teichroeb.

"In about a third of the homes that are investigated there is some
evidence of a child living in the residence," Teichroeb said Tuesday.

"When we go into to a home [with a grow operation] and find evidence
of a child, we immediately notify the Ministry of Children and Family
Development," he said.

The city's inspection division numbers reflect the Abbotsford Police
Department's experience.

"For many years now, we've consistently found kids in grow
operations," said Const. Casey Vinet of Abbotsford Police.

It's troubling from a police perspective -- the kids are innocent
victims in this."

Some dangers associated with marijuana operations -- particularly for
children -- are the accumulation of mold and fungus due to humidity,
the presence of toxic chemicals, and an increased risk of fire,
electrocution and violence due to home invasions and rip-offs, he said.

Within the space of a month Abbotsford police shut down two marijuana
grow operations with kids in them.

Two children -- one 18-months-old and the other aged three -- were
found when police served a search warrant Jan. 15 at a home in the
34200 block of Larch St.

Police discovered 353 marijuana plants in the basement, and arrested
the parents who face charges of production of a controlled substance.

In a second incident Dec. 18, police found 111 marijuana plants and
two children under the age of seven at a house in the 2900 block of
Whistle Dr.

At the time the children were under medical care for some sort of
respiratory illness that my be related to the grow op, officers reported.

The Ministry of Children and Family Development was called in both
cases to investigate possible neglect by parents for exposing children
to dangerous conditions, said Vinet.

"In many searches we've located hazardous equipment and chemicals in
areas that children often pay around and in some cases, sleep," he
said.

"Parents and others who expose children to such risks need to know
their behaviour is unacceptable, and there are consequences.

This behaviour speaks to the blatant disregard those who grow
marijuana have, not only for the public, but in many cases their own
children."

In December, the BC Association of Social Workers called on the
Children's ministry to develop provincial guidelines to help workers
deal with children taken into care at grow-ops.

The association has estimated as many as 1,000 children in B.C. are
endangered by home based commercial grow operations.

The ministry stated Friday it responds to over 30,000 child protection
reports in B.C. in a given year, but doesn't keep specific statistics
about children found in grow operations.

Nor does the ministry have a set policy for dealing with children in
grow-ops, but rather assesses and responds to each specific situation.

However, it stated designated regional directors are determining
whether policy or protocol is needed.