POLICE AND MUNICIPALITIES LOOK TO DEVELOP GROW-OPERATION STRATEGY

Looking to protect future tenants and homeowners from houses that were
previously used as marijuana grow-ops, Waterloo regional police are
working with municipalities to come up with a protocol for the
notification of the location of marijuana grow operations.

The initiative, entitled "Police Notification of Illicit Marijuana
Grow operations," would standardize the process by which the police
notify municipalities of the location of former grow ops.The region's
municipalities, in turn, are now Police and municipalities look to
develop grow-operation strategy thrashing out their own protocol to
ensure that such homes, once discovered, are made safe again for habitation.

"We have certain responsibilities under the Municipal Act to ensure
the house is safe afterwards," said Wellesley's bylaw enforcement
officer, Jack Mittelholtz.

A working relationship between police and municipal officials is seen
as crucial to the initiative.

"It's just not something that police are trained or capable of doing:
we are not building inspectors or health inspectors," explained Staff
Sgt. Frank Sinko of the drug branch.

Homes that are turned into grow-ops are often modified so that the
operations go undetected. Such modifications include hydro tampering
and modifications that can result in increased moisture that leads to
the proliferation of harmful mold. Such buildings also often undergo
major structural changes, compromising their integrity and safety.

"There's a structural problem when they start drilling through joists
and floors, and start doing those kinds of things," said Sinko, noting
that often holes are cut in the floors to run ducts so that they can
keep the homes well ventilated. Concerned with attracting attention,
growers often vent fumes into the attic or into the sewer system.

Long-term problems include health risks posed by harmful mold spores
which are encouraged by damp conditions.

Although marijuana grow operations are less common in rural areas than
in neighbouring urban areas - "In the smaller settlements the
neighbours are more aware of what's happening next door," said
Mittelholtz - a number of such operations have been discovered in
Wellesley and Woolwich townships in recent years.