PUSHING OUT POT FARMERS

Marijuana grow ops are no joke in the Tri-Cities, where hardly a week
goes by without a bust or a raid. And area residents are increasingly
at risk of being in the line of fire when criminals try to steal from
criminals.

Sadder still is the plight of children living in homes that house
grow ops who must be shunted off to foster care when their parents
are charged while their homes, hard-wired to suck up electricity,
make for dangerous living conditions for inhabitants and neighbours.

It's no surprise, then, that police and city officials are using what
tools they have to enter and shut down these indoor pot farms.
Coquitlam will likely adopt next Monday the Public Safety Inspection
Program, which gives police and inspectors the clout to enter homes
with high energy consumption within 48 hours of notice and to charge
the homeowners $5,000 in fees associated with the safety inspection.

There is some concern these powers are too broad for the
circumstances and could entrap an innocent hobbyist with an
electricity-draining collection of aquariums or over-developed model
train set. But those circumstances would be rare, if not improbable.

Even so, most Coquitlam residents would probably put public safety
over individual rights if it would make their neighbourhoods safer.
As it is, there are few other ways, except power consumption, to
identify a grow op, especially today, when people are rarely home
during the day and don't always know their neighbours.

Some might argue this so-called war on drugs, which requires pot
growers to go underground -- or, in many cases, the basement -- to
avoid detection is getting increasingly dangerous and costly while
accomplishing very little.

But until someone comes up with a better idea, this get-tough,
search-and-seizure program is the best tool cities have to push pot farmers out.