FOLLOWING THE POWER TRAIL IS A GOOD WAY TO NIP GROW-OPS IN THE BUD

The explosion that destroyed a $1 million house in the British
Properties last week was unusual, but not unexpected.

Marijuana growers rarely blow themselves up, but the illegal
alterations they make on houses in residential neighborhoods often
turn them into firetraps.

Police learned long ago that no neighbourhood is exempt from this
scourge, which can pop up anywhere landlords are not paying attention
to what their tenants are doing.

Estimates vary on how many grow-ops there are hidden around British
Columbia. What we know for sure is that the Surrey Fire Department
reports that roughly one in 10 structural fires they are called to
fight in their city turn out to be grow-ops.

Fortunately, B.C.'s municipalities are being given a powerful new
tool for ferreting out marijuana growers. The new tool is in aid of a
recently developed technique that exploits the very characteristics
of grow-ops that make them so dangerous.

The provincial government has introduced legislation based on an
experiment in Surrey that was used to dismantle 119 grow-ops in three
months. Those illegal and dangerous operations were taken down by the
fire department and other city inspectors, rather than the police.

They were able to act based on information they obtained from BC
Hydro using provisions of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Act.
Often a sudden surge in electricity usage is connected with a grow-op
and when city officials find residences where the demand for power
has spiked, they can go in and inspect the premises.

The new legislation will make it easier to get such information.
Utilities will be required to turn it over on demand, rather than
insisting on the more complicated procedures required by Freedom of
Information legislation. That information can also be given to police.

Information and Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis complains that
the new legislation goes too far, since it amounts to a form of
surveillance. He has a valid concern, in that it is a form of general
snooping by government on citizens. But we think it is justified,
given the highly focused use to which it will be put.

Nevertheless, since this is groundbreaking legislation, we hope
Loukidelis will maintain his interest in its effects, with a view to
ensuring that any infringement continues to be necessary.

The technique of following the power trail is the most promising
avenue yet for making a serious dent in the illicit marijuana
business carried on in residential neighborhoods.

But civic officials should also be paying attention to the
extraordinary results achieved by police in Delta. Not only have they
been shutting down grow-ops, they have been able to charge the
growers and obtain convictions in court. Clearly with the appropriate
focus, it is possible to effectively tackle this problem.

In other municipalities, police have been overwhelmed by the volume
of complaints. This new legislation should help by persuading many of
the growers in the Lower Mainland that the profits of marijuana
cultivation are no longer worth the risk.