OFFICIALS TO USE A VARIETY OF LAWS TO ATTACK MARIJUANA GROWING OPERATIONS

ABBOTSFORD - A 90-day Grow Op Public Safety pilot project that kicked in
Thursday should give Abbotsford one of the most effective marijuana-growing
operation busting tools in Canada, said Mayor Mary Reeves.

The aim of the project is to improve public safety, eradicate growing
operations and to recover fire, police and city costs from owners whose
properties contain marijuana growing operations or street drug labs.

"We've been getting lots of calls from other jurisdictions across the
country wanting a copy of this bylaw," Reeves said at the official launch
at city hall Thursday.

The $100,000 pilot project, designed in the past year and a half by the
city's growing operation task force, will enforce the provincial Fire
Services Act, the B.C. Building Code and the city's Controlled Substance
Property Bylaw to gain entry into homes suspected to have dangerous activity.

The bylaw enables the city to charge property owners, while the Fire
Services Act allows firefighters to enter a property if there is a risk to
public safety.

Police and fire service costs to the city rose to $115,000 in 2004 from
$60,00 the year before, said Reeves. Property losses, due to fire damage
for example, fell to $400,000 in 2004 from $750,000 in 2004, but the city
can't afford to pay for the skyrocketing costs, she added.