News (Media Awareness Project) - CN AB: Alderman Worried Moms Forced To Tend Pot Houses |
| Title: | CN AB: Alderman Worried Moms Forced To Tend Pot Houses |
| Published On: | 2005-03-29 |
| Source: | Calgary Herald (CN AB) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-08-20 14:41:12 |
ALDERMAN WORRIED MOMS FORCED TO TEND POT HOUSES
Pot-Growing Houses Babysat By Mothers Are No Homes For Children, And A
Calgary Alderman Is Worried Women May Be Forced To Tend Crops In Noxious
Surroundings.
"I'm worried that it does happen," said Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart, who
heads the Stop Marijuana Grow Ops steering committee. "The worst thing in
the world is that a woman is being placed in this situation and told to
stay there by a spouse."
While police say they've yet to find mothers being forced to tend crops,
the alderman's concerns follow a Saturday police raid on a Riverbend Drive
S.E. house with marijuana crops growing inside. Police found a year-old
baby there, and now the 27-year-old mother is facing child endangerment
charges as well as drug charges.
The Child At Risk Team took the infant into protective custody.
It's not the first time children have been seized from a illicit
pot-growing operation in the suburbs. Colley-Urquhart is concerned more
Calgary kids are facing health and safety dangers at the hands of organized
crime. In the United States, children are seized at pot-growing houses, she
said.
"Please don't stay in that environment yourself and please don't keep your
children there," she said.
Toxic mould, pesticides, fungicides and fumes can be lethal for children,
she said.
"Now we're seeing the real human cost of this when our innocent children in
the city are placed in these environments," said Colley-Urquhart.
The police green team -- a combination of city police and Mounties called
the Southern Alberta Marijuana Investigative Team (SAMIT) -- seized $101
million worth of pot last year.
In most cases, the houses they find are filled with growing equipment and
plants in various stages of growth, but no signs of day-to-day living.
"We don't find a lot of them because most people aren't living there," said
Det. Chris Fileccia of SAMIT.
On March 17, a two-month-old baby and a 21/2-year-old girl were found at a
grow op in Saddleridge. The children were seized and the parents are facing
multiple charges.
Pot-Growing Houses Babysat By Mothers Are No Homes For Children, And A
Calgary Alderman Is Worried Women May Be Forced To Tend Crops In Noxious
Surroundings.
"I'm worried that it does happen," said Ald. Diane Colley-Urquhart, who
heads the Stop Marijuana Grow Ops steering committee. "The worst thing in
the world is that a woman is being placed in this situation and told to
stay there by a spouse."
While police say they've yet to find mothers being forced to tend crops,
the alderman's concerns follow a Saturday police raid on a Riverbend Drive
S.E. house with marijuana crops growing inside. Police found a year-old
baby there, and now the 27-year-old mother is facing child endangerment
charges as well as drug charges.
The Child At Risk Team took the infant into protective custody.
It's not the first time children have been seized from a illicit
pot-growing operation in the suburbs. Colley-Urquhart is concerned more
Calgary kids are facing health and safety dangers at the hands of organized
crime. In the United States, children are seized at pot-growing houses, she
said.
"Please don't stay in that environment yourself and please don't keep your
children there," she said.
Toxic mould, pesticides, fungicides and fumes can be lethal for children,
she said.
"Now we're seeing the real human cost of this when our innocent children in
the city are placed in these environments," said Colley-Urquhart.
The police green team -- a combination of city police and Mounties called
the Southern Alberta Marijuana Investigative Team (SAMIT) -- seized $101
million worth of pot last year.
In most cases, the houses they find are filled with growing equipment and
plants in various stages of growth, but no signs of day-to-day living.
"We don't find a lot of them because most people aren't living there," said
Det. Chris Fileccia of SAMIT.
On March 17, a two-month-old baby and a 21/2-year-old girl were found at a
grow op in Saddleridge. The children were seized and the parents are facing
multiple charges.
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