POT FARMS POSE DANGERS TO NEIGHBOURS

Police say renovations to make growing easier also present fire hazards

Crude renovations to apartments done to accommodate marijuana-growing
operations are a danger to people in neighbouring suites, Vancouver police say.

The marijuana growers' school of interior design often includes broken
walls and dangerous, amateur electrical wiring as it did in an
apartment-based growing operation discovered in East Vancouver last week.

The marijuana cultivators had rented two suites next to each other, knocked
down the adjoining walls, and constructed their own gyprock dividers. The
potential for an electrical fire as a result of the renovations was very
high, said police.

"Landlords and tenants should be vigilant about what's going on behind the
doors of apartments in their buildings - for their own safety, police say.

Also on Saturday, RCMP disconnected the hydro at a home in Chilliwack after
discovering a 112-plant growing operation in the adjacent garage.

"It wasn't wired to code standards. It was very unsafe and could easily
have resulted in a fire," said RCMP Corporal Peter Talvio.

Police arrested a 45-year-old man and seized a sawed-off shotgun, a rifle
and ammunition in the incident.

Chilliwack RCMP are requesting that several charges be laid: possession and
production of marijuana for the purpose of trafficking, careless storage of
firearms and possession of a prohibited weapon.

On Thursday, Vancouver police raided three grow-operations: they removed
100 plants in the 5600-block of Kerr Street; 80 plants in the 800-block of
66th; and 100 plants at 3600 Vimy Crescent.

Police estimate marijuana is currently being grown in 4,000 to 7,000 rental
houses in Vancouver. After paying bills to repair damages caused by the
operations, Vancouver landlords must then pay a $309 fee to the city to
have their property declared safe again and $200 to reconnect the
electricity and gas.