ROTTEN BUSINESS

Some Homes Forced To Clean Up, Others Deemed Unfit For Living As
Illegal Grow-Ops Sprout In Hundreds Of City Residences

EDITOR'S NOTE: Between Oct. 3, 2005, and Sept. 28, 2006, executive
orders were put in place by the Calgary Health Region condemning or
clearing 223 homes used as marijuana grow operations. Millions of
dollars worth of city real estate was declared unfit for human
habitation or deemed safe to live in again, but only after a lengthy
and costly cleanup. Few parts of the city were left untouched by a
lucrative criminal enterprise, one considered by law enforcement as a
low-risk, high-reward venture. The Sun's Dave Breakenridge looks at
the long list of Calgary's growing problem.

It looks like any other house, but what lurks within is of serious concern.

Mould, fertilizer and pesticides are the likely culprits, as is the
threat of fire and electrocution from the previous resident's illegal
operations.

The blinds are always drawn, the occupants keep to themselves,
leaving neighbours suspicious but oblivious, until one day the cops
come knocking.

Ray and Eileen, who live near a house in Deer Run raided last fall,
said they were surprised to find the police clearing out their
neighbour's unassuming bungalow.

"It was always only one guy in there," said Ray, who didn't want his
last name used, adding the man who was living in the house kept the
front yard clean and the grass cut.

"All of a sudden, there are all these cops there."

Eileen said after sitting vacant for months, the home was sold and
fixed up and is now occupied by a young couple.

Daryl Hill, who lives in Woodbine, said he was shocked to see the
cops raiding a nearby home two months ago, less than a year after new
people moved in.

"One day we had 15 vehicles from the city out front," he said.

"It's a shame and a shock for us. It's normally somewhere else, never
across the street."

The home now sits vacant, with the condemnation order visible in the window.

From Saddle Ridge to Sundance, Erin Woods to Arbour Lake, grow-ops
are popping up faster than ever, leaving behind a slew of serious
health and safety hazards.

Vicki Wearmouth, the CHR's grow-op inspector, says what she finds in
an overwhelming majority of these homes puts people's health at risk.

"I know most people think the mould is the big issue, but that's just
part of it," said Wearmouth, who visits 90% of the homes raided by police.

"We have chemical contamination -- a whole variety of fertilizers and
pesticides, usually mixed together in a slurry."

Those chemicals are sprayed not just over the pot plants, but on
walls and ceilings, creating a toxic build-up that could potentially
make people sick.

People who run grow-ops will also routinely damage a home's structure
trying to illegally tap into a power source.

After a grow-op is raided, Wearmouth said, the city often shuts off
the power, water and gas to the home.

"And that combined is an unfit environment to live in," she said.

But just because it's condemned, doesn't mean it can't be sold, Wearmouth said.

"As long as it's not causing a nuisance to the neighbourhood, it can
remain in that condition," she said.

But for someone to live in any of the homes again, every item in the
condemnation order has to be repaired, in some cases meaning the home
has to be gutted.

"In each order, we indicate what we want done, whether it's removal
of all the drywall, insulation and vapour barrier, and sometimes it's
just cleaning," Wearmouth said, adding the worst home she inspected
ended up being torn down.

To have an order lifted, a homeowner needs to meet all the conditions
of the inspector, and the work needs to be done by licensed
contractors and environmental consultants.

It usually costs a minimum of $35,000 to clean up a house.

Wearmouth signs off on all orders lifted, and says people shouldn't
worry about their health if they're moving into one of these homes.

One house cleared in the last year, recently adorned with Halloween
decorations, has evidence a lot of work was done to clean it up.

"I like to think it's a safe place to live in," she said.

"I can only imagine the paperwork that comes across my desk is
legitimate. That's why we ask for qualified, licensed contractors and
environmental companies.

"But there's never a 100-percent guarantee."

Know When A Home's Gone To Pot

The clues of marijuana growing operations may include:

- - Covered windows. (i.e. foil)

- - Continual and suspicious comings and goings

- - People hauling or constructing a watering system into a building.

- - People hauling suspicious types of material or garbage away from
their buildings and property. (i.e. plastic sheeting, fertilizer bags
or containers, plant stocks, plastic piping materials, plastic pots,
CO2 tanks, fuel tanks, etc.)

- - Abnormally warm buildings. (In winter, snow may melt off the roofs
of buildings.)

- - Loud exhaust or humidifier fans

- - Unusual "skunky" smell emanating from the exhaust fans

- - Heavy deodorants and/or air fresheners to mask the smell of marijuana

- - The noise of a diesel/ gas/propane power generator. (Diversionary
method of providing electricity for the grow site.)

- - Unusual electrical hook-ups

- - Humming sounds given off by lights and electrical transformers used
to provide heat and false sunlight.