GROW OPS AN UNSAFE BURDEN

In recent years, Guelph residents have increasingly been surprised to
find some people have been engaging in illicit activity behind closed
doors nearby, including growing marijuana. And for real estate
agents, it is often the hunch of neighbours that is the only thing
they have to go on when selling a house that could have been a grow
operation in a former life. Both home buyers and the agents, however,
are on the verge of having more protection when it comes to listing
or purchasing a home that has a less-than-appealing history.

If provincial Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter follows through
on an idea for a registry of grow labs or crystal methamphetamine
operations, he will provide a level of protection not previously seen
on the real estate market in Ontario. The registry, which the
government must move to get off the ground, would fix the current
situation, which allows for such a home to be sold without anyone
knowing what took place there. Homes that have been used to grow
marijuana can be full of mould and electrical hazards. In Guelph,
firefighters discovered a marijuana grow operation after responding
to an electrical fire in March. In Mississauga last month, two men
emerged in flames from a crystal meth lab that had caught fire. One
subsequently died and families had to be evacuated from nearby homes
because of the dangerous chemicals stored in the home turned lab.

The problems posed by marijuana and crystal meth operations are not
simply cosmetic. They are deadly, and in the case of mould, can cause
health problems if anyone were to unwittingly purchase a former grow house.

New legislation introduced this week will go a long way to help real
estate agents and buyers. Municipal inspectors must now look over
grow operations and order repairs if necessary. Perhaps it would also
be a good idea if real estate agents were obliged to tell police they
think they may have a former grow op on their hands.