LET US LOOK AT LEGAL POT: PORT COQUITLAM

Nine times in their search for illegal marijuana grow operations, Port
Coquitlam city inspectors and fire officials have found something
else: legal grow ops licensed for medical reasons.

But like illegal ones, they are public health and safety threats says
Stephen Gamble, PoCo's fire chief and president of the Fire Chiefs
Association of BC.

Wiring and building alterations meant none of the nine legal grow ops
inspectors found met building code standards, said Gamble, who is
calling for the federal government to reveal to cities the locations
of licensed pot farms so city inspectors can make sure the operations
are safe.

"The homes aren't designed to be a greenhouse," he said. "It's bad
enough with some homes with their regular showers and their normal
living and cooking habits - that can be a bit of a concern. But you
add on top of that the method they use to grow marijuana and it's a
real concern for us.

"It's amazing what people will do considering they're living in these
homes too," Gamble said.

Health Canada said more than 4,500 people in Canada, including 1,200
in B.C., licensed to possess marijuana but federal laws don't permit
the information to be given out to civic authorities.

Port Coquitlam found the nine legal operations through its public
safety initiative (PSI), which allows inspectors to go into homes with
higher than average electrical consumption, or if there are other
signs of a grow op.

Since licensed growers are just as vulnerable to crime as unlicensed
ones, Gamble would like to see municipalities require licensed grow
ops to be in greenhouses or an industrial setting.

"It takes it out of the home because homes just weren't designed to do
this type of operation," Gamble said.

Coquitlam's PSI team has encountered three legal operations but its
fire chief, Tony Delmonico, said he believes there are more the city
doesn't know about, and they carry potential electrical and mould
hazards for the occupants, neighbours and emergency responders.

"The level of risk is probably less than say a criminal-based grow
op," said Delmonico, "but there still are risks we have concerns about.

"There needs to be a notification process, even if it's on a
confidential basis. We need to have the ability to at least know the
locations to go in and inspect for potential hazards."

Although the Port Moody Fire Department has yet to come across a legal
operation, Chief Jeff Lambert said he would like to see an
application, permit and inspection program that ensures the set-up is
safe and meets the building and fire codes.

Coun. Brad West, chair of Port Coquitlam's safety committee, said the
committee will lobby Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam MP James Moore
to get the rules changed.

"Governments are known for over-regulation," West said. "This is an
area where there's zero regulation," said West. "There are no
standards or no codes, nothing to say you must meet certain standards."

Last month, Surrey council, in a motion seconded by Port Coquitlam
council, put a resolution to the Union of BC Municipalities calling
for Health Canada to have legal growers show they are complying with
local bylaws before getting a licence as well as revealing to
municipalities who has a licence. The resolution was defeated.
Victoria councillor Philippe Lucas, a legal grower, has said there's a
higher risk of fire from cooking at home than from a legal grow op,
and that municipalities should offer free inspections to people with
licences.