FIREFIGHTERS SHOULD EXTINGUISH FIRES, NOT GROW-OPS

The Surrey Fire Department's response to grow-ops through safety
inspections might be effective in the short term. But it isn't the
answer to combatting the marijuana growing industry.

The crops in grow-ops will simply be transferred to another rental
house while the inspection is completed. This is simply displacing the problem.

It also warns growers that, when they move the plants back, they will
need to install a hydro bypass to prevent detection of their hydro usage.

These bypasses, with their wiring and high energy use, present an
even greater risk of fire.

I have been a police officer for 21 years and currently run a drug
squad in the Lower Mainland.

If we want to deal effectively with this problem, the courts have to
hand out more than a small fine to offenders.

We also need uncomplicated legislation for asset seizures and a
reverse onus on growers to force them to prove where their money
comes from, similar to the rules in the U.S.

If the courts and governments don't get serious about this problem,
we will simply be chasing these growers back and forth across the
Lower Mainland.

Although these current strategies will keep my squad busy for many
years to come, I would much rather see a system with teeth that rids
our communities of marijuana and meth labs over the long term.

Daryl Tottenham,

Abbotsford