HYDROPONICS INDUSTRY GETTING 'A BAD RAP LATELY'

The hydroponics business is getting caught up in the illegal grow-op
business and it's unfair, according to one worker.

An employee who has been working in the hydroponics business for 14
years and didn't want his name or the name of the business used, said
it's worse than ever.

"It seems to have more of a bad rap lately," he said. "The RCMP thing
(where four Mounties in Alberta were killed) had an effect."

People hear this and paint a broad brush, he said.

"There's not a darn thing in here that we sell that's illegal and they
(customers) come in and they insist everything gets bagged so people
can't see them coming out with stuff," he said.

"That's how terrible it is. They're coming out with nutrients to feed
their plants and everybody is going to assume that if they're in a
hydroponics store they must be connected to something wrong."

He said people associate marijuana plants with hydroponics stores and
it affects his business.

"The media has tied us to grow-ops and grow-ops to killing police and
to booby-trapping homes and having mould and mildewy kinds of places
and wrecking the environment and ruining neighbourhoods," he said.
"That connection is very broad."

People need to think differently about hydroponics, he said.

"I hope people understand that there are people who are interested in
having little gardens in the house and pre-starting their outdoor
gardens," he said. "That's what we like to talk about."

The spectrum lights the store sells also help people with depression,
he said.

"Why not have a brighter, nicer, lusher indoors? It's better for our
health."

But he said he also deals with some shady customers.

"We get the odd person in the store asking for something that's
inappropriate; we send them out the door," he said.

He said his store offers help to people who are interested in growing
plants indoors.

"We promote the business to help people put lights in their homes so
that they can grow plants other than low-light plants, which in Canada
we're forced to do," he said.

"We're trying to promote plants that aren't low light that need good
light and good nutrition. A lot of people are into small vegetable
gardens in the winter or they grow orchids or bonsai trees. That's
what we try to promote."

His store provides proper indoor light and proper indoor nutrients, he
said, adding he offers advice on how to make plants lush and vibrant.

"If you come to the store you'll see all kinds of lush, nice, green,
colourful plants," he said.

That's the image he wants to portray.

"We've changed the look of the store," he said.

"It looks a lot brighter and happier and we have different plants with
lots of things blooming. We're doing lots of good stuff but we've been
thrown a bad wrench. We have to deal with that unfortunately. It's
frustrating."