GROW-OP BYLAWS FLOATED

Would Levy Big Fines

Winnipeg police are looking at nipping the city's marijuana grow op problem
in the bud by hitting homeowners and landlords where it counts -- the
pocketbook. Drug unit Sgt. Danny Smyth told The Sun police are exploring
the potential benefits of adopting tough new municipal bylaws that are
being used in a handful of cities in B.C. and Ontario.

Cleaning Costs

In Chilliwack, B.C., where residential dope operations have flourished in
recent years, offending homeowners and landlords are subject to
court-ordered fines of up to $10,000.

They're also liable for permit fees, which include the cost of dismantling
a grow op and the cost of cleaning the home afterward. If the fees aren't
paid by the due date, they can be added to the owner's property taxes.

"The regulations put the onus back on the owner of the house," Smyth explained.

Winnipeg police are coming off a busy year for grow op busts.

Although the final plant count and dollar figure have yet to be tallied,
Smyth said cops seized a record amount of marijuana in 105 raids in 2004,
including last month's bust of an inner-city warehouse at 468 Ross Ave.
that housed a $6-million operation.

That's compared with 108 busts in 2003 and 82 in 2002.

"We seized way more marijuana (in 2004)," Smyth said.

So far this year, cops have taken down five grow ops.

Coun. Gord Steeves, head of the city's protection and community services
committee, said the grow-op bylaws are worth exploring.

"I fully support our administration looking into something like this. I
have to admit it seems fair," Steeves said yesterday. "It might seem at
first blush like a law-and-order issue, but to me it's a cost-sharing
initiative."

Since the fall, when the grow-op legislation was enacted in Chilliwack,
civic officials there have levied fines as high as $8,000 against 18 owners
of marijuana grow ops that were raided by RCMP.

And 30 offending homeowners have been ordered to pay fees that average
about $2,600.

"The real bonus to us has been the ability to recover costs and to ensure
houses are safe once a grow op has been discovered," Chilliwack Mayor Clint
Hames said, adding "taxpayers aren't subsidizing this industry in any shape
or form."

Critics have said the city is unfairly targeting landlords.

But Hames said homeowners are only heavily fined if it's proven they knew
about the illicit operation and chose to do nothing or if they were
involved from the start.

Much like Winnipeg, Chilliwack's grow ops are mostly tied to Asian-based
organized crime and outlaw motorcycle gangs.

"I can't think of anything that I want less in my community than organized
crime," Hames said, adding it's too early to tell whether the legislation
has served as an effective deterrent.