RE MARIJUANA GROW-OP SERIES

Re your series on marijuana grow-ops: I'm a detective responsible for a
team of drug officers in York Region and I would like to set some facts
straight.

What Toronto is doing with their structural and environmental assessments
has been utlized in B.C. for years. It's nothing new.

Most of these houses are bought by organized crime groups using fictitious
documents to obtain mortgages. The banks then end up holding the bill.

In B.C., the houses are being demolished because the remediation costs
outweigh the value of the home. The town then becomes responsible. Toronto
could end up with 25,000 homes they will be responsible for.

The provincial government will be dealing with this issue, which is the
right approach. In York, we are attempting to seize the assets through new
legislation. Again, the crime groups adapt and only put the minimum
payments down and after three months have made $300,000 from their first
crop and can walk away from the house.

We have to look at what B.C. has done. The bottom line is that it is
organized crime behind these operations and they adapt to legislation 100
times quicker than the government can produce it.

On a positive note, at least the provincial government is acting. It's
great to see the media taking an interest in this issue. Keep up the good work.

Det. Don Cardwell

(Keep up the good advice)