BUDDING SOLUTIONS NEEDED BEYOND PUNITIVE ACTION AGAINST LANDLORDS

Chilliwack city council is proposing a bylaw that will inflict a
maximum $10,000 fine on landlords who don't comply with a list of
demands created to quell the growing number of marijuana
grow-operations here.

While we applaud any move designed to rid our city of organized crime,
the proposed bylaw will ultimately hurt renters who can ill afford
another increase.

We would like to see Mayor Clint Hames and council study more creative
approaches to this complex problem. One simple solution could be to
help landlords in our area install pollen dispensers into the air
systems of their houses.

Marijuana growers cultivate only female plants. B.C. bud is dripping
with the active drug (THC) because the females crave pollination.
Growers go to great lengths to keep their plants pollen free. Any
pollen whatsoever turns the plants into useless weeds full of seeds.

The city could give landlords a discount on the dispensers. And the
$180,000 taxpayers are currently paying annually to have our own
anti-grow squad within the RCMP could buy a lot of pollen to feed
plants in locations where operations are suspected.