GROW HOUSES A RISING CONCERN

One hot summer day there was a man cutting grass in a balaclava when she
drove by; a few weeks later the same Melancthon house was busted for being
a marijuana grow house.

"I said, 'They're growing marijuana in there and everybody I talked to came
up with all kinds of excuses, but I was right,'" Coun. Debbie Fawcett said
during an OPP presentation on grow houses to county council last Thursday.

During the hour-long slide presentation Det. Sgt. Jamie Ciotka showed
council pictures of some of the nearly 50 grow house operations that have
been shut down in Dufferin this year.

"There's been millions of dollars seized here in marijuana," he said.

He said it's up to everyone to know what to look for, to ensure that these
houses don't set up in their neighbourhoods.

But, he warned, grow houses can crop up anywhere which makes them difficult
to spot. Still, he explained there are a few common factors that grow
houses need to be profitable.

Most grow houses are located in commuter towns so that "people don't get
curious when they come home after 7 p.m." Ciotka explained that grow house
operators prefer the homes have attached garages so that they never have to
see the neighbours. They also tend to check on things after dark. In every
home he's investigated, the culprits never use the front door.

"These people profile homes with full basements -- usually full basement
bungalows because they hold the most," Ciotka said.

Over half the time, he said, grow houses are located 500 metres from
schools in busy subdivisions. This, he says, proves that "it doesn't have
to be in the country it just has to fit the profile."

Other signs include a "skunk like odour" and blacked-out windows. In the
winter, grow houses don't have as much snow on them as other homes because
of all the heat generated inside from hydroponic equipment.

Ciotka also said that in the last year 76 per cent of people charged in
connection with local grow houses were of Asian descent. "This is what we
are finding in Dufferin County," he said. "These people are associated with
Asian organized crime. It's a way of getting them into the country. They do
this in exchange. It's a vicious cycle."