CHILDREN AND MARIJUANA DON'T MIX

Salmon Arm's economy is based on tourism, agriculture and forestry.
But anyone who lives here knows there is another big industry cropping
up all over the Shuswap - illegal marijuana growing operations.

Police raids on various residences in rural areas surrounding Salmon
Arm and also within city boundaries are frequent. The industry is
doing a booming business and law enforcement is hard-pressed to keep
enforcing the law.

There's a whole host of problems that come along with marijuana
growing operations including the theft of hydro, which hurts rates for
everyone, and the risk of fires. Salmon Arm has seen a few house fires
in recent years which housed grow operations and the rural area has
also dealt with a number of large blazes stemming from the drug grows
inside homes, barns or bunkers.

But there is another element about illegal drug growing operations
which causes concern. These operations do not run by themselves. There
are people behind each of those plants. Some may be taking the risk
entirely on their own, however, sometimes there are innocent victims -
children living in these homes. Children living in grow-ops can be
exposed to chemicals, electrical fires and mould. It is clearly not a
healthy environment. The Alberta government has taken the lead and
recently laid the first charges against parents whose children were
allegedly found living in homes with marijuana grow operations. Called
the Drug Endangered Children Act, it allows police to immediately
remove children from homes where drugs are sold or produced and lay
separate criminal charges for that offense. A current case involves
charges against the parents of a four-year-old and an
18-month-old.

The cases have not yet been dealt with by the courts, but it is our
hope that judges will recognize the potential harm that could come to
innocent children living in those conditions and will apply penalties
that include a $25,000 fine, two years in jail or both.

While the Shuswap has not seen a flood of these situations, tools
should be in place to deal quickly and effectively should a child be
found in a grow-op and additional charges may discourage others from
running similar risks with young lives.

We encourage our own provincial government to create similar
legislation. Exposing a child to a drug-growing environment deserves
to be a criminal offence on its own, with separate and severe
punishments to those parents who endanger the lives of their offspring
in such an obvious way.