SPRAY TOUTED AS BEING POT'S WORST ENEMY

A new product is being touted as a way to curb illegal marijuana grow
operations in rental properties, but Abbotsford Police want to see
scientific data before they buy the claim.

On Tuesday, an Abbotsford home was treated with NoGrow, a hemp-based pollen
that is sprayed into the furnace's fan and then distributed through the
household vent system.

If one spore attaches itself to one marijuana flower or bud, it turns to
seed in 48 hours, claims Michael Glendinning, spokesman for the company.

"Seed is worthless," he said.

That claim has sparked laughter from local marijuana legalization advocate
Tim Felger.

"Seeds are worth more than the plants,' he said.

"The reason everybody does clones is because they don't know how to do
seeds," he said, adding that growers don't always know how to market seeds.

NoGrow, which costs about $500 annually, was used at the Abbotsford home
Tuesday at the request of Kathy McNabb of Central Valley property
Management Ltd.

In the last three years, there have been two grow operations at the 200 or
so properties they manage, and McNabb notes homeowners shell out thousands
of dollars to repair damage caused by grow operations and pay for inspections.

Because of the product, she believes people would be "very unlikely" to
rent from her if they grow.

Glendinning said the product is a "deterrent" to growers and said the
fledgling company has spent two and a half years testing the product.

"It works," he said. "I've personally never grown marijuana and tested it.
I've seen the effects of it."

He claims he has documentation from UBC that the company's theory is
effective. However, the professor named in a letter NoGrow displayed
Tuesday said she only confirmed publically available scientific references
that back up claims made by the inventor, but the university has not tested
the product. Glendinning admitted only testing to sell NoGrow as a natural
product has been completed. No independent testing of the effectiveness of
NoGrow has been done because it is too costly, he said.

Abbotsford Police Const. Shinder Kirk said scientific data is needed before
they could endorse the product.

"It could work," he said. "I'm not a botanist or a scientist and we'd need
some hard scientific data."

Kirk said police have busted more than 100 grow operations in 2003.

There are approximately 50,000 grow operations in Canada, with half in
southern B.C.