'GROW OP'-ING IT IN SOOKE

A Sooke RCMP officer half-jokingly said that he would buy a rental property
in Afghanistan before Sooke.

And the reason for Cpl. Ray Champagne's reticence to be a local landlord?

"I've never seen so many grow ops as in Sooke," said Champagne, who has
been stationed in Sooke for almost six years after stints in Ottawa and the
Lower Mainland.

In the last five years there have been approximately 150 indoor marijuana
grow operations unearthed in the area between East Sooke to Port Renfrew,
Champagne said. Charges were not laid in all cases.

During a particular fertile 1.5-year period 55 indoor grows were cracked
but that was because the local RCMP detachment directed manpower at the
crime. Currently, stretched police resources have some difficulty
responding to the myriad of crimes, so hunting down and making a case
against those who operate the illegal greenhouses can't be a priority for
the 14-member force.

But Champagne hasn't turned his back on those out there filling their
pockets with tainted cash and wreaking physical havoc in their surroundings.

"The sad thing ... that's very upsetting ... is most grows are done by
tenants who have total disregard for people's property," he said. "They're
leaving behind a mess for the landlord."

Cam and Eva Craig are experiencing that vile destruction firsthand.

The Sooke couple have been landlords for several years, renting out a
Langford home. They encountered no problems at that location so when the
opportunity arose to buy a somewhat trashed Whiffin Spit duplex sitting on
a half-acre of land, with a very motivated seller, the couple took the bait.

Before paying $155,000, they had the house inspected, according to the
listing agent Colin Corby. "The sale was subject to a full inspection," he
said.

The only inspection done, according to Eva, was of the septic system.

Eva said when she, Cam and their agent checked the house the troubling
signs were the musty smell which was blamed on the carpets and some mould
sightings.

The owner of the house told the Craig's real estate agent that there had
been flooding in the house combined with "abusive" tenants. Minor repairs
and some TLC were apparently all that was required.

But once the Craigs got in and started to apply the elbow grease their jaws
dropped. The more they scratched the surface the more horrified they got.

After some drywall in the lower level of the two-storey structure was cut
away mould was discovered growing two or more feet up the drywall,
infiltrating the insulation and heading right to the wooden studs.

"It was just disgusting," Eva said.

There were also the holes cut in a closet wall where the grow op piping
travelled from one bedroom through the closet, through the second bedroom
and then out the back of the house via more holes in the assaulted wall.

Now the Craigs are faced with approximately $15,000 worth of renovations
and many trips to the dump to get rid of reams of black, pink, yucky,
smelly drywall and other components of a ripped apart home.

Even if the structure would have been inspected by a professional, the
damage was not visually evident.

"It's one of those things you just don't know," Eva said. "It's really hard
to protect yourself."

Corby said he wasn't aware of any recent marijuana grow operations in the
Whiffin Spit home.

Police records indicate there was a huge grow operation in the house in
1998; in July there were arrests involving cocaine at the same location.

The Craigs continue to put their sweat and tears into their property,
toiling away wearing masks because the air on the lower level is dangerous
if breathed in for an extended period.

An ozone machine operated in the lower suite, sucking out the oxygen and
everything else in the miasma.

The Craig's will eventually rent the two suites but this experience has
left Eva disillusioned.

"There's far more profit in growing drugs than in real estate," she said.

But in addition to the criminal risks, the tyrannies to health cannot be
ignored.

The acting medical health officer for the Vancouver Island Health Authority
said mould is everywhere and outside it serves its decomposition purpose
but inside it's bad news.

Dr. Brian Emerson said early mould reaction symptoms include itchy eyes,
runny nose, a cough and sore throat. Some people develop allergies or
asthma-like responses.

A rare, toxic effect of mould, still under speculation, is lung damage due
to all the toxins in the mould. And in those with compromised immune
systems, mould can latch onto their lungs and sinuses and start growing
there, Emerson said. Children and the elderly are more susceptible.

Eva was concerned about liability and if renters suddenly develop health
problems the landlord could be on the hook. She wondered how people could
live in such a noxious environment.

But they do because for the pot grower the promise of cold, hard cash seems
worth the risk to their own health and those of others. When marijuana can
be grown with up to 28 or 29 per cent THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the
make-you-high ingredient) levels in the buds of the plant, prices reflect
that quality. Back in the seventies THC levels were three to five per cent,
Champagne said.

"B.C. bud," almost a North American trade name, is smashing THC records
with the highest recorded level - 30 per cent - drawn from a Burnaby plant.

The indoor hothouses growing that potent pot are hurting Sooke's image.
"People in Victoria see Sooke as a pot place," Champagne said.

At Frances Gardens, residents of the 36-unit housing coop almost had their
sewage treatment plant go to pot along with the threat of massive
environmental fines.

Gloria Sadler, president of Frances Gardens board of directors, said former
tenants dumped phosphorus down the toilet. The element is used to fertilize
pot plants.

At the Throup Road coop it was a fiftyish man and his spouse, who had been
living at Frances Gardens for approximately 15 years, who exercised their
total disregard for others.

"It's absolutely irresponsible to dump that down the toilet," Sadler said.

Several times a week the sewage wastewater treatment plant gets checked and
when it was determined that phosphorus levels skyrocketed, the board knew
it had a problem.

Provincial Water, Land and Air Protection regulations were broken and the
possibility of shutting down the system loomed. Fortunately applications of
lime counteracted the phosphorus but tenants had to be extremely careful
with what went down the pipes.

Sadler said Frances Gardens is pretty proud of their little coop and they
want to keep it running crime-free and environmentally-safe. She just hopes
the troublemakers moved across the country.

The provincial government has changed portions of the Residential Tenancy
Act, with some of the changes clearly aimed at counteracting indoor grow
operations.

Now landlords and tenants must conduct joint inspections before tenants
move in and out and a signed report describing the condition of the unit
must also be produced.

Landlords can now evict tenants for illegal activities like mary jane grow
operations that have caused or are likely to cause damage or affect the
safety and well-being of the landlord or other tenants.

Brett Lowther, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Safety and
Solicitor General, said there are two ways that can be handled. The first
eviction notice would be for cause, with a 30-day notice to end tenancy
given to the renter.

If the landlord is concerned about waiting 30 days because they suspect a
grow operation is chugging away, the property owner can get possession
quicker. If an adjudicator agrees, a notice of eviction can now be served
within a day or two, Lowther said.

Once the Craigs have their two Sooke suites ready for occupancy, the couple
will be making regular Whiffin Spit stops.

"The only way you can protect yourself is to have regular checks on your
property," Eva said.