MARIJUANA HOUSES STILL A 'GROWING' CONCERN: POLICE

Although they've shut down a significant number of marijuana grow houses in
Halton over the past year, police are convinced there are still many indoor
drug-growing labs operating in Halton's residential neighbourhoods.

And they're continuing to ask for the public's help in identifying them.

"We did operation Green Sweep 1 and Green Sweep 2 so now they're working on
Green Sweep 3," Sgt. Val Hay of Halton police said. "So we're just trying
to get some more people to call in with information."

The green sweep operations occurred last year and saw police raid numerous
houses in Halton, seizing thousands of marijuana plants, growing machinery
and cash. The operations wiped out a number of illegal operations but
police are not yet convinced they've eliminated every illegal grow house in
the region.

"It was a new thing for a while and people were calling in a lot (with
information about possible grow houses). They are not calling in as much
anymore," added Hay. "We know they are out there, we just don't know where
they all are."

Police say grow houses also pose serious potential problems for people
living near them.

Often the electrical power supply meters inside the houses are altered so
that sufficient power can be routed into the grow house without it
registering on the meter, said Hay.

Burlington's fire department says the process to bypass the meter creates
an instant fire hazard.

"When they bypass the hydro they don't put in any breakers or safety
devices on there," Ben Rotsma, public education officer said. Without
breakers, added Rotsma, overloaded electrical outlets can spark and cause fire.

In addition to the safety concerns, bypassed hydro meters steal electricity
from the utility producing it, which in turn increases power usage and can
affect power prices.

Police estimate each grow house harvest uses $15,000 worth of electricity,
or about enough to operate 20 homes.

Hay says the public can help identify grow houses in residential
neighbourhoods by looking for the following indicators:

Covered windows -- often with black plastic or heavy curtains pressed
directly against the windows;

Condensation -- humidity caused by creating ideal growing conditions for
the plants causes excess window condensation in many grow houses;

Odd sounds -- some electrical components of grow houses make humming
sounds, similar to a transformer on a hydro pole. Other sounds could
include fans and trickling water.

Anyone with information about possible grow houses can phone Crime Stoppers
of Halton at 905-825-8477.