UXBRIDGE POTS MORE ASSISTANCE FROM POLICE

Potential Homebuyers Can Research If Building Was A Grow
Op

UXBRIDGE -- It's now easier for potential homebuyers in Uxbridge to
weed out locations deemed a marijuana grow op by Durham police.

Durham Regional Police sent a letter to Uxbridge council outlining
changes to their notification policies as per Municipal Act
amendments, Bill 128. "It will be the policy of (police) to notify the
clerk of the municipality in writing where a marijuana grow operation
is found in a residence or other building in the Region of Durham,"
reads a statement from Durham police dated March 26. Previously, a
home used to grow pot could be put back on the market following an
arrest.

The police note municipalities are responsible to take "appropriate
inspection measures... by authorities within a reasonable time, to
identify and list all hazards resulting from the marijuana grow
operation." The police will post a notice on the entrance of a
building stating a grow-op has been found inside and the municipality
has been alerted.

Debbie Leroux, Uxbridge's clerk, said after the Township receives the
notice from police, "there is an obligation of notice" to homebuyers,
but only if the buyer comes to the Township for information. "If they
request records we have to inform them. (After that) the onus is on
the purchaser if they proceed."

She noted bylaw and building staff have attended a "number of courses"
regarding the changes, but she added there are "loopholes" in the
requirements. "What constitutes a grow op... four (pot) plants or four
hundred plants?" she asked.

In January, York and Durham police seized more than $1 million worth
of marijuana during a raid at a Zephyr home. Seven people were
arrested, including the parents of an infant, who was taken into the
care of the Children's Aid Society. Councillor Howie Herrema, chairman
of emergency services, noted two other grow ops were discovered in
town by the fire department while responding to unrelated calls in
recent history.

There are currently no province-wide standards for fixing up former
marijuana grow ops. It is up to individual municipalities to determine
and impose standards. York police say the mould that grows as a result
of warm, moist conditions needed for marijuana production pumps about
400,000 mould spores per million into the air, whereas normal air has
about 14,000 spores of mould per million. Mould can cause major health
problems for people with asthma or other breathing
sensitivities.

"Marijuana grow operations pose a serious threat to the safety and
security of our communities and the Durham Regional Police Service is
committed to working with municipalities and other stakeholders to
eliminate them," reads the Durham police statement.

Staff of the Township's building department will be called into
council chambers to discuss grow-ops sometime in the near future, said
Alex Grant, chief administrative officer.

with files from Joe Fantauzzi
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