POT HOMES TO BE INSPECTED

Clean Bill Of Health Before Resale; Mayor

CLARINGTON - Marijuana growhouses will have to get a clean bill of health
before they're resold to an unsuspecting public, says Clarington Mayor John
Mutton.

Following a raid on an Orono home last month where $335,000 in marijuana
plants were confiscated, the mayor said he wants the municipality to ensure
the houses are safe before they are put back on the market.

Often, when the houses are converted to pot growhouses, they are damaged
when the operators dig through to illegally hook up electricity and make
other structural changes to accommodate their operations.

"When anything is done to the structure it is supposed to have a building
permit," says Mayor Mutton. "When they're doing renovations they're
jackhammering through block walls and making significant structural
changes. We have asked the Durham Regional Police to inform us when they
find one of these growhouses. We will have our building inspector go in and
it will have to be brought up to standard.

"I think it's pretty important we do that," adds the mayor. "Also, with all
the heat that gets into the house the structural integrity may be
compromised. We should be taking a look."

Tony Cannella, Clarington's director of engineering, agrees.

"We will have staff inspect the house to make sure it's structurally sound
and doesn't pose any hazard."

If there is a problem, he says, an order will be put against the home for
the situation to be corrected prior to further occupancy.

If the owner does not fix the problem, any potential buyer will see there
is an order against the property as part of the paperwork involved in a
purchase, he explains.

"It won't tell them the house was used as a growhouse but it will tell them
there is an order against it, just like an outstanding lien."

The Orono home is one of dozens of houses that have been converted to
growhouses, discovered by police in Durham in the past year. Many of the
homes had been rented out.