A GROWING TREND

Number Of Marijuana Grow Houses Increasing: Police

It looks like any other house except nobody lives there.

It's not a typical house, though. Instead of people living in it, the home
has marijuana plants living in it - many, many marijuana plants.

Referred to as a grow houses, the trend of using residential homes for
large-scale growing operations is on the rise. A bust on June 13 south of
Tillsonburg meant this area is no longer immune to the trend that has been
sweeping Ontario.

In that case, officers entered two different homes, one on Reg. Rd. 21 and
the other on Reg. Rd. 60 in Norfolk Township, and found grow operations.
Value of marijuana and paraphernalia seized was estimated at more than
$300,000.

In another recent bust, arrests were made in connection with a smaller-scale
grow house in Otterville. That was the third grow house found in the Norwich
area since the end of June. Another two grow houses were taken down in the
north end of Oxford in the past couple of months.

In an interview with The News, Detective Sergeant Brad Durphy, head of the
London OPP Drug Enforcement Section, explained the growing trend towards
grow houses. He has seen an increase in industrial-type grows in the area he
oversees in the last two years. The London unit covers 10 counties, across
an area that stretches from Owen Sound to Chatham-Kent and Niagara Falls.

The reason for the increase in the number of growing operations is simple:
it's lucrative.

Assisted by 1,000-watt grow lights and exhaust fans, as many as 600 plants
grow in the basement of a typical grow house. However, a bust earlier this
week found 1,540 plants growing in a house in the west end of Elgin County.
Larger operations can net as much as $250,000 per year.

The houses are often in rural areas or areas fringing large cities, but they
have also been found in $300,000 homes in London. The houses can either be
purchased solely for the purpose of a grow house or can be rented without
the landlord knowing what's going on.

There is often little traffic around a grow house as far as people coming
and going. The yard not being kept up to the same standards as neighbours is
another indicator of a grow house. Quite often there is no one living there,
just people coming to care for the plants. Curtains being drawn and the same
lights going on and off at preset intervals are telltale signs there is no
one living in the home.

However, there have been cases where someone has lived in the upstairs
portion of the house. Houses with garages are typically used so the grow
producer can load plants and unload supplies without being seen.

In many cases, grow house operators not only break the law by cultivating a
narcotic, but also steal electricity by supplying power for the grow lights
by bypassing the electrical meter. At 1,000 watts each, and with as many as
35 grow lights in an operation, there is a large draw of power. Normal usage
for household functions is still put through the meter.

"It would look to Ontario Hydro like it's a standard house operating with
standard kilowatt usage," Durphy said.

With the operators themselves often making the electrical alterations,
Durphy said there is a danger of shock and fire.

"It's extremely dangerous," he said. "You can imagine someone tapping into
240 volts."

Grow houses can be set up with plants growing in either soil or
hydroponically. The plants can be trimmed to height or shape by manicuring.
Durphy said indoor marijuana is often a higher grade because nutrients,
lighting and pests can be controlled.

"You are Mother Nature at that time and you don't have to rely on a drought
or a wet period."

Durphy is unsure why there is an increase in the occurrence of grow houses.
Statistics from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health show a slight
increase in use of marijuana by adults between 1999 and 2000, but nothing
alarming. There is however a marked increase in use among 18 to 29
year-olds, rising from 18.3 per cent in 1996 to 28.2 per cent in 2000.

In the last couple of years, the drug enforcement unit has noticed some
decrease in outdoor marijuana growing operations. Durphy said police can't
determine if that trend is because not as much marijuana is being planted
outdoors or the plants are perishing because of the dry weather.

Grow house operators face a variety of criminal charges if caught by police.
Possession of a narcotic, possession for the purpose of trafficking and
production of marijuana are the usual charges.

Punishment doled out by the courts from indoor grows is not necessarily much
different from a similar-sized outdoor operation, with a couple of
exceptions. If the house is owned by those growing the marijuana, it can be
confiscated by the courts as a proceed of crime. While police often have a
difficult time finding those responsible for outdoor growing operations,
they nearly always get their man (or lady) with indoor operations.

Even if the court doesn't seize the house, often it is devalued after being
used for a marijuana grow. The lights are so hot in the basement, the amount
of moisture produced surpasses what can be disposed of by exhaust fans.
Black mould is a huge problem and it usually can't be solved except by
replacing all the interior walls.

"It's in the drywall, in the actual studs and penetrates the walls," Durphy
said.

Attic insulation can also be ruined from the production of so much moisture.
It can get to the point the moisture builds up to such an extent on the
interior of the roof it drips onto the attic insulation and ruins it.

Anyone suspecting a grow house in their neighbourhood can contact their
local detachment or Crime Stoppers.

QUOTE

The reason for the increase in the number of growing operations is simple:
it's lucrative.