GROWING POT COSTS TAXPAYERS

The cultivation of marijuana is big business in British Columbia. With
estimates ranging from $4 to 6 billion, all tax-free, marijuana has become
our province's biggest cash crop.

However, the negative consequences of so-called grow-ops are not restricted
to the effects the product has on the human body and mind.

In order to fuel the growth in grow-ops and the dependency hundreds of
thousands of our citizens have on drugs, law-abiding taxpayers are being
victimized.

The proposed action being contemplated by the city of Surrey deserves to be
carefully considered and not dismissed out of hand.

Tired of seeing almost a million dollars of taxes go towards the
surveillance, shutting down and damage caused by grow-ops when operated
from rented residential properties, Surrey mayor Doug McCallum wants to
assess a penalty of $7,500 on negligent landlords who allow their rental
properties to be used for this illegal purpose.

Without the threat of this penalty, the mayor argues, landlords will not
monitor their properties more effectively.

Regardless of your position on drugs, it cannot be denied that British
Columbia has become a desired place for drug dealers to operate. Police
estimate there are between 15,000 to 20,000 grow-ops in Greater Vancouver.
They are located in every class of neighbourhood.

The reason for their proliferation is the lure of tremendous economic gain
with minor punishment, if apprehended at all. The average grow-op crop
yields $300,000, tax free, with sophisticated operations generating three
harvests per year.

In order to begin your grow-op, all you require is a rental home and
between $5,000 and $20,000 worth of equipment. And, if you are caught, the
average penalties are laughable, usually a fine of $1,000 to $3,000 for
first-time offenders. It is no wonder that criminal gangs and organized
crime control the majority of the drug trade.

Should landlords be fined if they allow their house to be used as a
grow-op? They will already suffer if their property has been violated.

In addition to the extensive damage the operators will do to the premises,
the high humidity required to grow pot will create mould and wood decay
that will severely damage the entire structure. Insurance will not cover
their losses.

Clearly, much of this problem would be solved if landlords or their agents
better screened their prospective tenants and conducted regularly scheduled
inspections of their property.

Finally, it is not just the owners of these grow-ops who are victimized by
drugs. Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are spent on the war on drugs
and the treatment of addicts.

It is estimated that 80 per cent of all property crimes are drug-related as
addicts must steal to feed their drug habit, a dependency that makes them
largely unable to secure and hold a regular job.

Therefore, even if drugs were legal, how will the addicts pay for their
vice when the effects of the drugs render them unfocused and unproductive?