Pubdate: Wed, 28 Feb 2001
Source: Westender (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 WestEnder
Contact:  200-1490 West Broadway, Vancouver, B.C., V6H 4E8
Website: http://www.westender.com/
Author: Mary Frances Hill

GROW-OPS ON THE INCREASE

One down, 599 to go. A small, unassuming house on East 1st. Avenue made 
city history last month after police discovered it contained Vancouver's 
biggest-ever hydroponic marijana grow-operation.

Firefighters responded to a call of a fire Feb. 5 in the street's 2100 
block, only to discover 1,000 high-grade plants worth about $1.4 million on 
the street.

If the find came as a surprise to the public, it was just another day for 
the city police drug squad and Growbusters, a group of city, fire and 
police inspectors devoted to shutting down the suspected 600 operations in 
Vancouver homes.

Since March 2000, the small Growbusters team has raided 350 marijuana 
grow-ops in the city. But with every bust, two or three more suspect homes 
pop up on the list, says Carlene Robbins, manager of the city bylaw 
adminstration branch, which oversees the Growbusters program.

This month Growbusters inspectors will ask the city to continue the program 
another year. Robbins is optimistic it will continue, given that it runs at 
no cost to city taxpayers: the city recovers the cost of its staff workload 
and brings those houses' conditions back up to to city code by charging 
permit fees to the home-owners.

Last year, Growbusters helped police seize $45.8 million worth of plants, 
$2.7 million in equipment and $161,000 in cash.

The project sprung out of the Eastside Collingwood neighbourhood, where 
residents were quick to report suspected operations to the local community 
police office. Most tips come from neighbours; Robbins says every report 
the city receives of suspected grow-ops has proven to be correct.

Residents report suspicions when neighbours only come out at night, a 
strange smell seeps from the home, and windows consistently show 
condensation caused by the density of humidity-loving plants, says Robbins. 
Inside, the grow-op homes are usually covered with mould, holes are cut 
into floors, and operators have tampered with furnaces and electrical systems.

Once a search warrant is obtained, Growbusters enter the suspected grow-op, 
seize plants, fix fire hazards, and disconnect all electrical services.

Grow-op farmers can be charged with possession for purposes of trafficking 
and possession of a controlled substance. Without a criminal record, a 
convicted grow-operator can be sentenced to a year in prison. Good 
behaviour usually whittles that time to two months-a fact that is not lost 
on Doug Bain, co-ordinator of the city's drug enforcement program.

Short sentences frustrate police, who have seen more grow-ops on their 
suspect list since the B.C. Supreme Court shortened prison time from two-to 
one-year terms.

While Vancouverites are known for a general casual  attitude toward 
recreational drug use, there's little tolerance for large-scale marijuana 
growers in residential neighbourhoods.

"Sure, there's a liberal attitude toward marijuana-unless the grow-op is 
next door to their house," says Bain.

He says police are also frustrated that Growbusters only shuts down the 
operations, but does not necessarily lead to arrests and convictions. 
Police research has shown that the suspicious-homes list proves to include 
about 10 per cent of the grow-ops that are really out there, he says.

Ron Ritchie, deputy chief in charge of fire prevention for the Vancouver 
Fire Department, notes that grow-op operators are becoming more technical 
and sophisticated in their ventures.

Operators often cook and heat with propane in order to direct electric 
energy indoors; they construct "false walls"-displaying front rooms that 
gives the illusion of a normal home. Security bars and windows are common 
in grow-ops and frustrating to firefighters.

Those risks are taken as the cost of doing business in this lucrative 
trade, says RCMP Cpl. Scott Rintoul, who estimates there are about 12,000 
grow-ops in B.C.

An average yield of 100 plants converts to about 20 pounds of marijuana. 
Depending on quality, each pound of pot can get about $3,500. Rintoul 
estimates B. C. growers enjoy an industry that earns them a total of 
between $2.8 to $3.5 billion per year.

When Growbusters shuts down an operation, any new homeowners or renters are 
notified of the building's former life, says Robbins.

"The problem is that it really is so unsafe that even if marijuana was made 
legal, we don't want growing happening in Vancouver homes."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens