Pubdate: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 Source: Burnaby Now, The (CN BC) Copyright: 2001 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc. Contact: http://www.burnabynow.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1592 Author: Bill McCarthy - Burnaby NOW On the Market columnist Note: Bill McCarthy is president and CEO of W.P.J. McCarthy & Co. Ltd., a Burnaby firm specializing in property management and development. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) 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? - --- MAP posted-by: Beth