Pubdate: Sun, 05 Nov 2006
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2006 The Calgary Sun
Contact:  http://www.calgarysun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
Author: Dave Breakenridge
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

ROTTEN BUSINESS

Some Homes Forced To Clean Up, Others Deemed Unfit For Living As 
Illegal Grow-Ops Sprout In Hundreds Of City Residences

EDITOR'S NOTE: Between Oct. 3, 2005, and Sept. 28, 2006, executive 
orders were put in place by the Calgary Health Region condemning or 
clearing 223 homes used as marijuana grow operations. Millions of 
dollars worth of city real estate was declared unfit for human 
habitation or deemed safe to live in again, but only after a lengthy 
and costly cleanup. Few parts of the city were left untouched by a 
lucrative criminal enterprise, one considered by law enforcement as a 
low-risk, high-reward venture. The Sun's Dave Breakenridge looks at 
the long list of Calgary's growing problem.

It looks like any other house, but what lurks within is of serious concern.

Mould, fertilizer and pesticides are the likely culprits, as is the 
threat of fire and electrocution from the previous resident's illegal 
operations.

The blinds are always drawn, the occupants keep to themselves, 
leaving neighbours suspicious but oblivious, until one day the cops 
come knocking.

Ray and Eileen, who live near a house in Deer Run raided last fall, 
said they were surprised to find the police clearing out their 
neighbour's unassuming bungalow.

"It was always only one guy in there," said Ray, who didn't want his 
last name used, adding the man who was living in the house kept the 
front yard clean and the grass cut.

"All of a sudden, there are all these cops there."

Eileen said after sitting vacant for months, the home was sold and 
fixed up and is now occupied by a young couple.

Daryl Hill, who lives in Woodbine, said he was shocked to see the 
cops raiding a nearby home two months ago, less than a year after new 
people moved in.

"One day we had 15 vehicles from the city out front," he said.

"It's a shame and a shock for us. It's normally somewhere else, never 
across the street."

The home now sits vacant, with the condemnation order visible in the window.

 From Saddle Ridge to Sundance, Erin Woods to Arbour Lake, grow-ops 
are popping up faster than ever, leaving behind a slew of serious 
health and safety hazards.

Vicki Wearmouth, the CHR's grow-op inspector, says what she finds in 
an overwhelming majority of these homes puts people's health at risk.

"I know most people think the mould is the big issue, but that's just 
part of it," said Wearmouth, who visits 90% of the homes raided by police.

"We have chemical contamination -- a whole variety of fertilizers and 
pesticides, usually mixed together in a slurry."

Those chemicals are sprayed not just over the pot plants, but on 
walls and ceilings, creating a toxic build-up that could potentially 
make people sick.

People who run grow-ops will also routinely damage a home's structure 
trying to illegally tap into a power source.

After a grow-op is raided, Wearmouth said, the city often shuts off 
the power, water and gas to the home.

"And that combined is an unfit environment to live in," she said.

But just because it's condemned, doesn't mean it can't be sold, Wearmouth said.

"As long as it's not causing a nuisance to the neighbourhood, it can 
remain in that condition," she said.

But for someone to live in any of the homes again, every item in the 
condemnation order has to be repaired, in some cases meaning the home 
has to be gutted.

"In each order, we indicate what we want done, whether it's removal 
of all the drywall, insulation and vapour barrier, and sometimes it's 
just cleaning," Wearmouth said, adding the worst home she inspected 
ended up being torn down.

To have an order lifted, a homeowner needs to meet all the conditions 
of the inspector, and the work needs to be done by licensed 
contractors and environmental consultants.

It usually costs a minimum of $35,000 to clean up a house.

Wearmouth signs off on all orders lifted, and says people shouldn't 
worry about their health if they're moving into one of these homes.

One house cleared in the last year, recently adorned with Halloween 
decorations, has evidence a lot of work was done to clean it up.

"I like to think it's a safe place to live in," she said.

"I can only imagine the paperwork that comes across my desk is 
legitimate. That's why we ask for qualified, licensed contractors and 
environmental companies.

"But there's never a 100-percent guarantee."

Know When A Home's Gone To Pot

The clues of marijuana growing operations may include:

- - Covered windows. (i.e. foil)

- - Continual and suspicious comings and goings

- - People hauling or constructing a watering system into a building.

- - People hauling suspicious types of material or garbage away from 
their buildings and property. (i.e. plastic sheeting, fertilizer bags 
or containers, plant stocks, plastic piping materials, plastic pots, 
CO2 tanks, fuel tanks, etc.)

- - Abnormally warm buildings. (In winter, snow may melt off the roofs 
of buildings.)

- - Loud exhaust or humidifier fans

- - Unusual "skunky" smell emanating from the exhaust fans

- - Heavy deodorants and/or air fresheners to mask the smell of marijuana

- - The noise of a diesel/ gas/propane power generator. (Diversionary 
method of providing electricity for the grow site.)

- - Unusual electrical hook-ups

- - Humming sounds given off by lights and electrical transformers used 
to provide heat and false sunlight.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman