Pubdate: Tue, 27 Feb 2007
Source: Ladysmith Chronicle (CN BC)
Copyright: 2007 BC Newspaper Group & New Media
Contact:  http://www.ladysmithchronicle.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1279
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada)

NEW GROW-OP BYLAW MISGUIDED

When a property owner rents out a home or apartment there is a tacit 
(and legal) expectation that the tenant will not destroy the property 
by converting it into a mini-marijuana factory.

However, a new bylaw passed by North Cowichan council on Feb. 21 
meant to curtail marijuana production in the area and limit the 
amount of damage that activity does to rental units represents an 
affront to tenants rights and will do little to limit the amount of 
marijuana on mid-Island streets.

With house prices rising faster on Vancouver Island than most 
residents' income, the prospect of owning a home is fast becoming a 
distant goal for young people and those of limited means. 
Accordingly, the number of people renting or leasing accommodation is 
sure to rise, as will the number of people trying to establish 
comfortable lives for themselves under somebody else's roof.

The 95-plus per cent of these tenants not cultivating marijuana 
should feel comfortable knowing that their landlord has faith in 
their stewardship of the property.

Nothing prevents property owners from paying regular visits to their 
homes or apartments provided adequate notice is given to the tenants, 
and most law-abiding renters are willing to oblige. If property 
owners opt not to visit, it is because they believe their property is 
in good hands.

For more proactive landlords who do pay regular visits, it is not 
hard to detect the presence of a grow-op in their property. The bags 
of fertilizer, spent halide light bulbs, and empty plastic pots piled 
up beside the house are usually a good indication of the activities 
being conducted on the other side of the walls, not to mention the 
lingering aroma of skunk in the air.

The production and cultivation of marijuana is a police matter. If 
responsibility now falls to landlords to act as marijuana watchdogs, 
why not broaden their mandate?

When visiting a tenant they could take a list of police-prepared 
questions to ask -- "Excuse me ma'am, has your husband struck you at 
any time in the last two months?" -- or give them the power to obtain 
telephone and computer records to analyze for evidence of fraud 
committed from within the dwelling.

The bylaw established in North Cowichan may very well dissuade 
small-fish marijuana producers from setting up shop in the basement 
of someone's duplex, but the big fish will remain free to conduct 
their business.

They are the one's who tend large outdoor fields far from prying 
public eyes. They are the ones who own farms and warehouses and run 
legitimate businesses to wash the proceeds of their trade. Finally, 
they are the ones who put the drugs on the street. They are not the 
mom and pop operations that tend a few plants for personal recreational use.

This bylaw is less about drugs than it is about ensuring property 
owners don't suffer an economic blow when their house is converted to 
a grow-show.

But as any savvy investor knows, it's up to you to keep an eye on 
your investment ledger and there's no one else to blame when you take a loss.

Leave the policing to the police, and let landlords pay the price for 
their passivity. Good landlords know their tenants and neither want 
the burden of municipally-legislated house calls.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom