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. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom