Pubdate: Thu, 30 Oct 2008
Source: Peace Arch News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 Peace Arch News
Contact:  http://www.peacearchnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1333

JUSTICE SMART LIVES UP TO HIS SURNAME

The B.C. Supreme Court got it right.

Last week, Justice William Smart ruled that Surrey's grow-op 
inspection initiative - the Safety Standards Amendment Act - does not 
violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and can continue 
to be used to combat marijuana grow operations in Surrey, and by 
extension, all B.C. municipalities.

The one caveat?

The teams, previously made up of city bylaw inspectors, fire 
department members and RCMP officers, can no longer use police to 
inspect the premises.

"A police search of a private residence, even when conducted in aid 
of an electrical safety inspection, is intrusive," Smart said.

Fair enough.

After all, keeping cops out of the equation won't impact the 
effectiveness of the program. Prosecution was never the intention of 
the initiative, which was launched by Surrey Fire Chief Len Garis in 
March 2005 after a successful pilot project in Surrey.

Homeowners with unusually high power consumption are notified they 
will be subject to an inspection.

If they refuse, or a grow operation is found, the power to the home 
is shut off.

No juice, no ganja. And the concept has worked. Since its inception 
three years ago, the Surrey grow-op team has shut down nearly 1,000 
pot operations. Garis believes many growers have moved to the B.C. 
Interior. (Maybe communities there should look at implementing Surrey's idea).

Marijuana grow operations have become a scourge of neighbourhoods.

They bring with them the threat of violence, and once growers move 
on, the damaged homes - often contaminated with mould and other 
toxins - are passed on to unsuspecting buyers.

Surrey's inspection teams are an effective tool in the fight against 
drug crime.

Justice Smart lived up to his surname with this decision.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart