Pubdate: Sun, 08 Nov 2009 Source: Medicine Hat News (CN AB) Copyright: 2009 Alberta Newspaper Group, Inc. Contact: http://www.medicinehatnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1833 Author: Ken Gousseau Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mjcn.htm (Cannabis - Canada) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) REALTORS WANT GUIDELINES FOR DRUG HOUSES Realtors are lobbying the provincial government to adopt standards for cleaning up houses used to grow or manufacture drugs. In a recent report, the Alberta Real Estate Association released guidelines from commissioned experts for air quality in former drug houses. "We identified the fact that there was no standard anywhere in the province or anywhere in Canada, for that matter, to remediate the air quality," said Bill Fowler, the association's director of industry and government relations. "Typically these homes have all sorts of problems associated with them." The added humidity from growing marijuana plants or cooking methamphetamine often creates mould in the home that can have serious impacts on health. Medicine Hat realtor Ellen Baba says in many cases, real estate agents have no way of determining if drugs were produced in the home they are selling. "There have been people in Medicine Hat who have purchased homes where there were grow-ops and if we don't know, we're not serving our clients correctly," Baba said. "There definitely should be guidelines." The real estate association wants the province to require certification that homes used in drug operations have been adequately reclaimed before they are sold on the market. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D