Legal pot plants a growing worry

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This article was published 23/10/2017 (3243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Real estate agents are worried about damage to home interiors with the proliferation of legal medical marijuana grow-ops in residences, even before marijuana is legalized in Canada.

Peter Squire, vice-president of the Winnipeg Realtors Association, said members of the Canadian Real Estate Association were in Ottawa last week to meet with federal MPs.

One of the chief topics discussed was Bill C-45, the law to make cannabis legal across Canada in July.

“(The association) does have several concerns about the implications and consequences of personal cultivation for homes and homeowners,” he said, noting damage from mould is a major issue.

“There are health and safety concerns, as well as questions regarding homeowner rights, enhanced disclosure requirements, effective oversight and enforcement of home grow operations.”

As reported in Saturday’s Free Press, some Winnipeg police officers have got headaches from medically approved grow-ops.

Currently, when police smash an illegal marijuana grow-op, the address information becomes public, and real estate agents must disclose what used to be grown inside the house to would-be buyers.

Winnipeg Police Service Sgt. Carrol MacDonald said police hands are tied when it comes to people approved by Health Canada to grow marijuana for their own medical purposes or who designate others to grow it for them.

MacDonald said because of privacy concerns, police can’t tell anyone they are legal grow-ops. No one knows what was grown at a residence. Officers worry about the safety of medical marijuana growers — there were two home invasions last month by people who knew plants were growing at the locations.

She questioned why some people have permission to grow hundreds of plants.

“If there’s a need for marijuana (for cancer patients), I’m all for it,” she said. “But while 10 plants would do no harm, 292 plants is outrageous. I’d like somebody to give me a sensible explanation. If I get one, as to why somebody is that sick (that) they need 292 plants, I’d accept it.”

Health Canada says 210,000 Canadians have permission to use medical marijuana. Most of them buy it through federally approved companies, but more than 11,000 Canadians either grow it themselves or have designated someone to grow it for them.

A Health Canada spokesman confirmed Friday somewhere in Canada there is an individual who has been approved to grow 1,256 marijuana plants inside or 490 plants outside. That’s based on a doctor’s prescription of 258 grams per day.

The spokesman said about half the people who produce their own, grow enough plants for one gram to 10 grams of marijuana per day. That means half are growing from five to 49 plants indoors or two to 19 outdoors.

Squire said that’s why the association wants the law to include proper disclosure and national remediation standards for personal cultivation in residences.

“We call them home-ops because whether they are legal or not, they are still growing plants,” he said. “We need to have mediation standards for all homes. Medical ones can do as much damage to a house as other grow-ops. What have they done to make it safe for somebody else?

“No one, including our members, is saying there isn’t value for what marijuana does for these people, but we need to protect people. What does it take to make your house safe for a future buyer?”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca