MArriAge goes to pot, Couple squABBles over grow op CAsh

VANCOUVER A B.C. couple who ran a lucrative but illegal marijuana growing business for two decades found themselves in a tricky situation when their marriage went to pot.

During a bitter divorce battle, they tried to divvy up their illicit weed assets.

The couple, identified only as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, were married for 30 years but separated five years ago, according to B.C. Supreme Court documents filed this week in Vancouver. They have two daughters, one a teacher and the other a lawyer.

The court says the Smiths were engaged in a successful “family business,” growing and selling pot for more than 20 years in B.C., California and Alberta.

But because of the illegal nature of the business, their income was received in cash and they didn’t keep accurate books.

The court says the couple’s evidence of sales was “oral, inferential, thin and often contradictory,” and as such they lacked credibility.

“In this case, the evidence of both parties relating to the details of the marijuana grow operations, and the cash generated from that business, was unreliable. I was asked to draw inferences from recollections, which were inconsistent and unsupported by helpful documentary evidence,” said Justice Wendy Baker.

Mrs. Smith made a video, which showed a disagreement between the parties on the night Mr. Smith left the family home in 2013. In the video, he could be seen taking a clear plastic bag filled with U.S. money out of the bathroom.

Mrs. Smith testified that she put the bag in the bathroom and that it contained approximately $60,000 to $80,000, which Mr. Smith had given to her for the purposes of running the household. But Mr. Smith said it was only $20,000 and that he grabbed it because there was at least that much money set aside in their safe-deposit box, according to the documents.

“Other than the inconsistent statements of these witnesses, no other evidence was presented to tend to confirm either version of events. All I can conclude is that there was some money taken by Mr. Smith,” Baker said in the ruling.

The couple ran several growing operations, and owned homes over the years in Coquitlam and Langley, B.C., California and La Paz, Mexico. They later bought a home in Grand Forks, N.D.

The documents show the Smiths started with a grow op at the Coquitlam property in 1987 and later operated one out of California.

The court says they were licensed to grow medical marijuana in Grand Forks at their property on Willow Road, though Mrs. Smith testified it was just a cover for their illegal business.

The couple agreed on getting a divorce and a no-contact order, but argued over spousal support and how the properties should be divided.

The judge ruled that if Mrs. Smith exercises her right to the Grand Forks home, Mr. Smith will transfer his share of the property to Mrs. Smith. And, if not, the property will be sold, and the money divided.

The Smiths were also ordered to equally divide the money from the sale of their Mexican property. The proceeds of the sale of their Calgary home will also be divided, with Mrs. Smith to receive $46,771.57, and Mr. Smith to receive $109,609.

The judge also ruled that Mr. Smith pay Mrs. Smith spousal support in a lump sum of $134,694.