Realtors want brakes put on growing pot

recreational users when marijuana legalized later this year.

It wants the government to amend regulations to stop homegrown pot until provinces can enact their own regulations — and believes Ottawa should provide provinces with guidance on “safe home cultivation.”

The association, which represents more than 125,000 real estate brokers, agents and salespeople, argues that four marijuana plants can produce as much as five kilograms of cannabis a year. It is concerned about potential property damage and effects on home prices.

“We’ve heard from homeowners and tenants across the country who are worried about living beside grow-ops,” CREA’s president Barb Sukkau told the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology on Monday, according to a statement released by the industry association.

“What does this do to their home value? Will this increase their rent? How safe will their kids be? Will their quality of life diminish because of the prevalence of drugs in their neighbourhood? These are all concerns that need to be considered before the passing of Bill C-45.”

In 2016, a federal judge struck down legislation introduced by the former Conservative government, which had banned medical marijuana patients from cultivating their own pot. The judge found that the law violated patients’ Charter rights.

“The courts have been very clear on this,” said James O’Hara, the president of the