Could legal cannabis make grow-op nightmares worse?
In new era of marijuana cultivation, the province must act to protect homeowners
A recent study by the National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health warned that even within the federal four-plant limit, legal indoor marijuana cultivation can produce health risks in a home.
They include indoor air-quality hazards, accidental poisoning from pesticides and fire hazards from lights and electrical wiring.
“There are currently no provincial regulations for how a property should be remediated after it has been used to produce drugs,” Hargreaves said. “It’s time for the provincial government to harmonize policy and increase consumer protection in B.C.”
The real-estate association is lobbying the B.C. government to adopt a new five-step process for remediating drug properties.
It starts with the discovery of drug cultivation, which would trigger a report to the Health Ministry, and then an inspection of the property by an environmental health officer.
The homeowner would then be required to repair any damage and remove any health hazards, followed by a second property inspection.
The final step would be provincial designation of the home as fully remediated and safe, with any land-title notices removed from the property before it’s rented or sold again.
Liberal MLA Laurie Throness says the NDP government needs to step in.
“Police have estimated there are 20,000 grow operations in British Columbia and there will be many more now that cannabis has been legalized,” the opposition critic said.
“Because most banks and insurers refuse to provide mortgages and insurance for homes previously used as grow-ops, we risk these homes being left vacant or continuing to be used for illegal activity.”
Throness introduced a private member’s bill in the legislature calling on the NDP government’s New Homes Registry office to develop provincewide remediation standards for former grow-op homes.
“Premier John Horgan needs to take swift action to ensure we are able to safely bring these homes to market,” Throness said. “With the way things currently stand, thousands of homes will be unavailable to buyers because of past and future grow operations in B.C. In the midst of a housing crunch, this is simply unacceptable.”
Hargreaves said he met last week with B.C. Solicitor General Mike Farnworth and urged him to take action.
“He’s shown interest in this, but it’s a process they’re just starting to look at,” Hargreaves said.
It could be a complicated process, too, since the reporting, inspection and certifying system could involve officials in law enforcement, housing, health and environmental protection.
All the more reason to get on with it, as legal at-home marijuana cultivation ramps up.
“It should be a priority for a government keenly interested in housing,” Hargreaves said. “In a province where supply and demand is an issue, dealing with this challenge now could certainly add to the inventory of homes on the market.”
I’d say the government has been slow to react on this one, and it’s too bad that the spring session of the legislature is over. This one should rise on Farnworth’s to-do list in the fall.