Hash
New Member
TORONTO (CP) - Ontario will introduce legislation to fight the growing problem of homes being converted into indoor marijuana farms, which has become an estimated $1 billion-a-year business in the province, Public Safety Minister Monte Kwinter said Tuesday.
"The legislation we are introducing today will make our communities safer by helping local authorities identify and combat grow ops," said Kwinter.
The bill would allow local hydro companies to disconnect power without notice to homes being used as marijuana grow ops, as long as police first obtain a court order.
It would also double the maximum fines under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act for tampering with electrical wiring, something commonly done in grow ops to hide their large power consumption.
Any home that police confirm is being used to grow marijuana would have to be inspected before it could be used again for housing.
If the legislation is passed, authorities could also seize assets from grow ops, including real estate and vehicles, and spend the funds raised on law enforcement or in compensating victims.
Grow ops "fuel the trafficking of guns and hard drugs while threatening the health and safety of our communities," said Kwinter.
"This is a battle the police can't fight alone," provincial police Det. Chief Supt. Frank Ryder said in a release.
https://news940.dserv.ca/news.php?cat=9&id=n101915A
"The legislation we are introducing today will make our communities safer by helping local authorities identify and combat grow ops," said Kwinter.
The bill would allow local hydro companies to disconnect power without notice to homes being used as marijuana grow ops, as long as police first obtain a court order.
It would also double the maximum fines under the Fire Protection and Prevention Act for tampering with electrical wiring, something commonly done in grow ops to hide their large power consumption.
Any home that police confirm is being used to grow marijuana would have to be inspected before it could be used again for housing.
If the legislation is passed, authorities could also seize assets from grow ops, including real estate and vehicles, and spend the funds raised on law enforcement or in compensating victims.
Grow ops "fuel the trafficking of guns and hard drugs while threatening the health and safety of our communities," said Kwinter.
"This is a battle the police can't fight alone," provincial police Det. Chief Supt. Frank Ryder said in a release.
https://news940.dserv.ca/news.php?cat=9&id=n101915A
