Herb Fellow
New Member
Drew Smith drove home on his coffee break one morning to find a shocking notice stuck to the front door. The posting, from the city of Coquitlam, warned that the premises were being used as a marijuana growing operation. "I just about fainted," said Smith, a construction supervisor.
The longtime Lions Club fundraiser, who dresses as the Easter Bunny to hand out candy to children every spring, had been found guilty without due process. "The notice said they had concluded their investigation and knew I had an illegal marijuana-grow operation and that BC Hydro had been contacted and would be terminating my power."
What happened to Smith and his family is an example of how the zeal to root out marijuana-growing operators can leave innocent victims facing what Smith sees as persecution. No marijuana growing operation was found at the Smith home in a subsequent inspection. But hundreds of such inspections have been carried out across Metro Vancouver in the last two years, without search warrants and based solely on the amount of electric power consumed by the homes.
The law that allows this practice is being challenged as unconstitutional by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, and has led to a lawsuit by another family. But municipal officials say the campaign to find and shut down growing operations is working effectively, has led to hundreds of operations being shut down, and has reduced the number of house fires related to indoor marijuana growing.
No marijuana found
At the Smith home, inspectors found no marijuana plantation but still proceeded to charge him with bylaw infractions unrelated to either marijuana cultivation or electrical safety violations. The inspection was triggered because his home was identified as having unusually high electricity consumption, which often goes hand in hand with indoor marijuana cultivation.
From May to December last year, Coquitlam's Public Safety Inspection Team carried out 128 such inspections, with 88 properties found "to have hazards under the Controlled Substance Property Bylaw resulting in revoked occupancy and/or power shut-off," a city report said. Another 24 properties were suspected of being used to grow marijuana but there was insufficient evidence, while in nine cases there was no evidence of marijuana cultivation. The status of the remaining properties was not clear.
Mayor Maxine Wilson said the program was "about improving the safety of our community and its success is a credit to the cooperative, team approach between the RCMP, fire prevention, city bylaw enforcement and building permits."
But Smith said it has proved hazardous to his health. "I'm now on medication to keep calm because my temper was getting up," he said. "I was on sleeping pills for a while because I couldn't sleep. It's affected my health."
He said his electricity costs were high because his home has a 40-by-20-foot electrically heated outdoor swimming pool, an electric sauna and "three kids who don't turn off a light and leave TVs playing all over the house and wear clothes once, then put them through the wash."
Smith said when the notice appeared on his door, he immediately phoned city hall to say there had been a mistake, but no one would listen. He found an RCMP officer who agreed to come to his home and conduct a search. "This officer did an inspection and said there was no issue with it and gave me a file number. I called city hall and told them ... but they didn't care and said the inspection would take place as scheduled," said Smith.
"Two days later they showed up. ... I had my uncle there in case I lost it. We were all standing outside in the rain and I asked why they were doing this. "They said because I had enormous electricity bills, and I gave them the spiel about the swimming pool and all the rest, but they didn't care."
The RCMP wouldn't even let him into his own home to observe the inspection, he said. "I mean, this is my house and the city's inside and I'm being prevented from going into my own home. My uncle just shook his head. He said, 'It looks like we're living in a police state,' and I had to agree with him."
An inspector showed him a Google Earth picture of his backyard with a garden where there was now a swimming pool.
"I told them the pool was built by the original owner but had been filled in. When we bought the place five years ago I dug it out and restored it," he said. The 200-ampere electrical service to the pool had been approved by the city. "All this happened because I had high electricity bills," he said. "If they had done their homework they would have seen I had a 200-amp service put in for the pool because I took out a permit."
Smith is a longtime Coquitlam resident and member of the Burquitlam Lions Club who has "raised thousands of dollars and worked thousands of hours for this community." He says the inspection threatened his reputation in the community and involved him in an expensive battle with the city.
It also came close to mixing outrage with comedy. "For a while I considered putting on my Easter Bunny suit and sitting on the steps of city hall with a big sign saying 'Easter Cancelled -- Bunny on Strike -- see Maxine Wilson at City Hall. I think now I should have done it. I should have brought public attention to what is going on. We're living in a police state."
Coquitlam communications manager Therese Michelson said Smith's case was unfortunate. "We look at more than high power usage, but if we had known about his pool it could have explained it," she said. Inspectors have found electrical faults in some homes and the owners were glad to have them identified, she said.
Michelson said the city has reviewed its procedures and has reduced the inspection notice to 24 hours because 48 hours gave marijuana-growers time to clear out plants and hide evidence. The city has changed its approach to homes clearly not being used for drug production. "Based on concerns from people like Mr. Smith," the city is now telling inspectors to concentrate on life and safety issues and ignore everything else, she said.
Grace Pastine, litigation director for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, found the searches raise disturbing questions. "We feel the use of the Safety Standards Act to allow the police to enter citizens' homes without a warrant to be an unreliable reading of the act and allows it to be used as a cover to permit police entry into a home where there's a suspicion of illegal activity," said Pastine. "We don't believe there's any lawful basis for doing that and there's a substantial body of jurisprudence that upholds a citizen's right to privacy, especially in their homes."
Surrey fire chief Len Garis admits being torn between what can be heavy-handed inspections and the need to shut down premises that are fire hazards. "In 2003, we had 15 structural fires due to marijuana-growing," Garis said. "In 2004 we had 14, so we were averaging just over one a month."
Between March 2005 and December 2007, Surrey conducted 869 searches and found 756 premises where electrical components were compromised, likely as a result of marijuana cultivation, he said. "In 2007 we only had four such fires, which is a 70-per-cent decrease," Garis said. "So in that sense, I feel I'm fulfilling my mandate to keep the community safe."
Another Coquitlam resident fighting city hall is Andy Lee, who with his wife and two children was evicted on the spot last June when a Public Safety Inspection team figured there was enough evidence that the Lee home on Reece Avenue displayed the signs of a growing operation.
Hydro records showed the home was using above-average amounts of electricity. Inspectors found more than 100 large plant pots in the attic, bags of soil in the yard, bundles of bamboo rods that could be used for marijuana plant supports, a garden hose attached to a shower head in the basement, water damage to the basement floor, loose electrical wiring, a 220-volt electrical box added after the home was built, rerouted ventilation ducts and evidence of drywall alterations.
One of the inspectors noted a white van parked near the home carrying ventilation tubes and a fan, and a police check on the licence plate showed it had been flagged by the Edmonton police's drug section. But Lee, a security guard, is adamant there was nothing illegal occurring in his home. But at the conclusion of the inspection June 20, inspectors ordered the family out. The Lees have launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court seeking damages.
Lee said his family was frightened and intimidated by police, especially when an officer threatened to shoot the family dog -- a Rottweiler -- if it wasn't placed in a car. "I was scared that if the family didn't cooperate maybe they'd shoot me," said Lee, who moved to Canada from mainland China. He said family members were humiliated and ridiculed by inspectors. "My wife, who doesn't speak English, was comforting our son and one of the officers yelled at her to speak English. Why did they need to do that?"
The inspectors put a notice on the door saying the premises had been used as a marijuana growing operation or a drug lab and occupancy was being terminated. "They told us, 'Just leave right now, pack up some clothes, the hydro is being turned off.'"
In the months that followed his sons were taunted at school with accusations their father was running a growing operation, leading to schoolyard fights and a drop in their marks, Lee said.
The city insists he pay a $5,000 fine for operating a marijuana operation. Lee denies it and refuses to pay. His Vancouver lawyer, Phillip Lundrie, said all the search found was a hose attached to a shower, which was used to wash the dog, and a few plant pots in the attic. "They didn't find anything but they concocted a nonsense case," Lundrie said. "It borders on the absurd and the malicious."
Source: TheVancouver Sun
Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2008
Contact: Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun, gbellett@png.canwest.com
Website: Police pot search upsets homeowner
The longtime Lions Club fundraiser, who dresses as the Easter Bunny to hand out candy to children every spring, had been found guilty without due process. "The notice said they had concluded their investigation and knew I had an illegal marijuana-grow operation and that BC Hydro had been contacted and would be terminating my power."
What happened to Smith and his family is an example of how the zeal to root out marijuana-growing operators can leave innocent victims facing what Smith sees as persecution. No marijuana growing operation was found at the Smith home in a subsequent inspection. But hundreds of such inspections have been carried out across Metro Vancouver in the last two years, without search warrants and based solely on the amount of electric power consumed by the homes.
The law that allows this practice is being challenged as unconstitutional by the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, and has led to a lawsuit by another family. But municipal officials say the campaign to find and shut down growing operations is working effectively, has led to hundreds of operations being shut down, and has reduced the number of house fires related to indoor marijuana growing.
No marijuana found
At the Smith home, inspectors found no marijuana plantation but still proceeded to charge him with bylaw infractions unrelated to either marijuana cultivation or electrical safety violations. The inspection was triggered because his home was identified as having unusually high electricity consumption, which often goes hand in hand with indoor marijuana cultivation.
From May to December last year, Coquitlam's Public Safety Inspection Team carried out 128 such inspections, with 88 properties found "to have hazards under the Controlled Substance Property Bylaw resulting in revoked occupancy and/or power shut-off," a city report said. Another 24 properties were suspected of being used to grow marijuana but there was insufficient evidence, while in nine cases there was no evidence of marijuana cultivation. The status of the remaining properties was not clear.
Mayor Maxine Wilson said the program was "about improving the safety of our community and its success is a credit to the cooperative, team approach between the RCMP, fire prevention, city bylaw enforcement and building permits."
But Smith said it has proved hazardous to his health. "I'm now on medication to keep calm because my temper was getting up," he said. "I was on sleeping pills for a while because I couldn't sleep. It's affected my health."
He said his electricity costs were high because his home has a 40-by-20-foot electrically heated outdoor swimming pool, an electric sauna and "three kids who don't turn off a light and leave TVs playing all over the house and wear clothes once, then put them through the wash."
Smith said when the notice appeared on his door, he immediately phoned city hall to say there had been a mistake, but no one would listen. He found an RCMP officer who agreed to come to his home and conduct a search. "This officer did an inspection and said there was no issue with it and gave me a file number. I called city hall and told them ... but they didn't care and said the inspection would take place as scheduled," said Smith.
"Two days later they showed up. ... I had my uncle there in case I lost it. We were all standing outside in the rain and I asked why they were doing this. "They said because I had enormous electricity bills, and I gave them the spiel about the swimming pool and all the rest, but they didn't care."
The RCMP wouldn't even let him into his own home to observe the inspection, he said. "I mean, this is my house and the city's inside and I'm being prevented from going into my own home. My uncle just shook his head. He said, 'It looks like we're living in a police state,' and I had to agree with him."
An inspector showed him a Google Earth picture of his backyard with a garden where there was now a swimming pool.
"I told them the pool was built by the original owner but had been filled in. When we bought the place five years ago I dug it out and restored it," he said. The 200-ampere electrical service to the pool had been approved by the city. "All this happened because I had high electricity bills," he said. "If they had done their homework they would have seen I had a 200-amp service put in for the pool because I took out a permit."
Smith is a longtime Coquitlam resident and member of the Burquitlam Lions Club who has "raised thousands of dollars and worked thousands of hours for this community." He says the inspection threatened his reputation in the community and involved him in an expensive battle with the city.
It also came close to mixing outrage with comedy. "For a while I considered putting on my Easter Bunny suit and sitting on the steps of city hall with a big sign saying 'Easter Cancelled -- Bunny on Strike -- see Maxine Wilson at City Hall. I think now I should have done it. I should have brought public attention to what is going on. We're living in a police state."
Coquitlam communications manager Therese Michelson said Smith's case was unfortunate. "We look at more than high power usage, but if we had known about his pool it could have explained it," she said. Inspectors have found electrical faults in some homes and the owners were glad to have them identified, she said.
Michelson said the city has reviewed its procedures and has reduced the inspection notice to 24 hours because 48 hours gave marijuana-growers time to clear out plants and hide evidence. The city has changed its approach to homes clearly not being used for drug production. "Based on concerns from people like Mr. Smith," the city is now telling inspectors to concentrate on life and safety issues and ignore everything else, she said.
Grace Pastine, litigation director for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, found the searches raise disturbing questions. "We feel the use of the Safety Standards Act to allow the police to enter citizens' homes without a warrant to be an unreliable reading of the act and allows it to be used as a cover to permit police entry into a home where there's a suspicion of illegal activity," said Pastine. "We don't believe there's any lawful basis for doing that and there's a substantial body of jurisprudence that upholds a citizen's right to privacy, especially in their homes."
Surrey fire chief Len Garis admits being torn between what can be heavy-handed inspections and the need to shut down premises that are fire hazards. "In 2003, we had 15 structural fires due to marijuana-growing," Garis said. "In 2004 we had 14, so we were averaging just over one a month."
Between March 2005 and December 2007, Surrey conducted 869 searches and found 756 premises where electrical components were compromised, likely as a result of marijuana cultivation, he said. "In 2007 we only had four such fires, which is a 70-per-cent decrease," Garis said. "So in that sense, I feel I'm fulfilling my mandate to keep the community safe."
Another Coquitlam resident fighting city hall is Andy Lee, who with his wife and two children was evicted on the spot last June when a Public Safety Inspection team figured there was enough evidence that the Lee home on Reece Avenue displayed the signs of a growing operation.
Hydro records showed the home was using above-average amounts of electricity. Inspectors found more than 100 large plant pots in the attic, bags of soil in the yard, bundles of bamboo rods that could be used for marijuana plant supports, a garden hose attached to a shower head in the basement, water damage to the basement floor, loose electrical wiring, a 220-volt electrical box added after the home was built, rerouted ventilation ducts and evidence of drywall alterations.
One of the inspectors noted a white van parked near the home carrying ventilation tubes and a fan, and a police check on the licence plate showed it had been flagged by the Edmonton police's drug section. But Lee, a security guard, is adamant there was nothing illegal occurring in his home. But at the conclusion of the inspection June 20, inspectors ordered the family out. The Lees have launched a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court seeking damages.
Lee said his family was frightened and intimidated by police, especially when an officer threatened to shoot the family dog -- a Rottweiler -- if it wasn't placed in a car. "I was scared that if the family didn't cooperate maybe they'd shoot me," said Lee, who moved to Canada from mainland China. He said family members were humiliated and ridiculed by inspectors. "My wife, who doesn't speak English, was comforting our son and one of the officers yelled at her to speak English. Why did they need to do that?"
The inspectors put a notice on the door saying the premises had been used as a marijuana growing operation or a drug lab and occupancy was being terminated. "They told us, 'Just leave right now, pack up some clothes, the hydro is being turned off.'"
In the months that followed his sons were taunted at school with accusations their father was running a growing operation, leading to schoolyard fights and a drop in their marks, Lee said.
The city insists he pay a $5,000 fine for operating a marijuana operation. Lee denies it and refuses to pay. His Vancouver lawyer, Phillip Lundrie, said all the search found was a hose attached to a shower, which was used to wash the dog, and a few plant pots in the attic. "They didn't find anything but they concocted a nonsense case," Lundrie said. "It borders on the absurd and the malicious."
Source: TheVancouver Sun
Copyright: The Vancouver Sun 2008
Contact: Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun, gbellett@png.canwest.com
Website: Police pot search upsets homeowner
peace, From the good ol' Bible Belt!!! God Bless!!!
lol
