What is a Marihuana Home Grow Operation?

Marihuana Grow Operations will appear in homes or outbuildings in both residential, rural or commercial/industrial areas. Often larger homes or buildings are selected, as they will support a larger growing capacity. Outwardly they are very often maintained in their normal fashion, however the interiors may have received significant structural, electrical and heating system modifications not in accordance applicable building, natural gas and electrical codes.

Examples of these modifications may include: an overloaded existing electrical system or a bypass circuit to avoid paying for the electricity required to power the high intensity light bulbs and fans; disconnected furnace venting; or holes in floors and walls for increased airflow.

These changes are made to replicate warm, humid climates in which hybrid plants flourish to produce high potency marihuana. Former Marihuana Grow Operations may not be safe for human occupancy due to their compromised structural and mechanical integrity, as well as hazards from mould and chemical residue. 

Anyone intending to purchase or rent a property should have a careful inspection conducted to ensure it was not previously used as a Marihuana Grow Operation.

Marihuana Grow Operations are a criminal enterprise and very often have links organized crime. They are also often the targets of home invasion style robberies where the marihuana is the objective of the robbery. It is not uncommon to find weapons or booby-traps inside these grow operations for protection from rival criminal elements. 

For these and various other reasons Marihuana Grow Operations represent public safety concerns to the neighbourhoods or communities in which they exist not only for future owners or occupants of the premises but also for the other residents of these areas.

The Niagara Regional Police Service encourages members of the community to take notice of unusual activities or the tell tale signs of a Marihuana Grow Operation and to contact police directly or through CRIMESTOPPERS.
 

What are the Indicators of a Marihuana Grow Operation?

There are a number of indicators, which may assist you in identifying a potential Marihuana Grow Operation in your neighbourhood, these include:

  • Rarely does anyone appear to be at home.
  • Visitors come and go at odd hours, entering/leaving the home quickly often through the garage and only for brief periods of time.
  • They avoid contact with neighbours.
  • Windows are kept closed and covered to conceal activities inside.
  • Condensation may be present on window panes 
  • Equipment used in the growing operation such as large fans, lights, plastic plant containers or bags of potting soil are carried into the home.
  • Sounds of construction or electrical humming from equipment may be heard.
  • If the home is serviced with an underground hydro service, evidence of digging in the soil around the hydro meter may be the indication of an electrical by-pass.
  • There may be localized surges and decreases in power.
  • Strange odours are coming from the house. Marihuana plants produce a unique skunk-like odour that you may occasionally smell, usually at dusk and dawn.
  • Exterior appearance of the property is untidy. There is little outside maintenance done (unshovelled snow, uncut grass, etc.), and garbage bags containing used soil and plant material may be discarded in areas surrounding the house or loaded into a vehicle for disposal. Mail delivered to the house may not be collected regularly resulting in an overflowing mailbox.
  • Warning signs are posted in windows or around the outside of the building. These may warn people to "Beware of Dog" or that "Guard Dogs" are on the property.

Above: Actual surveillance photograph of a roof vent at a Niagara Falls home where an illegal marihuana grow-op was suspected.  The grow-op was vented into the attic, as can be seen from the partially melted snow on the rooftop.  This picture was used as part of the grounds to obtain the search warrant.   Above: Once a search warrant was executed, officers recovered 365 plants found growing in the basement.  As a result, one person was charged and $15000 worth of grow equipment was seized.
 

What are the Dangers?

Marihuana Grow Operations pose a number of potential risks and dangers to the neighbourhoods, in which they exist, including: 

  • POISONOUS FUMES – These may result from alterations made to the chimney venting of furnaces and hot water heaters, from chemicals used in the growing process, or from moulds that flourish in these warm moist environments. 
  • FIRES – Overloaded electrical systems, improper wiring and the extreme heat generated by high intensity light bulbs increase the potential for fire. A fire in a Marihuana Grow Operation has the potential to spread to neighbouring homes and present increased risks to fire fighters. 
  • ELECTROCUTION – Improper wiring pose risks to the occupants and visitors to the Marihuana Grow Operations. Electrical bypasses are done to facilitate the theft of electricity and they create a potential for electrocution to persons outside the home as the ground near the home may become charged with electricity. 
  • VIOLENCE – Operators of Marihuana Grow Operations often arm themselves with weapons, as they are potential targets of “home invasion” style robberies. This raises the risk for confrontation between the protectors and the invaders, as well as risk to police during a search warrant entry. Residents in neighbouring homes may fall victim to a “home invasion”, where the invaders target the wrong home. 
  • INCREASED CRIME – Money to purchase illicit drugs, including marihuana is often derived from some form of criminal activity (theft, fraud, robbery), which poses both a financial risk and a potential risk of physical harm to all members of society. 
  • BOOBY TRAPS - Traps may be set by the operators of Marihuana Grow Operations to protect their product from unauthorized persons entering the home or property. These traps represent a danger to the trespassers and to emergency responders. 
  • HIGHER UTILITY COSTS – The cultivation of marihuana requires large amounts of water and electricity. To reduce costs operators of Marihuana Grow Operations will steal these utilities from or from the utility provider a neighbour. The cost for these thefts is borne the neighbour or by the utility providers, who in turn pass the costs on to all customers in the form of increased billing rates.
  • STRUCTURAL DAMAGE – Houses used as Marihuana Grow Operations are frequently modified to suit the needs of the growing operation. These modifications may affect the structural integrity of the home, as they do not comply with the Ontario Building Code. High humidity from the grow operation may also cause damage to the structure of the home or may cause excessive mould growth which may impact the health of future occupants. 
  • ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE - Chemicals used in the grow operations may discharged onto the surrounding soil or dumped offsite in some other non-environmentally friendly manner. 
  • HAZARDS TO CHILDREN – During investigations police have found children or evidence of children having been present in Marihuana Grow Operations. There are significant long-term health risks for children who live in or visit grow operations. Additionally the end product marihuana supplied to children is viewed by some as a gateway drug to harder drugs such as methamphetamines and cocaine. 
     

What is the Niagara Regional Police Service Doing About It?

The Niagara Regional Police Service has actively investigated indoor Marihuana Grow Operations since 2002, dismantling approximately fifty “grows“ per year. During 2007 and 2008 members identified two major Grow Operations that were located in agricultural and commercial buildings for the purpose of producing high volume high quality marihuana. Both these operations had direct links to organized crime, who are responsible for smuggling the harvested marihuana across the border into the United States.

The Service has also partnered with the Region’s twelve Fire Services and Municipal Building inspectors to enforce building, natural gas and electrical code infractions. Some of these enforcement initiatives resulted in the demolition of homes used for the purpose of marihuana production. This partnership enhances the Service’s efforts to make Niagara Region a safer community by ensuring buildings meet occupancy standards and to deter persons from setting up Marihuana Grow Operations in the Region.

Effective January 1, 2009, the Service will also be publishing the addresses of all Marihuana Grow Operations that were dismantled under the authority of a search warrant, in an effort to protect future occupants or purchasers of those properties. 

 


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