Seminar by Dr. Ray Copes highlights past and present dangers of Grow-Op homes

Doctor Ray Copes, Director of Environmental and Occupational Health for the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, recently gave a seminar detailing the dangers associated with Grow-Ops and, more specifically, remediated Grow-Op homes, or former Grow-Op homes that have been seized and repurposed.

It’s fairly simple for us to understand the immediate problems an illegal drug growth operation poses. In British Columbia alone, the number rose from 1,251 in 1997 to 2,802 in 2000. The Grow-Ops accounted for roughly $100 million in electricity theft in B.C. Grow Ops are associated with countless building violations and unsafe electrical setups. They also negatively impact communities because of the violence associated with them, whether it’s through rival dealers trying to steal the stash in “grow rips” or the booby traps often lining the houses.

However, as any mold inspector will tell you, the damage former Grow-Ops leave behind can be just as harmful. Once they’re seized, the federal crown assumes control of Grow-Op properties. But does the government do a good enough job of preparing those buildings for healthy living and keeping residents informed about the properties’ past?

Grow-Ops that housed drugs like marijuana often have poor breathing environments as a result of rampant mold and the use of tobacco and the harmful chemicals associated with it. Not surprisingly, former methamphetamine labs are particularly dangerous. Meth labs often have hydrochloride and ammonia residue among many other harmful agents. There were 29 meth labs seized in Canada as recently as 2005.

Should Grow-Ops be condemned entirely because of their poor conditions, be they chemical residue, water damage, mold and so on? Not necessarily. But the government needs to do a more thorough job with its mold detection, mold removal and general approach to cleaning these former Grow-Op buildings.

The process that went into creating the drugs once found in these buildings may have been complex – rocket science, even – but cleaning them isn’t. If the government showed a better commitment to remediating the buildings and did a better job informing new residents about the buildings’ past, it would go a long way toward ensuring that Grow-Ops’ days of harming their communities are over.