CREA urges ban on home grow-ops

May 8 2018




The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is urging Ottawa to put the brakes on letting people grow pot at home until it can better regulate it to prevent property damage and higher risks of crime and fires.
The federal government wants to make pot legal to buy, grow and sell across the country by this summer.
The marijuana legalization bill would allow individuals to grow up to four pot plants at home as long as they are below a certain height, but CREA CEO Michael Bourque says there are too many risks from home grow-ops that haven't been addressed yet.
"We've heard from homeowners and tenants across the country who are worried about living beside grow-ops," added CREA’s president Barb Sukkau said in statement released by the industry association.
"What does this do to their home value? Will this increase their rent? How safe will their kids be? Will their quality of life diminish because of the prevalence of drugs in their neighbourhood? These are all concerns that need to be considered before the passing of Bill C-45."
The question of consuming pot in home residences has also raised the ire of some landlords, who want the right to immediately ban the use of pot in rental properties when recreational weed is legalized.
The marijuana legalization bill, C-45, will allow Canadians the right to grow pot under a certain limit, but each province and territory is developing its own legal framework for production and consumption. Quebec and Manitoba, for example, have already chosen to prohibit home cultivation of weed. British Columbia will allow home cultivation but the plants must not be visible to neighbours.