cannabisnews.com: British Properties a High-Class Home to MJ Grows British Properties a High-Class Home to MJ Grows Posted by FoM on February 10, 2000 at 08:18:26 PT Canadian Press Source: Vancouver Sun The promise of privacy has lured the affluent to the British Properties ever since the wealthy Guinness family built the Lions Gate Bridge in 1938 to help sell its suburb. But West Vancouver police say this characteristic - spacious houses on large, treed lots - now attracts criminals with marijuana growing operations. No other neighbourhood in West Vancouver has as many marijuana growing operations, said Const. Jim Bailey, a member of a target team that conducts surveillance of drug traffickers. The illegal business in West Vancouver is small compared with that in Vancouver and suburban Surrey and Langley. But police discovered 12 marijuana growing operations in West Vancouver last year - 10 of them in the British Properties. "The properties are very secluded, and that's sought after," Bailey said in an interview. All of the operators arrested in West Vancouver had rented houses, probably because they didn't want to own assets that could be seized under the federal proceeds-of-crime law, he said. Their furniture was also rented, he said, displaying police photos of a luxurious living room with a large-screen television, leather furniture and fancy rugs. Another reason for renting is that large scale marijuana growing operations damage a house. The walls are lined with white plastic to keep in the heat from 1,000-watt light bulbs. Moisture laden air rots the walls as badly as those in a leaky condo, even though fans and exhaust vents are used to get rid of the oxygen produced by the plants. Growers also steal electricity to avoid detection and extremely high hydro bills, creating hazards that can lead to house fires. Bailey said the houses typically chosen by growers aren't the high-end, monster homes in the properties, which can rent for $5,000 a month. Usually, the choice is a less opulent, 25- or 30-year-old house, which rents for $1,500 to $2,500. The past president of the British Properties Area Homeowners Association said growing operations in the neighbourhood are a source of amazement for longtime residents. "There seem to be more absentee homeowners and perhaps we don't all know our neighbours the way we used to," said Margaret Worthy. "Those are some of the aims of the association, to make people feel like they belong." At the association's annual general meeting in November, no concerns were expressed about growing operations, she said. But residents did speak out about absentee homeowners with overgrown shrubbery and neglected, untidy homes, she said. Jim McLean, president of British Pacific Properties, the company that developed the suburb decades ago, said he doesn't know how many homes are now rented. McLean suggested that police may have discovered more growing operations in the British Properties because its residents are more vigilant. So far, the largest growing operation discovered in West Vancouver contained 600 plants. Each plant produces about 85 grams of buds, which police said can be sold on the street for about $1,000. Criminals are using new growing techniques that give them six crops a year. West Vancouver (CP) Vancouver Sun Published: February 10, 2000CannabisNews Articles - Vancouver: http://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=CannabisNews+Vancouver END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by sandra daniels on February 25, 2002 at 21:24:57 PT: funny where do I rent must be cheap, funny thought of the properies in a different way, they should make pot legal, if the demand is there, there has to be a supplier. funny [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: