Local realtors applaud the government’s report on recommendations to combat the negative effects of marijuana grow operations on residents, their homes, and their neighbourhoods.

The report was released by Justice Minister Jonathan Denis earlier this month and it includes 37 recommendations about the health, safety and remediation of former marijuana grow-operations.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” said Brad Kopp, president of the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA).

“Albertans need to be protected in the event a property becomes ‘sick’ after re-habitation due to the reoccurrence of mold or other toxins. Guidelines are also needed for properties that fail remediation standards, so they don’t become blights on our communities,” said Brad Cook of the Lethbridge & District Association of Realtors in a news release.

“We know that each municipality has their own standards of remediation to make the home safe again. However, what happens is those homes, when they’re used for a grow op, for example, and in the case of the floods, mold is an ongoing concern. What happens is the home becomes sick again and you don’t know it,” Kopp said.

AREA put forth the air quality standards that made their way into the report’s recommendations and it’s pushing to have consistent, province-wide remediation and air quality standards put in place for grow ops.

Kopp said they’re also recommending the government establish a database where grow ops and remediations could be listed.

“That answers everybody’s questions,” Kopp said. “If there’s a certain standard that’s met across the province rather than each municipality then we know it’s going to be a safer home for the consumer to move into.”

In 2011, the RCMP dismantled 4,367 grow ops in Canada, Kopp said. The number doesn’t include those dismantled by city or municipal police forces.

The recommendations identify the need for public education on how to spot a marijuana grow operation, the safety and health risks of grow ops and how to report suspected grow ops. Improved police reporting and better communication between police agencies and municipalities, and other agencies requiring knowledge, is also recommended.

The recommendations also ask the government to consider options to require real estate agents, when they have knowledge, to disclose to potential buyers that the property was previously a grow op. As it stands now, under common law, the listing agent has the same obligation to disclosure as the seller. So if the seller must disclose, then so must the listing agent.

Government also needs to ensure mortgage lenders and insurance companies will mortgage and insure remediated properties.

Article courtesy of The Lethbridge Herald written by Caroline Zentner