A marijuana grow-op was discovered in a former brewery near Barrie, Ont. (Photo: Ontario Provincial Police)

A new study commissioned by the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA) offers guidelines for standards to clean up properties that were used for grow-ops.

“Properties used as illegal drug operations pose long-term health and safety hazards, due to the presence of contaminants such as mould and chemicals,” says Tang Lee, who led the study. Lee is a professor at the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary.

Tang says while the recommendations in the study are specific to Alberta, they could also be adapted to work in other provinces. The study includes guidelines for identifying, assessing and remediating the contaminants created by grow-ops. These include procedures for structural repairs, air scrubbing and air testing.

The report includes recommendations for education, communication and organization to help bureaucrats deal with the problem of grow-ops.

Some of the report’s suggestions for further research could be controversial. For example, it says “placing a caveat on properties previously used as illegal drug operations as they do in British Columbia should be considered. The caveat would remain on the property’s history in the same manner as extensive damage to a car remains on its history even after it is repaired.” However, the report acknowledges that this may place a sigma on the property even if it has been remediated to a healthy state.

Another suggestion would “mandate building inspections by qualified building inspectors trained in recognizing previously used marijuana grow operations” to make sure that properties previously used as a grow-op don’t go undetected. 

The report also says, “Property owners and real estate agents currently have a moral obligation to disclose pertinent information about a property such as past use as an illegal drug operation. Steps to make disclosure a legal obligation should be considered.”