Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Marijuana grower's licence goes up in smoke ... literally

Kelowna Daily Courier Tuesday, 28 February 2012 02:00
The medical-marijuana licence that authorized a Lake Country man to grow weed for other people was likely incinerated in a house fire, he told police.  The 53-year-old man injured in Friday's fire said he was licensed to grow 220 marijuana plants in his home in the 9700 block of Highway 97. Investigators later confirmed he had two licences for the house - one to produce marijuana for himself and another to produce it for others. The resident claimed the second licence was in the kitchen and burned in the fire, said RCMP Const. Kris Clark. Police later confirmed with Health Canada he was authorized to grow for other users. "It does not appear that the grow exceeded the licences," Clark said. The man was cooking Friday morning when a pot exploded on the stove, singeing his hair and causing minor burns to his face. The fire spread to other parts of the interior before firefighters brought it under control. Police waste time investigating suspected grow-ops before they find out through Health Canada that the occupant is legally growing the marijuana for medical reasons, said Clark. "It is an area of frustration. In a lot of cases we'll obtain information that there is a grow-op and then we do a request to Health Canada and sure enough, there is a licence there." Licences for growing marijuana only for personal use typically allow growers to cultivate up to 60 plants.

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