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requested administrative agency reconsideration or petition for court review, the decision was to
<br />become effective April 24, 2009.
<br />B. PROLIFERATION OF GROW HOUSES IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS
<br />In recent years the proliferation of grow houses in residential neighborhoods has exploded. This
<br />phenomenon is country wide, and ranges from the purchase for purpose of marijuana grow operations
<br />of small dwellings to "high priced McMansions ....i73 Mushrooming residential marijuana grow
<br />operations have been detected in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, North
<br />Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas. 74 In 2007 alone, such illegal operations were detected and
<br />shut down by federal and state law enforcement officials in 41 houses in California, 50 homes in
<br />Florida, and 11 homes in New Hampshire. 75 Since then, the number of residences discovered to be so
<br />impacted has increased exponentially. Part of this recent influx of illicit residential grow operations is
<br />because the "THC-rich `B.C. bud' strain" of marijuana originally produced in British Columbia "can
<br />be grown only in controlled indoor environments," and the Canadian market is now reportedly
<br />saturated with the product of "competin? Canadian gangs," often Asian in composition or outlaw
<br />motorcycle gangs like the Hells Angels. 6 Typically, a gutted house can hold about 1,000 plants that
<br />will each yield almost half a pound of smokable marijuana; this collectively nets about 500 pounds of
<br />usable marijuana per harvest, with an average of three to four harvests per year.77 With a street value
<br />of $3,000 to $5,000 per pound" for high-potency marijuana, and such multiple harvests, "a successful
<br />grow house can bring in between $4.5 million and $10 million a year ...."78 The high potency of
<br />hydroponically grown marijuana can command a price as much as six times higher than commercial
<br />grade marijuana. 79
<br />C. LIFE SAFETY HAZARDS CREATED BY GROW HOUSES
<br />In Humboldt County, California, structure fires caused by unsafe indoor marijuana grow operations
<br />have become commonplace. The city of Arcata, which sports four marijuana dispensaries, was the site
<br />of a house fire in which a fan had fallen over and ignited a fire; it had been turned into a grow house
<br />by its tenant. Per Arcata Police Chief Randy Mendosa, altered and makeshift "no code" electrical
<br />service connections and overloaded wires used to operate high-powered grow lights and fans are
<br />common causes of the fires. Large indoor marijuana growing operations can create such excessive
<br />draws of electricity that PG&E power pole transformers are commonly blown. An average 1,500-
<br />square-foot tract house used for growing marijuana can generate monthly electrical bills from $1,000
<br />to $3,000 per month. From an environmental standpoint, the carbon footprint from greenhouse gas
<br />emissions created by large indoor marijuana grow operations should be a major concern for every
<br />community in terms of complying with Air Board AB-32 regulations, as well as other greenhouse gas
<br />reduction policies. Typically, air vents are cut into roofs, water seeps into carpeting, windows are
<br />blacked out, holes are cut in floors, wiring is jury-rigged, and electrical circuits are overloaded to
<br />operate grow lights and other apparatus. When fires start, they spread quickly.
<br />The May 31, 2008 edition of the Los Angeles Times reported, "Law enforcement officials estimate that
<br />as many as 1,000 of the 7,500 homes in this Humboldt County community are being used to cultivate
<br />marijuana, slashing into the housing stock, spreading building-safety problems and sowing
<br />neighborhood discord." Not surprisingly, in this bastion of liberal pot possession rules that authorized
<br />the cultivation of up to 99 plants for medicinal purpose, most structural fires in the community of
<br />Arcata have been of late associated with marijuana cultivation.80 Chief of Police Mendosa clarified
<br />that the actual number of marijuana grow houses in Arcata has been an ongoing subject of public
<br />debate. Mendosa added, "We know there are numerous grow houses in almost every neighborhood in
<br />and around the city, which has been the source of constant citizen complaints." House fires caused by
<br />© 2009 California Police Chiefs Assn. 12 All Rights Reserved
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