Mission, BC homeowner fined $5,200 for growing cucumbers

Oh nice, the municipalities are victimizing homeowners now to profit from the war on drugs.

Good for this guy. Fight back against teh nanny state. These are warrantless searches. If the class action suit is successful--and it looks as though it may be, then there should be criminal charges of break and enter against the inspectors.

Hey, cucumbers are a gateway vegetable. Pretty soon they'll start growing zucchinis, and then where would we be.

But inspecting homes that have unusually high power usage makes sense to me - could be a hazard. Just that if no electrical or other obvious hazard is found, the inspectors should just fuck off and leave the guy alone, not try to justify their search by issuing fines for minor matters.

Get this; 99% of people who have eaten tomatoes before 1910 are dead! That's right! We have to stop the insanity!

Get this; 99% of people who have eaten tomatoes before 1910 are dead! That's right! We have to stop the insanity!

All produce should be banned. It's for hippies anyway. Meat and potatoes was good enough for our parents, it should be good enough for us.

Not a big fan of warrantless searches myself.

So that housefire that killed a couple of guys because it was such a death trap - they should never have gone in there to inspect it? Just let people do whatever they want in their own home?

Isn't it interesting that it's perfectly legal for this guy to set up whatever lights he wants to grow his cucumbers as long as he's paying his electrical bill, but if it was actually pot he was growing we wouldn't be talking about this now.

Wasn't that landlord under a violation of building codes for a while?
Aren't you, as a landlord, supposed to keep your houses safe, and aren't you obligated to have them checked for violations?

This guy was a homeowner, not a landlord.

Not a good idea idea to grow anything (on a median to large scale) in your house.
The humidity must be a bitch and the mold... don't get me started on the mold.

But yes, guess you can do anything you want in your house, as long as it doesn't bother the neighbors.

Pretty much let people do what they want in their own home, yup. If the police or other authorities suspect malfeasance of some sort, they have the option of getting a warrant. A warrant means that you have to convince a judge that your case has merit--that's it's not just a suspicion.

I accept some exceptions--for instance if you are renting, then people need to be proteced from slum lords. If a home is being built, it should undergo basic safety inspections.

But it's out of control. In this case, it's clear that the inspectors are acting as an arm of the criminal law enforcement in order to bypass the requirement for a warrant. Often, for example, police accompany muncipal inspectors, without a warrant.

Wasn't that landlord under a violation of building codes for a while?
Aren't you, as a landlord, supposed to keep your houses safe, and aren't you obligated to have them checked for violations?

This guy was a homeowner, not a landlord.

You mean this only applies if you're renting, but if you wire up the house you live in to be a fire hazard, that's perfectly legal? I doubt it.

Wasn't that landlord under a violation of building codes for a while?
Aren't you, as a landlord, supposed to keep your houses safe, and aren't you obligated to have them checked for violations?

This guy was a homeowner, not a landlord.

You mean this only applies if you're renting, but if you wire up the house you live in to be a fire hazard, that's perfectly legal? I doubt it.
What I am saying is, that as a landlord, you can expect people to come check your rentals for hazards and violation of codes.

As a homeowner, you don't have to expect that. You don't have to accept it either. Like Zip says, if they want to search your place, they should get a warrant.

I"m not defending the inspections as they're currently carried out. I don't give a shit if somebody is growing dope in their basement. The mold problem is really their own lookout, they're the ones that are going to get sick from it. But creating a fire trap is everybody's concern - their neighbors and the firemen who might lose their lives dealing with the fire. Escpecially if it's in a multiple dwelling building. So I think inspectors should be able to come in and inspect, without a warrant. But no cops, no nit picking. Just looking for electrical problems and nuclear reactors and such. If the resident refuses them access, then that should be sufficient reason to get a warrant, and have the cops accompany them. And it's fine by me if that gives the resident time to get rid of the dope. This shouldn't be about the pot at all anyway.

See the problem that illegal drugs cause? IF pot was legal nobody would ruin their house growing it. The inspectors could go back to inspecting those few houses where some numbnuts is doing something stupid with electricity, and the cops would have more time for Timmies. Everybody wins.