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June 4, 2010
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Medicinal grow-op gets raided
Ridge Meadows RCMP raided a medical marijuana grow-op on May 27, seizing 1,744 pot plants. The bust occurred in the 12200 block of Skillen Street as the result of a four-month investigation. Police say a resident in the home had a licence from Health Canada to grow pot for medicinal purposes, but the licence was for “a significantly fewer amount of plants.” Inspector Derren Lench said he believes this is the first case where local RCMP has seized marijuana from a grow-op where someone has a licence to grow it legally. “There were about 1,600 more (marijuana plants) than they should have had,” he said. “We have no interest if it’s a legal grow-op and they’re abiding by (regulations) as it’s laid out by Health Canada. We’d have no interest in even being in there but when it’s obvious that that’s really just a smokescreen for the illegal why wouldn’t we go in there? All that’s happening is they are using that regulatory scheme through Health Canada to justify their illegal actions. It just becomes an illegal grow op like the rest of them.” Lench said it’s difficult for police to deal with medicinal pot growops where too many plants are grown “because of that Health Canada licence it’s very difficult to get a search warrant to get in there. We’ll know there’s a Health Canada licence and yet you’re looking at a quonset that’s going to house a heck of a lot more than 197 plants,” he said. Lench said police are concerned that organized crime is “capitalizing on the opportunity to use someone who’s got a legitimate licence to grow more product for them and their use.” “I think we’re going to see more and more of that,” he said. Lench added that if people who have a licence to grow marijuana exceed the number of plants they’re allowed to grow they’re supposed to dispose of the marijuana. “That doesn’t mean giving it to compassion clubs or selling it,” he said.
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Aman Kaywan (left) hands a plate of food to Jeff Terry Tuesday at the Maple Ridge Caring Place.
Afghan refugee serves up thanks AMY STEELE asteele@mrtimes.com
A
man Kaywan was a lawyer, newspaper editor and teacher in Afghanistan but he was forced to flee the country to Pakistan shortly after the Taliban came into power. He had lived a privileged life in Afghanistan but all that was stripped away after he came to Canada as a refugee. On Christmas Eve 2004 he ended up at the Salvation Army’s Caring Place in Maple Ridge because he was homeless. Kaywan vividly remembers that day. He got a hug and “they welcomed me.” “They said stay here we will help you,” he said. Three months in a homeless shelter was a considerable change from his previous life where he had
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a profession with status, a government supplied car and home. He said he had never smoked, drank or done drugs and he didn’t use bad language and all those things were all around him, which he described as “a little shocking.” While he was living in transitional housing at the Caring Place someone stole all his ID and money. However, he said Salvation Army staff immediately stepped in and helped. “Now I’m OK. Now I don’t have any problems,” said Kaywan. In 2005 he was able to get into Baptist Towers, a subsidized housing complex for seniors. He describes his place as “beautiful.” “That changed my life from that day,” he said. Kaywan’s life in Afghanistan
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became unbearable after the Taliban came into power and he could be hit with a steel cable for not attending a mosque for prayers or for not growing a long beard. His wife, a teacher, was expected to never leave her house without wearing a burka. Kaywan had also worked for the government that existed before the Taliban took over and that was dangerous for him. He and his family fled to Pakistan in 1992 and stayed there until 1999. Kaywan would sneak across the border and check on his property but everything was stolen and then it was completely destroyed in a bombing. He described the family’s time in Pakistan as a “bad, hard time” because he and his wife didn’t have jobs. He remembers having tears in his eyes when he was told
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he and his family were accepted to Canada as refugees. “They gave me a new life,” he said. “They saved my life and my family.” Kaywan arrived not speaking any English. His first job was working in a warehouse at the airport and he hurt his back. He quickly learned “immigrant life is not like people born here.” He and his family got subsidized housing but after he and his wife separated Kaywan found himself with nowhere to live and had to go to the Caring Place. After getting his own place at Baptist Towers Kaywan decided he wanted to give back to the organization that had helped him get back on his feet again. See AMAN, Page 9
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