Grow house

Cannabis plants found in a grow house

A grow house is a property, usually located in a suburban residential neighborhood, that is primarily used for the production of marijuana.

The houses are typically outfitted with extensive hydroponic equipment to provide water, food, and light to the plants, and the houses themselves are usually kept in good condition to blend in with the neighborhood. Illegal electrical hookups are a common feature of grow houses, to both save money and to make it harder for authorities to identify them due to their unusually high electrical usage.

In popular culture

In the second season of the TV series Weeds, the protagonist begins operating a grow house to better support her marijuana-selling operation.

In the United Kingdom illegal cannabis growers usually bypass electric meter readers and "abstract" the electricity which is an offence in its own right. In the last ten years the authorities in both the United Kingdom and the United States of America have become more aware of the concept of grow houses and many have introduced policies between Law Enforcement, Local Government Authorities, Energy providers and Landlords all with the disruption and detection of illegal growhouses as their focus. In the United Kingdom the Proceeds of Crime Bill also sees Law Enforcement policies target criminal profits and unevidenced sources of income from convicted drug producers. Local media run regular stories advising local people who have concerns about possible grow houses in their area what to look out for and such signs including rarely visited properties with blacked out windows or with high levels of humidity on the inside. However, with the introduction of equipment from a range of industries into the indoor horticultural market such visible signs of an indoor grow house can easily be defeated by the professional criminal. Most indoor growers in urban conurbations employ the use of activated charcoal filters, tube or inline fans, cooling systems and hydroponic systems.