A White Rock family that fears fumes from a neighbouring marijuana grow-op could be harming their children has been told there’s no recourse.

Lisa van Vliet said the pungent smell constantly wafting into her home aggravates her lung condition, and permeates the bedrooms of her young daughters, one of whom has Down syndrome.

“It is to the point where I can’t have events with children over,” van Vliet told CTV News. “The parents kind of say, ‘this is really bad, we’re not comfortable staying here.’”

The family has sought help from police and city officials, but because the medical marijuana grow-op is legal, there’s nothing anyone can do.

White Rock’s chief administrative officer Dan Bottrill said as long as the pot growers are following Health Canada guidelines, they’re free to continue.

“It’s a challenging situation, and it’s a challenging situation right across the nation,” Bottrill said.

There are several other local examples, including in Burnaby, where a grow-op has been blamed for stinking up Fraser Park Restaurant.

Another legal grow-op in a Maple Ridge industrial park also prompted complaints to city hall throughout the spring.

Health Canada won’t tell municipalities or police where legal grow-ops are due to privacy concerns, but the agency said all current licenses will expire next March, when only large-scale, tightly-regulated commercial growers will be allowed.

For families like the van Vliet’s, seven months is a long time to wait.

“My kids don’t need to know what marijuana smells like at five and six years old,” van Vliet said.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Penny Daflos