Pubdate: Fri, 12 May 2006 Source: Langley Advance (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 Lower Mainland Publishing Group Inc. Contact: http://www.langleyadvance.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1248 Author: Angela Wiebe Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?228 (Paraphernalia) CITY COUNCIL: DRUG BYLAW COULD GO TOO FAR, COUNCILLOR BELIEVES A Langley City bylaw to regulate sales of drug paraphernalia passed initial approval, with one councillor opposed. Coun. Jack Arnold found himself alone in a battle over two little words at the May 8 City Council meeting. In response to a bylaw presented to Council that would regulate the sale of drug paraphernalia, Arnold brought up his concern over the words, "used or." In a statement that explains exactly what the products to be regulated are, drug paraphernalia is described as "all equipment, products, and materials of any kind which are used or designed for use in smoking, inhaling, ingesting, injecting, cultivating, growing, harvesting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, containing, concealing, or introducing into the human body a controlled substance." Arnold said the words, "used or," should not be included in the statement, as just about anything could be used for drugs. "When it says it includes anything that people can use for drugs, that includes rolling papers, needles, pipes," he said, listing items commonly used for legal activities, such as smoking tobacco and injecting insulin. The two words change the entire meaning of the bylaw, he said. The proposed bylaw states that every store clerk who sells any drug paraphernalia must record the customer's personal information, the description of the item bought, price of the item, and the date of purchase, as well as provide picture identification of the customer to the RCMP. Micheal Vonn, policy director for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the proposed bylaw should be a concern to Langley City citizens. "It's not a little thing," she said. "We're concerned about the overbreadth of it for the average person." Like Arnold, she cited the example of buying rolling papers for "grandma who likes to roll her own" and being added to a police registry. "Good luck getting your name off of any police database," she said. She wondered why Council could not deal with simpler alternatives first, such as creating a bylaw for the sale of drug paraphernalia to be sold behind the counter. "It would appear that this would be the logical step," she said, adding that the bylaw being introduced now is very labour-intensive for both the store clerk and the police. The B.C. Civil Liberties Association is currently fighting what are called surveillance databases in several municipalities and Vonn said the B.C. Privacy Commission will be coming out with a report on the issue very soon. Arnold asked for an amendment to delete the two words at Monday night's meeting, but it was quickly shot down by Council. "There is a certain amount of common sense and logic here," said City Manager Cliff Gittens. "It's referring to things obviously used for the drug trade, not products obviously used for medical purposes." Arnold said the definition may make sense now, but could lose its intended meaning in the future. "Hypodermic needles are not designed to do drugs," he said. "Bongs are. Hash pipes are. And that's the type of thing we should be going after." The bylaw passed second reading - with Arnold opposed - and will move forward as it was originally worded. There are thought to be about five convenience stores in the downtown area of Langley City that sell drug paraphernalia. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin