Pubdate: Fri, 02 Jun 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 COUNCIL SHUTS OUT DRUG EQUIPMENT Langley City Council has cracked down on the sale of drug paraphernalia. Despite the urging from the B.C. Civil Liberties Association for Langley City residents to show their concern over two new drug paraphernalia bylaws, one of the proposals sailed through final reading Monday night with no comment from the public. Langley City's zoning bylaw was changed to include the prohibition of the sale of drug paraphernalia, which is considered to be "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 body a controlled substance," in the City. While a public hearing was called on the issue, and a number of people sat in the audience at Council's Monday night meeting, there were no comments made and the bylaw passed. Councillor Jack Arnold, who previously attempted to put forward an amendment to take out the words "used or" in the above definition, was absent from the meeting. Council also made a move towards regulating the sale of drug paraphernalia currently thought to be sold in several downtown stores in the City. "There are about four sites in the City [selling drug paraphernalia]," said deputy city clerk Tracy Arthur. Because the stores had been selling the items before the new zoning bylaw came into effect, Arthur said, the City can't force them to stop. Those selling drug paraphernalia, however, will be made to get a Drug Paraphernalia Dealer's Licence for $1,000, if the second bylaw is fully approved. The bylaw's second reading from the May 8 Council meeting was first revoked in order to make a small change. While the City is still requiring shop owners to keep a registry of every sale of any drug paraphernalia, which includes name, address, birth date, type of identification provided, purchase date and item purchased, and price, the municipality will no longer require it to be kept electronically. "It was felt by our staff that that might be an onerous requirement of the bylaw," Mayor Peter Fassbender told the Langley Advance. Fassbender said staff raised their concerns to Council, noting that not every shop owner would have access to a computer. The slightly changed bylaw passed second and third reading with no discussion. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman