Pubdate: Sat, 12 Jan 2013
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2013 The Edmonton Journal
Contact: 
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Ryan Cormier

ST. ALBERT DRUG BYLAW OVERTURNED

Restricting Sale Of Paraphernalia Outside Jurisdiction, Judge
Rules

An Edmonton judge has struck down a St. Albert bylaw that restricted
the sales of drug paraphernalia, saying it fell outside the
jurisdiction of the municipality.

In a decision released Friday, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Terry
Clackson said the bylaw "must be struck down" because the bylaw
amounted to criminal legislation that is beyond the power of St.
Albert's city council.

"In my view the amending bylaw has the look and feel of morality
legislation," Clackson wrote. "The amending bylaw has the look and
feel of a statement that 'this kind of thing isn't going to happen in
my city.' "

Clackson wrote that while the bylaw may indirectly benefit the health
and welfare of St. Albert residents by restricting products that may
assist ingestion of illegal drugs, that benefit was "quite uncertain."

Under the April 2012 bylaw, St. Albert businesses could not display or
sell more than two products from a list of banned items including
pipes, digital weigh scales, detoxifying products designed to mask
drug effects, marijuana grinders or any product that had an image of a
marijuana plant.

In essence, the bylaw turned the Chad Smoke Shop 420 store in St.
Albert from a legal business to an illegal one overnight.

Ronald Smith, a consultant with the Chad Smoke Shop chain, wrote to
St. Albert City Hall and asked how the store could possibly comply
with the new bylaw. The city replied that the store would be inspected
on May 15. During that inspection, the store was issued a
non-compliance ticket and was later told its business licence would be
suspended for five days.

That suspension was stayed while Smith applied to the courts for
judicial review of the bylaw.

"Clearly our clients are pleased with the result," said Aleksandra
Simic, Smith's lawyer.

"We felt that this was an important case from a constitutional
perspective because different levels of government must respect their
roles. When it comes to matters of criminal law, that is reserved for
our federal government."

St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse was not available for comment
Friday.

"We weren't trying to shut anybody down," Crouse said at the time the
bylaw was introduced, "but what we were trying to do is make sure the
regulations and bylaws in place are as strict as possible."

Crouse said the bylaw made St. Albert more family friendly.

"It's something that the community certainly demanded," Coun. Cam
MacKay added.

It is not yet known if St. Albert will take further legal steps in
reaction to Clackson's decision.

In July 2011, before the bylaw took effect, Crouse sent a letter to
fellow mayors in the Edmonton area, encouraging them to investigate
similar stores in their municipalities.

Calgary once debated a ban several years but no action was taken by
city council. 
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