TOWNSHIP PLANS TO USE SAFETY INSPECTIONS TO CRACK DOWN ON MARIJUANA
OPERATIONS AND DRUG LABS

LANGLEY TOWNSHIP - The Township will have a new tool to crack down on
the owners of homes where drugs are illicitly being produced.

Council has given authorization for a pilot program that will use
special safety inspections to recover costs from marijuana grow homes.

The $250,000 project includes a number of changes to Township bylaws.

Existing bylaws will be augmented by giving the Township the power to
cut off water to properties on which drugs are to produced, giving
Township workers the power to conduct repairs if owners don't comply,
and turning any expenses into a debt of the owners.

The first three readings of the bylaw changes were passed unanimously.

Because drugs and crime are federal and provincial matters,
Councillor Steve Ferguson asked whether there was any way to obtain
more funding from other levels of government. Township staff say
there doesn't appear to be any chance of that happening.

The bylaw won't be aimed solely at marijuana grow operations. The
wording mentions the production of controlled substances, so it could
be used against labs making methamphetamines or other substances as well.