DEXTER PASSES LAW BANNING DRUG TOOLS

DEXTER - The village has joined a growing number of municipalities with
laws allowing police to arrest anyone who has tools for illegal drug use
even if drugs aren't found.

An ordinance adopted by the Village Council Monday prohibits possession of
drug paraphernalia, ranging from facilities and equipment for growing
marijuana to hypodermic syringes for injection of controlled substances.

The ordinance, passed by a vote of 7-0, takes effect 20 days after
publication in a local newspaper. Violators can face up to a $500 fine or
90 days in jail or both.

The two-page ordinance has a long list of materials any law-abiding citizen
may possess or use routinely. In order to prosecute someone, law
enforcement officials will need reason to believe that the materials are
intended for use or production of marijuana, cocaine, hashish, hashish oil
or another controlled substance. Among the items listed:

Water pipes.

Scales, balances, testing equipment (for measuring and compounding cocaine).

Blenders, bowls, spoons, mixing devices.

Capsules, balloons, envelopes (for packaging small quantities of controlled
substances).

Hypodermic syringes, needles for injection.

Roach clips (used to hold a burning marijuana cigarette too short to hold
in the hand).

John Coy, village president, said the ordinance was requested by the
Sheriff's Department so that officers could have more options when they
make a traffic stop or respond to domestic violence and spot obviously
drug-related items.

"We have few problems in our community, but it just gives them (police)
another tool to discourage such activities," Coy said. As for any potential
complaint that the law gives too much power and discretion to police, Coy
said: "We have a very strong community policing effort. It's pretty clear
that we are just going after abusers."

Many urban communities, including the city of Ypsilanti, have enacted
similar laws to give police broader powers to fight suspected drug use and
trafficking.

The city of Ann Arbor does not have such an ordinance, said Kristen Larcom,
assistant city attorney.

Similar drug paraphernalia laws have the backing of the nation's highest
court as long as they are not too broad, said Wendy Wagenheim,
communications director of the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in
Detroit.

"As long as there is adequate definition and people have fair warning on
what would be considered illegal paraphernalia, the U.S. Supreme Court has
upheld the right to arrest for possession of drug paraphernalia," she said.