CONTRADICTING THE CODE

Editor, The News:

Re: Bylaws says no bong shop (The News, Sept. 17).

I find it quite scary that the management of our district can pass
judgement citing only a portion of laws. I believe anyone in charge
of a department such as the bylaw department or a part of municipal
council should be somewhat adept at reading bylaws.

The Criminal Code of Canada does address drug paraphernalia, under
section 462.2 which reads:

Every one who knowingly imports into Canada, exports from Canada,
manufactures, promotes or sells instruments or literature for illicit
drug use is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction. It
then goes on to list the specific penalties that may be handed out.

Handily in section 462.1 of the code they define exactly what
constitutes an "instrument for illicit drug use" which "means anything
designed primarily or intended under the circumstances for consuming
or to facilitate the consumption of an illicit drug, but does not
include a "device" as that term is defined in section 2 of the Food
and Drug Act."

That obviously means a little extra reading is needed before one can
pass judgement on the so-called "drug paraphernalia" of the Hemporium.
I actually took the time to do that reading, unlike council or the
bylaw department.

This is what the Food and Drug Act says:

. "device" means any article, instrument, apparatus or contrivance,
including any component, part or accessory thereof, manufactured, sold
or represented for use in:

. the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease,
disorder or abnormal physical state, or its symptoms, in human being
or animals;

. restoring, correcting or modifying a body function or the body
structure of human beings or animals;

. the diagnosis of pregnancy in human beings or animals,
or;

. the care of human beings or animals during pregnancy and at and
after birth of the offspring, including care of the offspring.

It also includes a contraceptive device, but does not include a
drug.

As the use of marijuana is an accepted practice for the treatment of
many disorders, clearly any device used to consume it for such medical
purposes is specifically excluded from the Criminal Code of Canada.

Now what makes the district think it can contradict the Criminal Code
of Canada?

ROB GAGNE

Maple Ridge