COURT HANDCUFFS RULES

In a remarkable bit of backwards thinking, the B.C. Court of Appeal
has put handcuffs on a law enforcement initiative that was reducing
the impact of pot grow operations.

It started with a case brought by two residents of Surrey who refused
to allow safety inspectors to enter their home as long as they
insisted on being accompanied by police officers. The inspectors were
abiding by provisions of B.C.'s Safety Standards Act that allowed
municipal inspectors to demand entry into anyone's home to do an
electrical safety inspection if, because of unusual power consumption,
they suspected the home was being used to grow pot.

The Appeals Court ruled that such inspections violate the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms, and that in future, administrative warrants will
be required. That would still allow the inspections to take place, the
court maintains, but would reasonably protect individual privacy.

And it would give marijuana growers the heads up they need to clear
out. Once again, law enforcement gets the run-around, and criminals
get the breaks.