Having received an administration report on all the options available to make life more difficult for stores selling products related to illegal drug consumption, city council now wants to go a step further and develop a strategy to deal with such shops.
Council has unanimously approved a motion by Mayor Nolan Crouse asking administration to prepare a comprehensive plan by Dec. 19.
Before voting, Crouse amended his motion to replace the word “paraphernalia” with “materials and products.”
“I’m just trying to make sure we are out in front of this,” he said.
Crouse said he has received 198 pieces of correspondence on the issue of bong shops, which he said “indicates how much emotion and how much tension there is around this issue.”
“We’ve received a lot of input on this in the last few weeks so we must know what the key things are in the future,” he said.
The owner of Blitz 420, who tried to move his store to Appleyard Square in Akinsdale, recently indicated he would not re-open his business in St. Albert and threatened to sue Crouse, accusing the mayor of harassing him. The owner of The Chad Smoke Shop, located on Hebert Road, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Some proposed strategies include exploring how business licences for such establishments are dealt with, but Coun. Cathy Heron urged the city to go even further.
“These ideas all deal with the licensing bylaw, but maybe we should also look at the land use bylaw so that if we can’t prevent a store from opening here, we can at least locate them somewhere else,” she said.
“There is a legislative gap within our country and province how to deal with these items,” said Coun. Cam MacKay. “It’s up to us as community leaders to make sure youth and residents are safer and do not fall victim to some of these items that are sold.”
