Red Wing drug paraphernalia ordinance set

An ordinance cracking down on drug paraphernalia sales and possession was approved 6-1 Monday by the Red Wing City Council.

Council member Dan Bender voted against the motion.

Police Chief Tim Sletten, who brought the ordinance to the council, has said there is evidence that drug use is increasing among youths in the area. He said the ordinance would help send a message and possibly curb use, likening it to the social host and seller/server regulations adopted in Red Wing and throughout the county.

In the proposed ordinance, drug paraphernalia is generally defined as materials, equipment or products used, intended for or designed for use to create, package, process, test or take controlled substances.

Those include everything from capsules and other packaging, scales, baggies and hypodermic needles to water pipes and roach clips.

Bender, who voted against the ordinance’s introduction earlier this month, said then the list of what drug paraphernalia includes seemed too broad and subjective to him.

The proposal was tabled at a council meeting last year because members had a laundry list of questions. Since then, Sletten has talked with members individually, and they discussed the issue at a full council workshop. There was no discussion before Monday’s vote on the ordinance.

Moe Wazwaz, who owns Red Wing Smoke Shop, has said he believes the ordinance is targeting his store. He and his attorney Britt Ackerman have said they likely would challenge the ordinance in court. Neither spoke at Monday’s meeting, but Ackerman said earlier this month the language in the city’s paraphernalia ordinance is overbroad and would challenge the constitutionality.

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