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By Ian Mulgrew, Vancouver Sun

 

British common law has long held “the house of everyone is to him as his castle and fortress” and the B.C. Court of Appeal says that principle still holds.

 

Stamping out marijuana grow operations might be a laudable societal goal, but in a unanimous ruling the court said constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure must nevertheless be respected.

 

The five-judge panel concluded the government should amend the 2004 Safety Standards Act because people have a high expectation of privacy in their homes.

 

Chief Justice Lance Finch, who penned the decision, said two sections of the law — authorizing the warrantless entry and inspection of homes to combat the electrical dangers posed by marijuana grow operations — violated the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

 

Still, the ruling looks like a lot of smoke and mirrors — it only adds an extra step in a pernicious inspection process required as a result of the expensive failed criminal prohibition against pot.

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