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cities to pass more effective ordinances <br />"prohibiting or otherwise regulating the <br />manufacture, delivery, possession, or <br />advertisement of drug paraphernalia." <br />Many cities have adopted their own <br />ordinances to regulate drug paraphernalia, <br />including specifically prohibiting sales. But <br />for a variety of reasons, business owners <br />routinely challenge these ordinances as <br />unconstitutional and then successfully <br />invoke virulent public outcry on that basis. <br />This experience—along with costly court <br />challenges—discourages other cities from <br />taking similar steps to curb illegal drug <br />activity, and leaves most cities only able to <br />enforce an inadequate state law. <br />Most states immediately around Minnesota <br />define "drug paraphernalia" in a detailed <br />way based on a 1979 model federal law <br />designed to avoid constitutional issues. <br />Minnesota does not. Federal law and the law <br />of half the states immediately around <br />Minnesota explicitly ban sales of drug <br />paraphernalia, but Minnesota does not. The <br />current state of the law arguably makes drug <br />paraphernalia easier to obtain in Minnesota <br />than in the states immediately surrounding <br />it. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports strengthening the current <br />statutory prohibition on drug <br />paraphernalia, including improving the <br />statutory definition of "drug <br />paraphernalia" and explicitly prohibiting <br />sales. <br />SD -51. Regulation of Massage <br />Therapists <br />Issue: The state does not currently license or <br />register massage therapists. Massage <br />therapists are regulated under Minn Stat. ch. <br />146A, which identifies prohibited provider <br />conduct and authorizes the Minnesota <br />Department of Health to take disciplinary <br />action against noncompliant providers. <br />However, funds for these purposes have <br />been limited. <br />In order to control prostitution and to <br />provide for health and sanitation standards, <br />several cities have entered the traditional <br />state domain of health-care licensure by <br />enacting ordinances that require all massage <br />therapists to obtain a local professional <br />license. These ordinances help local law <br />enforcement officers to differentiate <br />between legitimate providers and <br />prostitution businesses fronting as massage <br />therapy establishments. <br />Response: The League of Minnesota <br />Cities supports the statewide registration <br />or licensure of massage therapists in <br />order to aid local law enforcement efforts <br />to control prostitution and other criminal <br />activity. The League opposes legislation <br />that would pre-empt the ability of cities to <br />regulate massage therapy establishments, <br />except that cities should not have the <br />authority to require local licensing for <br />individual massage therapists working <br />under the direction of a licensed medical <br />professional unless massage is provided as <br />part of a separate and distinct massage <br />business. The League supports the <br />provision in Minn. Stat. ch. 146A and <br />calls for legislation that would allow cities <br />to prosecute violations of Minn. Stat. ch. <br />146A. <br />The League also supports legislation <br />pertaining to the practice of massage <br />therapy that accomplishes the following: <br />a) Helps cities establish legitimacy of <br />providers applying for a local license <br />to practice. <br />b) Prevents individuals from conducting <br />criminal activities such as prostitution <br />League of Minnesota Cities <br />2016 City Policies Page 32 <br />