Buzzby

Drug Gear Too Easy To Get
Kim Mitchell | Daily Times | 12/01/2005

SALISBURY -- Three little words can prevent convenience store owners from heavy fines or jail time when it comes to would-be drug paraphernalia.

By plastering the words "For Tobacco Use" on the display cases containing glass pipes, a store owner can avoid being charged with paraphernalia crimes that can result in up to eight years in prison, a $15,000 fine or both.

"We're only selling it to you if you are going to use it for tobacco," Wicomico County Deputy State's Attorney Sam Vincent said of the store owners. "That's their way to disclaim accusation."

Proving a clerk sold an item to a customer knowing he or she was going to use it for drugs is difficult.

"They try to get around the law through ignorance," said Wicomico Assistant State's Attorney Beau Oglesby, who prosecutes drug cases for the county. "They don't want to know why you're buying it."

Oglesby said making a legal case against head shops, which more often sell would-be drug paraphernalia, is hard enough. Convenience stores would be even more difficult.

So-called "head shops" sell T-shirts and black light posters with felt marijuana leaves, magazines such as High Times and bumper stickers displaying the time 4:20. They don't, however, sell tobacco to use in the "For Tobacco Use" pipes, bongs and one-hitters on display, he said.

"But convenience stores don't have the items that would paint a picture for you of what these things are really used for," Oglesby said.

Another difficulty police and prosecutors find is that there are legitimate, legal purposes for the items drug users convert into paraphernalia, said Maj. Gary Baker of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office.

"Our job is to enforce the law. It's not against the law to sell these things," Baker said. "It's not our business until they are used for purposes that are illegal."

But officials are trying to change that in some cities.

In Delaware, a Wilmington councilman is trying to pass a law that would shut down convenience stores and gas stations from midnight to 4 a.m., in part because some stores that sold makeshift paraphernalia would draw disorderly crowds.

But the purpose of the items, despite whether or not the majority of buyers use them illegally, prevents the items from being barred from convenience stores.

"It has a legitimate purpose until they use it for something illegal," Baker said. "That's when it crosses the line and becomes paraphernalia."

Drug users will often resort to common goods to make paraphernalia, Baker said.

"A Coke can can be bent up and put a hole through to make a crack pipe," he said. "It's the same theory."

Illicit tools of the trade

Maryland law requires stores to keep tobacco products out of the reach of customers. Clerks must give patrons cigars, rolling papers and glass pieces from behind the counter.

Customers, however, don't have to ask for items that can be easily converted into drug paraphernalia.

Many Salisbury convenience stores sell a "Love Rose" that consists of a small plastic rose encased in a glass tube.

With a push, the rose is out, leaving an ideal crack pipe. Screens and filters are also sold in some stores.

"If (stores) are allowed to sell that stuff, then they should legalize it already," customer Matt Dos said about the glass pipes on the counter of a gas station on Snow Hill Road in Salisbury.

The store's clerk said he hardly ever sells the glass pipes encased and labeled with "For Tobacco Use."

"But you can buy it, if you have ID," he said.

Police say that some drug users will hollow out cigars, such as Philly Blunts, and fill them with marijuana. The Salisbury clerk said plenty of people come in for the cigars.

The Food Mart store on Old Ocean City Road also prevents liability by saying the pipes in the display case are for tobacco.

Store employee Ali Guieshi said he recently moved from an intense drug use area in Washington. Here in Salisbury, things are different, he said.

Guieshi said although the store has glass pipes for sale, customers rarely buy them. Rolling papers are also available, but aren't commonly purchased either.

Even though the store sees its share of cigar sales, Guieshi said drugs are not the reason.

"This area is very clean," he said. "I don't think they use it for those things."

Smaller stores tend to carry items they know customers will buy, said Vernon Bradley, owner of Bradley's Market on Lake Street.

The market carries cigars, but that's because customers -- especially older men -- buy them just to smoke.

Bradley, however, draws the line at items he thinks people will use illegally.

"I've seen too many people destroyed," he said. "I'm from the days when marijuana was (considered) harmless. But it's different now. I don't want any part of anything dealing with crack cocaine."

Jeovonia Johnson, a Bradley's employee, said people come in asking for the love roses and screens. She can only assume what the person intends to use them for -- smoking crack cocaine.

"Those roses are a slick way of selling that stuff through stores," she said. "It gets right to the customer."

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teufelfisch

So what do they intend on doing? Will they ban all pipes, including the typical tobacco pipe? Will lighters and matches become illegal? What about the people that cook marijuana? Will pots and pans, butter and crockpots be banned from grocery stores?

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Mr.Goodbake

damn crackheads giving pipes a bad name.