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Buzzby

Despite Charge, Smoke Shop Owner Says Gear Not For Drugs
Emily Sweeney | Boston Globe | 06/22/2006

The owner of Brennan's Smoke Shop -- a family-run shop on Route 139 that has sold tobacco products for many years -- will be arraigned next week on criminal charges for selling items that the police consider to be drug paraphernalia.

Approximately $20,000 worth of water pipes, scales, and grinders were confiscated by police in November, according to shop owner Karen Brennan Fontana. She insists that all of her merchandise is intended for tobacco use, and is used by those who smoke loose tobacco and roll their own cigarettes.

Law enforcement officials say that certain smoking products, such as colorful water pipes, encourage marijuana use.

Brennan's Smoke Shop is a well-known South Shore destination for smokers seeking cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and roll-your-own tobacco supplies. The first Brennan's Smoke Shop opened in Plymouth 16 years ago, and there are stores in Abington, Brockton, Bridgewater, and Pembroke.

Pembroke police were initially unsuccessful when they tried to press charges against the shop; the court at first ruled that they didn't have a case. Police appealed, and last month a clerk magistrate from Falmouth decided that police had enough reason to issue a criminal complaint and bring the case to trial.

Fontana is due in Plymouth District Court on Tuesday on one count of possessing drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute.

But she said , "It is not illegal to sell what we're selling. We're not doing anything wrong." Plus, she noted, no one under 18 is allowed in her shop.

Her son, Geoff Yalenezian, described the police seizure as "disgusting."

"We're selling tobacco products," said Yalenezian, of Hull. "Filtering tobacco through water is not new. This is old-school stuff.

"You don't charge Home Depot or Lowe's for selling paraphernalia to cultivate drugs," he said. "Brennan's Smoke Shop is within the bounds of the law. They're trying to rewrite the law. They're trying to strong-arm us. We're not going anywhere."

Yalenezian said police only took pipes with "contemporary" styles -- colorful ones made from glass or acrylic -- and left the more traditional-looking smoking devices, like corncob pipes, alone.

Pembroke Police Chief Gregory Wright said police visited the Pembroke tobacco shop after receiving a tip that the shop was selling pipes, or bongs, and other products that could be considered drug paraphernalia.

"Detectives went in, then I made contact with the owner and encouraged her to remove certain items from the store," said Wright. "She declined to do so. Then we sought a warrant and seized the items."

On Nov. 16, Pembroke police returned to Brennan's Smoke Shop and confiscated 330 smoking pipes, 44 water pipes, 23 plastic water pipes, 44 scales , 15 small glass containers, 87 grinders, and 50 repair parts, according to Wright.

"From our standpoint, it was clear to us that those items come within the definition of drug paraphernalia," he said.

All of the seized merchandise is in the evidence room of the Pembroke Police Department, he said.

"One of the things we're trying to do is discourage, particularly young people, from partaking in the use of drugs," Wright said. "When people can go into these stores and make purchases like that . . . it's almost encouraging the use of drugs. It gives the indication that it's OK, when it really isn't."

Massachusetts state law prohibits the sale of items "under circumstances where one reasonably should know that it will be used to . . . plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, . . . store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance." Violators can be punished by one to two years in jail, and fined $500 to $5,000.

The law has been on the books since the early 1980s. It was around that time that states across the country began adopting similar regulations, in an effort to crack down on stores selling drug wares.

By mid-1981, 20 states had outlawed the sale of drug paraphernalia. Massachusetts became the 26th state to enact a drug paraphernalia law, which took effect in March 1982.

Civil libertarians and merchants have criticized these laws as being too vague and have argued that it is impossible to predict the intentions of customers.

The Massachusetts law also states that authorities should weigh several factors, including whether there is drug residue found on the item, whether there are illegal drugs close by, and whether the item is sold at a licensed tobacco shop.

Fontana's attorney, Ron N. Whitney, says the law is rarely applied against pipes sold by tobacco dealers.

"It's enforced very selectively," said Whitney. "If they think cracking down on Karen Brennan will slow down illegal drug use, they're sadly mistaken. The police should be in the streets and community working to stop the drugs themselves, not these pipes."

It's not the first time Pembroke police have cracked down on drug paraphernalia, according to Wright. Pembroke police have previously approached convenience stores to stop selling rolling papers and "small amounts of things we consider to be paraphernalia." The stores complied, he said.

Over the past decade, a handful of drug paraphernalia busts at tobacco shops have made local headlines. In 1996, police seized pipes from smoke shops in Framingham, New Bedford, Somerville, and Worcester; in January 1997, police confiscated similar items from a business called Psych-o-delic Emporium on Route 53 in Hanover.

In 2003, Boston police ordered three Boston smoke shops to get rid of bongs and other pipes that might be used for smoking marijuana. That same year, federal authorities conducted two nationwide sweeps -- Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter -- and indicted more than 50 people accused of peddling drug paraphernalia in stores or on the web.

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Awbrey

I think that is total bullshit honestly.. they are not promoting smoking marijuana its just the cops are assholes and they rather just assume that its used for that and rather shutdown ur family business. its not like there selling drugs in the store and they dont let little kids in there or anything because i know the one in abington i have been there before and they actually check ur ID when you come in there.. the government just sucks and they dont want anything that has to do or look like it has to do with marijuana when this has to do with tobacco which i believe they will win in court good luck with the case.. o yea all corner stores have to stop selling cigars and rolling papers and blunt wraps now too because they believe that them are used to smoke marijuana also fuck that shit

Buzzby

Get real. I've been around for a long time. In my 57 years I've never seen anyone smoke tobacco out of a four-foot bong with a giant cannabis leaf engraved on the side.

Cigarette papers and cigars are dual-purpose commodities and there is some question as to the purpose for which they're going to be used. I'd say it is stretching the envelope to say that some 18-year-old is going to use a color-changing glass piece with a tiny bowl for smoking tobacco.

GPSmoke

This is so true, I agree with you 100%. Although I do believe it is kind of unfair to those types of businesses getting messed with. I was unaware that there was specific laws against these types of stores in particular states, I thought as long as it was for "tobacco", it was okay. Alright, I've got to get back to my giant bowl of tobacco.

Buzzby

State and federal paraphernalia laws mention several types of smoking implements specifically. They are not often enforced because of the lengthy legal battles that ensue when they are. The lawyers always use the "they weren't intended for illegal purposes" argument.

 

vladimir

sad story, i've actually done just that...i took one hit and my lungs were in pain for a week...
definately not something to be recommended

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Plainsman1963

As well the lawyers should.

In my opinion, we shouldn't be making laws against products based on the possibility it could be used to break the law.

Whether you or I have ever seen anybody smoke tobacco out of a 4 ft. bong, the fact is that you can and I am sure somebody somewhere does.

Just like in my 43 years I have never seen a Hookah actually being used, but in other countries it is used all the time for tobacco.

Like the article said...Let's bust Home Depot for selling HID security lights. Earl Mays for selling fertilizer. They both could be used for growing an illegal substance and then using it.

How about if you are convicted of distribution, make a law so you can't own a car...Might be used to transport.

Protect The Children!!!

Really, if they catch somebody smoking cannabis out of a bong...Bust them if they must. Don't bust the business that sells the bongs.
I like cool tobacco, myself. I just can't break the habit of inhaling too deeply and holding it.

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Tokamak

What about all of the so-called "legal buds" (just look around on this site; you can't miss the annoying ads...)? I'll admit that I've been hoodwinked into buying some of this outrageously overpriced herbal roughage before, and I used a large water pipe to smoke it. Using anything else would undoubtably have burned my lungs even worse that what actually occured. In my experience, most smoke shops that sell pipes and bongs also sell herbal smoking blends to go in them. Even if it is true that practically no one uses bongs to smoke tobacco, they still have a legitimate legal use with these products.

Peace.

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Sec

These are the terms to which I object. The article is written as though they are basing their entire case on a coulda shoulda woulda type of an arguement. Is it illegal to encourage an adult to use either tobacco or marijuana?

I do argree with Buzzby's point though, I think the shop owner is trying to blow smoke up someone's rear end. Still, don't the phrases quoted above give you cause to question the motives of the law enforcement in this case (assuming that the writer of the article didn't take liberties with what the law enforcement officials actually said).

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