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Breaking News: Head-Shop Item Crackdown
author | Times-Leader | 06/23/2006

FEASTERVILLE, Pa. — Spencer Gifts will no longer sell water pipes police deemed to be drug paraphernalia in its more than 640 stores nationwide, under an agreement with the Bucks County District Attorney’s office.

In return, County Judge Kenneth Biehn dismissed charges of criminal conspiracy and distribution of drug paraphernalia against Steven Silverstein, chief executive officer of Spencer Gifts, and Wayne Oles, manager of the chain’s Oxford Valley Mall store.

Daniel Keane, chief deputy district attorney, said getting the pipes removed from the stores “was the goal of the prosecution from the beginning.”

In addition to pulling the pipes off the shelves, Spencer Gifts agreed to donate $2,000 to three organizations that help victims of crime, alcohol and drug abuse and domestic violence: the Bucks County Network of Victims Assistance, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and A Woman’s Place.

Attorneys for Spencer Gifts had argued that the water pipes, or hookahs, were not drug paraphernalia but were legal items labeled “for tobacco use only.” Middletown District Judge John Kelly disagreed at the March preliminary hearing.

Middletown Detective Daniel Baranoski had testified that a Spencer’s employee admitted customers bought the pipes to smoke marijuana. And a September search of the Spencer stores at the Oxford Valley Mall in Middletown and the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem yielded the pipes along with posters of marijuana gardens, “scratch-n-sniff” marijuana stickers, air fresheners that smelled like marijuana and Frisbees imprinted with marijuana leaf designs.

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Plainsman1963

If they would knock off all the cannabis related stuff and just sold the pipes (hookahs) themselves, and didn't have an idiot for an employee that would state he knows customers that buy them for cannabis [], I think they would have stood a chance.

Look at it this way...

Where the heck are Hookahs used? India?

For the sake of argument, let's say India. If I have an Indian shop that sold Indian spices, keepsakes, clothes and Hookahs I think a valid argument could be made that they are not selling the hookahs for drug purposes.
Somebody might be buying them for that, but as long as the business doesn't know that it shouldn't be their job to police how their customers use their product.

If on the other hand they hang marijuana grow posters and sell scratch and sniff marijuana stickers...Hard for them to use that argument.

The head shops just have to become smoke shops and use their imagination and if they are still busted, see what happens in court. Would take somebody with big balls to do that.
There was a guy in Omaha that went to court because he sold adult videos...We need him to open a smoke shop...

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Ruski

I live in that area first off. When i'm at the mall with my friends i go in spencers becuase it's awsome. They have an ass load of marijuana related items. they have a section devoted to it. So why does it matter if they sell a hookah but it doesn't matter if they sell ashtrays?

RL in IL

What does this say about what they were doing in the first place?

So then what is the problem?

That would not make the water pipes illegal to have in the store as long as they are marked "for tobacco use only" or "for tobacco or legal smoking herb use only".

If he knows of customers who bought the pipes to smoke marijuana, THAT would be illegal, and he would need to turn those people in for breaking the law.

Still I don't see where the marijuana itself comes in, or anything illegal. None of those things are illegal. They could be regarded as shady by some. But not illegal.

At this point as long as they remove the pipes, the other marijuana related items become instantly OK to have and sell in the store according to this sad case of governmental extortion...

The Clown

I live down south and their is a great place that stocks marijane related products, and the little place has never had any problems. In this time in age this should not be a focus. Their is plenty of illegal poison out there so let the marijane be.

 

RL in IL

So were they actually selling hookahs, or were they selling water pipes?? Article says they were water pipes, not hookahs... I would like to see authorities attempt to arrest someone for selling hookahs. The Muslims and the Turkish community would be up in arms, it is a strongly defended traditional practice in many of their families.





The Middle East.. The country of Turkey comes to mind first when it comes to hookahs. Think: Turkish Tobacco.





And that is what happens in many Turkish shops and in many tobacco shops owned by Turks or some similar peoples.





What's the difference if instead of selling Turkish related items in a store, they are a store that sells 1960s related items. Instead of posters of Turks in fez caps, they have a poster of The Beatles and other items related to the 1960s - American Culture of the 1960s. As well as collectibles and antique items such as smoking accessories. It could be argued that it is an attack on an established culture that isn't going to go away.

Plainsman1963

From the article:
So I don't know if they were selling hookahs and waterpipes, or just hookahs.
As long it wasn't geared toward marijuana gear only, I would think they would have a shot in court if they were busted.
I just fail to see where selling something that may be used in a crime is against the law.
What about guns?

Spencer's shouldn't have bent over, imho.