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Newshawk: Sledhead
Pubdate: Sat, 29 Dec 2001
Source: Orlando Sentinel (FL)
Copyright: 2001 Orlando Sentinel
Contact: insight@orlandosentinel.com
Website: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/325
Author: Rich McKay
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?420 (Cannabis - Popular)

DAYTONA TRIES TO QUASH SALES OF 'TOBACCO' PIPES

DAYTONA BEACH -- Danny Black of Shoreham, N.Y., pressed his nose to the glass window of Sportwear USA, ogling the colorful array of glass pipes -- some 2 feet tall -- billed for tobacco only. But few are fooled.

"It's for marijuana, man," he said. "Getting high. I don't do
cigarettes."

Black is uncommonly candid about his intentions. The 19-year-old
college sophomore on Christmas break said he wants to inhale, get high and then get the munchies.

Black wanted to get an exotic tobacco pipe fast. Daytona Beach City Commission recently took a hard line on the pipes. They have banned the display and sale of them, and they threaten fines that could run from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

It's part of the commission's effort to clean up the city's image of
a party-till-you-puke town.

"These things are drug paraphernalia, and there's no question about that," said Mayor Bud Asher. "We're taking a stand to do our best to keep our young people drug-free."

A similar tactic is being used on the city's adult strip clubs and
video stores, with many thousands of dollars in potential fines
accumulating. But the effectiveness remains to be seen, as the
business owners are fighting the city in court.

Asher said the new ordinance relies on an existing Florida statute
that bans drug paraphernalia.

The statute specifically bans: "Objects used, intended for use, or
designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing
cannabis (*marijuana) into the human body."

"Bongs" -- slang for any container used to smoke marijuana, filtering the smoke through water -- are outlawed in the same state law.

Not so fast. There's a loophole.

If you use only tobacco in the items, or even use them as
paperweights, they're perfectly legal, said Sgt. Al Tolley of the
Daytona Beach Police Department.

It's what goes in there, or your intent, that's at issue.

All the stores the Sentinel found selling the pipes have signs
specifically stating that the objects are for use with tobacco.

You walk into the stores and you'll see big signs that declare the
items are for use in tobacco only.

But undercutting that declaration is the fact that many of the pipes are individually marked with the numbers "4:20"-- slang for getting high.

Other communities across the nation are taking similar hard lines.
Earlier this month, the city of Chicago banned the sale of flavored
cigarette paper that could be used to hide the smell of marijuana.

This summer the state of Michigan along with the city of Chicago
banned the sale of 4-inch glass pipes that can be used as crack pipes -- deeming them drug paraphernalia.

In Milwaukee -- while not banning the items -- district attorney
asked merchants to sign good-faith agreements not to sell the items, saying proving intent would be too difficult.

Asher said his city is ready to fight -- and fight hard.

"I'm no goodie-two-shoes, but this is something we don't need or want in Daytona Beach."

 

Mamabudz

In a recent series of threads a poster was bemoaning what he believed to be evidence of the sad state of affairs of the marijuana movement in the Southern region of these United States. In particular our poster was concerned with the Sunshine State, home of Walt Disney World and beautiful Miami Beach -- :O FLORIDA :O

Today I received this news article and was bemused by the timing. Apparently here is some proof of ridiculous municipal anti-marijuana legislation in Daytona, Forida -- home of College Spring Break and Harley Bike Week. Two groups not known for their angelic ways and abstinent behaviour.

Now some of you may know that the state of FLorida is suffering some terrible financial whoas.

The Governor was forced to recall the House of Representatives and full Senate on a Second Special Budget Session right before Christmas so that his budget for 2001 could be approved after his own folks (they are all Republicans by the way) got into a hissy fit over who would have to take the blame for cutting Hundreds and Hundreds of Thousands of dollars from the state school system to balance a $ 1.3 Billion dollar deficit they had created (oops!) Anyway, FLorida thrives on tourism, especially people flying to the south for quick vacations when it gets cold up in the Northeast and MidWest.

So you see, Florida's great beaches and resort towns and industries have taken a real beating since September 11 and really really needs folks to come visit. But folks like to come somewhere where they can relax and kick back and well -- smoke out, well...WE DO....And there are a lot of US and we spend money...we put money into the economy of an area -- black market...free market...we add money in whereever we go! And this is some lovely needed advertising that DAYTONA, FL...home of the DAYTONA SPEEDWAY!...and the famous Daytona Beach!...

And the hotels and motels and shops that sell the paraphenalia are dying from lack of revenue...not good for a state in financial chaos from lack of tourism....and inflow of money. Like the kind pot-smokers spend? And folks who work in those towns work in tourism and they are losing their jobs -- can't clean unused hotel rooms -- can't fix unused unbroken toilets -- don't need Hooters Girlz if there aren't tourists to ogle their no-line tans! But those out of work folks sure have time to sit a jury. Like maybe in a case against a municipality that wants to limit what someone can sell in their store, leading their tourists to go somewheere else and keeping them out of work ...while the tourists spend their money...which they will spend soemwher...somewhere else?


"Daytona vs the Bong a Case of Counter-Tourism" - Next on Night Line!




What's your opinion?

~ have a cookie

Mama Budz

deadhed

Daytona Beach saying it's not a party town is... like saying a 4-footer hand-blown color-changing bong (ahem) water pipe is for tobacco use only

You're very right in saying that tryind to discourage partying in Daytona Beach isn't going to help the flagging economy. But then again, neither is spending untold billions on the WoD, yet it still happens. I wouldn't want to risk it in court, as the jury might get packed with religious crazies (Florida, esp. the panhandle, is interesting because you have ultra-conservative Christians living everywhere except the beach, and then you have the heathens living on the beach. Besides, if I were impartial, I would probably see that a pipe with a glass reefer decoration was probably made for weed and I would convict. I digress...


"Daytona vs the Bong a Case of Counter-Tourism"

Witty

DoritosMan

they'll prolly get what they want, they always do. The next thing you know salt is prohibited

__________________
another tasteless and odorless latin american

I pity the fool that dont use the search engine!

Panama

To the Current Affairs forum.

__________________
"This fight against the War on Drugs is not a war in the classic sense of the word, so it's virtually impossible to point to one instance and say, 'That was the battle that stemmed the tide in our favor'. We have had many small victories that have led us to where we are and each day we continue to communicate and educate brings us that much closer to our ultimate goal: The end of marijuana prohibition." -Richard "Panama" Red-
Marijuana.Com Posting Guideline

 

footix

Does anyone know someone who actually smokes tobacco out of those pipes? I went to a few head shops in Austin, Tx one time, it was funny -- you absolutely cannot mention marijuana or any slang (pot, weed, bong, etc.) I was warned of this several times before I went . I don't think this will hit the tourism too hard, though, the airline industry is doing that all by itself.

__________________
legalize worldwide.

Nasarius

And how exactly will banning a certain type of smoking device "keep our young people drug-free"? Morons

Hydrocronics

On Footix' question regarding if anyone actually smokes tobacco in them...
I personally don't know anyone who would whitewall a bong with tobacco smoke, then take it in. I could not identify anyone who does this as being a sane person.

JohnnyChronic

Hitting a blunt through a bong is the closest I come to using it for tobacco. I can't imagine what it would be like with ONLY tobacco. The bong blunt hit just about makes me pass out....it's a nice nicotine rush though, to complement the stone. I don't do it often though...tobacco is bad.

AsthmaticTurtle

It's been said a million times before but the government should let people do what they want with their bodies and their money. I guarantee if there were special taxes on glass pipes(pot smoking bongs) that the officials would turn their heads when they saw 4:20 painted on to a glass pipe(pot smoking bong).

How easy would it be to empty out a cigarette and show the cashier that you are using this for perfectly legal purposes. They couldn't stop you could they?

And of course a glass pipe(pot smoking bong) is drug paraphanelia but in my opinion so is a toilet paper roll, aluminum foil, a pop can, an inhaler, a pen tube, ect ect ect...