Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2001
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2001 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact:  P.O. Box 149001, Anchorage, AK 99514
Fax: Fax (907) 264-8794
Website: http://www.adn.com/
Author: Molly Brown

COPS RAID SHOPS FOR 'PARAPHERNALIA' SEIZURE:

Police Cart Off Boxes Of Goods Worth Thousands.

Months after the Anchorage Assembly made it a criminal offense to sell 
items defined as "drug paraphernalia," Anchorage police seized boxes of 
stuff from two local novelty stores last week. At least two other stores 
removed items from shelves.

Police were spurred into action last Monday after a citizen reported 
"suspicious activity" at Really Neat Stuff, said police detective Dennis 
Allen. The citizen described a store with toys in the front and saloon-type 
doors opening to a back area that housed other items, Allen said.

An investigating officer visited the store, at 6140 Old Seward Highway, and 
found "bongs, metal, wooden, acrylic and glass pipes used mainly for 
ingesting marijuana," according to court papers. A few hours later, police 
arrived at Really Neat Stuff and seized goods -- owner Chris Main estimated 
70 boxes -- worth thousands of dollars.

"I've been ambushed," Main said. "If I had known it was against the law, I 
would have taken it off my shelves."

Main wasn't the only person surprised by the seizure. Jill Williams, after 
hearing about the raid, drove from her home to her Midtown business, The 
Look, and removed 40 pipes from shelves. And Joel Mathes, owner of Exit 
Glass on Spenard Road, locked his door and boxed up some items, which he 
says he sells for tobacco use. His store also sells hemp products, jewelry 
and body lotions.

Police seized items from the Black Market, a downtown store, on Tuesday. 
The store owner did not return calls.

No charges have been filed.

"It's a waste of everybody's money," Williams said of the seizures. The 
police "could be doing something more important than that."

Changes to the city's drug abuse and paraphernalia code were contained in 
an ordinance amending the municipality's criminal code. The 11-page 
ordinance, among other things, redefined child abuse, child neglect, 
harassment by electronic communication and resisting or interfering with an 
officer, and it defined and criminalized the sale or possession of drug 
paraphernalia.

Besides making the sale of drug paraphernalia a criminal offense, the 
ordinance defined them as "any items whose objective characteristics or 
objective manufacturer's design indicate that it is intended for use in the 
consumption, ingestion, inhalation, injection or other method of 
introduction of a controlled substance into the human body."

The ordinance added crack cocaine bongs, stems and pipes and 
methamphetamine bongs and pipes to a list that includes scales and balances 
to measure controlled substances; blenders, bowls, containers, spoons and 
mixing devices used with controlled substances; and objects like metal, 
wood, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic or ceramic pipes, water pipes, chamber 
pipes and carburetor pipes, to name a few.

The ordinance was introduced by officials of then-Mayor Rick Mystrom's 
administration. It was adopted in July after Mayor George Wuerch took 
office. The changes to the law took effect in October.

The Look and Black Market were two of four businesses simultaneously raided 
by police in November 1997. Authorities had planned to bring criminal 
charges against the store owners for selling drug paraphernalia, but a 
conflict in city law prevented municipal prosecutors from filing charges. 
Seized items were returned to the businesses in January 1998.

Municipal prosecutor John Richard said Friday that operation didn't go 
well. The ordinance was contained in the city's criminal code but included 
only civil penalties, such as fines and orders to stop selling. The 
Anchorage Municipal Code now states that violators face up to a year in 
jail and a $5,000 fine. Violators also forfeit any confiscated items. News 
of the law change came as a surprise to many people. Main said he didn't 
know about the Assembly's action. Williams wonders whether the Assembly 
sneaked the ordinance through. Mathes doesn't think the city has the power 
to enforce the law.

There are similar ordinances nationwide, Richard said. In most places 
they've been upheld by courts, he said.

Richard expects the battle over the Anchorage ordinance to be decided by 
the Alaska Court of Appeals.

"It's not like these are actual drugs, but they are particularly defined in 
what we believe gets by any challenge of vagueness," he said.

The purveyors typically post signs that say the items are for smoking 
tobacco, but Richard said he believes the city can provide expert testimony 
that the items are not used for that purpose.

Meanwhile, Main is busy finishing his store. A recent separation from his 
business partner required him to open the new store on the Old Seward Highway.

"I'm scared. I'm scared I'm not going to be able to pay the rent," he said.

Mathes said he's made and produced pipes for his store for 3 1/2 years.

"The only people who have illegal intentions for these products are the 
police," he said. "It's a political problem. (The law) is so ambiguous and 
so vague that it is open to political interpretation."

People now have to prove that the items aren't used for illegal purposes, 
he said.

"They are making people prove they are innocent, not actually proving that 
people are guilty," he said.

Mathes and Main said they plan to address the Assembly. Williams said she 
would consider testifying.
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