Pubdate: Tue, 22 Feb 2005
Source: Mobile Register (AL)
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Copyright: 2005 Mobile Register
Contact:  http://www.al.com/mobileregister/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/269
Author: Jeb Schrenk

FLOWER TUBES OR 'THINLY DISGUISED CRACK PIPES'?

City looks at ordinance to curb sale of drug tools

The Mobile City Council will consider an ordinance today to outlaw the sale
of glass tubes that police say are being sold at convenience stores and used
as crack pipes.

Each tube sold contains an artificial flower and is sold for about $1, said
Richard Cashdollar, the city's public safety director.

"They are thinly disguised crack pipes," Cashdollar said. Crack is a form of
cocaine.

The ordinance would make it illegal to sell or distribute open-ended and
hollow glass tubes that are smaller than three-fourths of an inch in
diameter, are shorter than a foot long and are used as drug paraphernalia.

The penalty is a maximum $500 fine and up to one year in jail, Cashdollar
said.

The ordinance does not outlaw mere possession of the tube.

"We don't want the corner convenience store selling these, that's the point
of the ordinance," Cashdollar said.

Drug paraphernalia, including glass pipes, already is outlawed under state
law. The ordinance "further defines the relatively general state law," which
will help when prosecuting cases, Cashdollar said.

Cashdollar said the city modeled the ordinance after one in St. Petersburg,
Fla. That city has used their ordinance in court with success, Cashdollar
said.

Bob Gechijian, owner of Gulf Coast Corvettes on Government Boulevard near
police headquarters, said he was surprised when he saw the tubes being sold
at a gas station near his store about two weeks ago. Worse, he said, is that
children from a nearby school go to the store.

"How much money can they make off these things in a given month to make it
worthwhile?" Gechijian said. "To make this type of paraphernalia so readily
available to the public, I mean, at a convenience store within a few hundred
feet of a school, I can't believe it."

The convenience store, Minute Stop Food & Fuel at Government Boulevard and
Pleasant Valley Road, does not sell the tubes anymore, said the owner, who
asked that his name not be used for publication . He said the store used to
sell them but stopped when hearing what some people used them for.

Cashdollar said narcotics officers have reported seeing the tubes sold at
many places around the city. He said some stores will give buyers a piece of
steel wool, which is stuffed into the tube and acts as a filter to keep the
crack in place when smoked.

If the ordinance passes, officers will have the option of either taking a
violator into custody or simply writing a ticket requiring a court
appearance.

The council meets today at 10:30 a.m. at Mobile Government Plaza.
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MAP posted-by: Josh