Pubdate: Wed, 05 Dec 2007
Source: Argus Observer (OR)
Copyright: 2007 Ontario Argus Observer
Contact:  http://www.argusobserver.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4163
Author: William Lundquist
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?228 (Paraphernalia)

A MATTER OF PERCEPTION?

Police Aim To Shut Down Ontario Shop

Ontario - Ontario Police Chief Mike Kee said Tuesday he  hopes to 
force what he asserts to be a downtown drug  paraphernalia shop, Old 
School, to operate within the  Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) by 
filing a civil  complaint in Malheur County Circuit Court.

"Where we would like to get is to a point where what  she's doing is 
authorized by the law" he said. "It's  all I can do."

The owner of Old School and the defendant in the  complaint, Victoria 
Miller, said she has always  operated within the law. And, she said, 
she thinks of  her business as a tobacco accessory and art shop, not 
one that sells drug paraphernalia.

"I sell nothing illegal," Miller said. "I don't  understand this. I 
have done nothing illegal.  Everything I sell here is for tobacco use only."

The difference of opinion may boil down to a few key  words in the 
Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS). The civil  complaint asserts Miller 
sold, delivered and possessed  with intent to sell numerous products 
constituting drug  paraphernalia.

Miller conceded she does sell vaporizers and other  medical devices 
to those who hold state cards allowing  them to use marijuana under 
Oregon's medical marijuana  laws.

The civil complaint also asserts Miller knew that at  least some of 
the drug paraphernalia would be used to  unlawfully cultivate, 
produce, test, contain or  introduce into the human body a controlled 
substance.

"We do believe she is knowingly doing these things,"  Kee said. "She 
can't deliver or possess these items if  she knows they are to be 
used for marijuana."

Miller said she knew nothing of the sort.

She said she is not responsible for what people do with  the products 
they buy once they leave her store.

"If I sold a gun and somebody went out and killed  someone, would I 
be responsible?" she asked.

The civil complaint seeks a penalty of $10,000, the  highest allowed 
under ORS 475.525. If collected, the  money would go to the state to 
be used for drug abuse  prevention and adolescent treatment.

The complaint also asks that Miller not be allowed to  sell, deliver 
or possess any drug paraphernalia, and  that she pay the city's legal 
fees in the case. If the  city loses, it would have to pay Miller's 
legal fees,  though she said Tuesday she intends to sue for a lot more.

Kee said the focus on Old School began after he  received several 
complaints from downtown merchants  about suspicious activity when 
the store opened in May  2006 a few doors down from its present location.

He said his department began an investigation, and the  building's 
landlord asked Miller to move. Since the  move, Kee said, he 
continues to receive calls from  downtown businesses concerned about 
Miller's customers  loitering around the shop, though Kee said there 
is no  law against that. He said the customers and activity of  Old 
School are just "out of character" with Ontario's  downtown.

Miller said she sees it differently.

"I promote a lot of business for Ontario," she said.

She explained that 90 percent of her customers come  from Idaho, 
where the kind of glass pipes she sells are  illegal, but also from 
all over the Northwest and even  Alaska. Those customers shop and eat 
in the downtown  area, she said.

"My store brings business to Ontario," Miller said.

She said she wondered why Kee was targeting her shop,  when New 
Vizions, just down the street, sells the same  kind of pipes, plus 
items she considers pornographic  and will not allow in her store. 
Kee said he did  investigate New Vizions, and what he learned 
convinced the city's attorneys in the case to not file a 
civil  complaint about that business right now, though he did  not 
rule out some kind of legal action in the future.

"They do things differently from Old School," Kee said  of New 
Vizions. "Their business practices are somewhat  different than Old School."

Kee said he did not want to elaborate on those  differences for fear 
his comments would inadvertently  help Miller's defense attorney.

Under ORS 475.525, many of the items in Old School  would be defined 
as drug paraphernalia if they were  used with marijuana, but Miller 
said they are sold only  to be used for legal substances like tobacco 
or cloves.  She said she could legally sell an herb called salvia  in 
Oregon, but does not because it is illegal in  Louisiana.

According to the ORS, several factors are at play in  deciding what 
is or is not drug paraphernalia. Those  factors include: instructions 
provided with the object  concerning its use; materials accompanying 
the object  which explain or depict its use; national and local 
advertising concerning its use; how the object is  displayed for 
sale; the existence and scope of  legitimate uses for the object in 
the community and any  expert testimony that may be introduced 
concerning its  use. The ORS said its provisions do not apply to 
people registered under Oregon's medical marijuana law.

Miller said she has spoken with Kee in the past and  tried to address 
all his concerns.

She said he objected to the fake marijuana leis she  sold, so she 
threw them away.

He objected to legal magazines like "High Times" and  "Cannabis 
Culture" being displayed close to the pipes,  so she moved them to 
the back of the store.

He objected to the synthetic urine she sells because it  could be 
used to throw off a drug test, so she put it  in a secure glass case.

Miller said because she put all her tobacco products  behind the 
counter, she could legally allow  unaccompanied juveniles in her 
store, but she refuses  to let anyone under the age of 18 in without 
an adult  and checks identifications carefully.

What the store does offer, Miller said, is glass art  and pipes by 
world-renowned artists Maurice Braun and  Bob Snodgrass, shirts, some 
tobacco products and  posters. She said she refuses to sell any 
products that  could conceivably be used with meth.

"Meth destroyed my brother," Miller said. "To me, it's  the worst 
drug in the world."

As for herself, Miller said, "I've never used illegal  drugs. I don't 
recommend that anyone do. They're  illegal for a reason."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom