Pubdate: Thu, 27 Jun 2013
Source: Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)
Copyright: 2013 News-Journal Corporation
Contact:  http://www.news-journalonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/700
Note: gives priority to local writers
Author: Katie Kustura

BANNING THE BONGS: NEW LAW TARGETS SALE OF DRUG PIPES

At the Stuff-N-Puffs smoke shop, you won't find the typical array of 
screenless glass pipes, water pipes or bongs.

While the South Daytona shop only sells electronic cigarettes, 
hookahs and the chance to roll your own tobacco cigarettes, store 
owner Brenda Sherman said she wouldn't want to sell those other items 
anyway -- items that legislators voted to ban.

On Monday, it will be a first-degree misdemeanor for someone "to 
knowingly and willfully sell or offer for sale at retail any drug 
paraphenalia."

The law provides an exception for pipes made primarily of briar, 
meerschaum (a white, clay-like material), clay or corn cob.

"We want to put out of business anyone selling paraphernalia used for 
smoking pot, crack or anything of that nature," said Rep. Linda 
Stewart, D-Orlando.

Prohibited are metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic or 
ceramic smoking pipes with or without screens, permanent screens, 
hashish heads or punctured metal bowls; water pipes; carburetion 
tubes and devices; chamber pipes; carburetor pipes; electric pipes; 
air-driven pipes; chillums; bongs; ice pipes or chillers.

She said when the bill came across her desk during the 2013 session, 
she "just had to sign it."

"I used to get so many complaints about the paraphernalia available 
in convenience stores," said Stewart, one of the bill's co-sponsors.

Stewart said the legislation was prompted by sponsor Rep. Darryl 
Rouson's previous addiction to crack cocaine. She said Rouson, D-St. 
Petersburg, wanted to make it as tough as possible for anyone to take 
that same path that led him to drug addiction. .

She said representatives are not trying to target smoke shops, but 
mostly the convenience stores that sell pipes.

Stewart said even though kids must be 18 years old to purchase 
tobacco products, they don't have to be 18 to step foot in a 
convenience store and set their sights on these glass pipes that 
store owners market as tobacco pipes.

"I don't know of anybody that uses a glass pipe for tobacco," she 
said with a laugh.

Sherman, who supports the ban, also knocked the idea that the glass 
pipes sold in convenience stores are used to smoke tobacco.

She said store owners should have enough common sense to know tobacco 
is not what people are using the glass pipes for.

Next door to her shop is one of the convenience stores that sells 
glass pipes as well as the tobacco to go with it, both products that 
someone must be 18 years of age or older to purchase.

"We actually check IDs," said Karan Rana, who helps run his father's store.

Inside Rana's father's convenience store, next to Stuff-N-Puffs near 
the intersection of South Nova and Reed Canal roads, is a large case, 
lined with color-changing lights, of glass pipes. A sign on the case 
indicates that customers must be 18 or older to purchase the items inside.

Rana said while the tobacco for the glass pipes is also available for 
purchase, he cannot control what someone does with the pipe once they 
leave the store.

In fact, various critics of the law have said it contains a major 
loophole: the phrase "knowingly and willfully sell or offer for sale 
at retail any drug paraphenalia," meaning people could still buy and 
sell bongs and other pipes for tobacco use.

Rousen himself has admitted the law won't actually prevent people 
from procuring smoking devices, but said he still wanted to make it a 
little bit harder to do so while sending an anti-drug message.

Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson said enforcement in the county 
will be handled much the same way the state's ban of synthetic drugs 
was handled with site visits and copies of the statute.

"For those businesses that are selling banned items, they will get 
one warning from us to come into compliance or face the criminal 
sanctions provided for in the law," Johnson said.

He said after that, deputies will make return visits to those 
businesses to make sure they're in compliance, and for those that are 
still not, appropriate enforcement action will be taken.

"We fully support this new law, as anything that restricts easy 
access to devices used primarily for the purpose of ingesting illegal 
and harmful drugs is a positive step and something that has law 
enforcement's backing," Johnson said. "We're under no illusion, 
however, that this law will have a significant impact on the use of 
marijuana and other illegal drugs. However, I'm thankful that Florida 
will no longer facilitate easy access to bongs, pipes and other drug 
paraphernalia used by those who are intent on breaking the law and 
making bad decisions."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom