DEA scared of T-shirts,too?

M

MicroBalrog

New member
PARAPHE-NAIL-YA
by Jessie McQuillan, (Source:Missoula Independent)
Regional News

US MT: Marijuana Group Offers Help
26 May 2005

Montana
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Last Wednesday DEA agents swept through Missoula and four other Montana cities, stopping in one tobacco-accessory-selling store in each town and seizing everything from pipes to T-shirts with pot leaves on them.

Owners of the Vault in Missoula, the Grateful Shed in Bozeman and the Blue Moon in Great Falls all confirmed the DEA's visit, and two other warrants were also served statewide.

Blue Moon owner Sue Kerkes wouldn't comment beyond affirming the DEA's visit, but Vault owner David Sil and Grateful Shed manager Bob Holstine did confirm that agents confiscated thousands of dollars worth of merchandise. They said agents served the businesses with warrants but issued no charges; they simply loaded up the goods and moved on.

Holstine says six plain-clothes agents in unmarked vehicles seized more than $7,000 in wares, including more than 500 pipes. But DEA agents also took his stock of rolling papers, T-shirts with marijuana emblems, a security camera and business records. Sil's attorney, Martin Judnich, says they seized nearly all of the Vault's inventory.

Both Sil's and Holstine's lawyers say they were pursuing answers from the U.S. Attorney's office. Beth Binstock, a spokeswoman in the U.S. Attorney's office, didn't know anything about the searches and seizures. DEA spokeswoman Karen Flowers says she knows of the ongoing investigation but that all inquiries must be directed to the U.S. Attorney's office. Both Judnich and Chuck Watson, Grateful Shed's attorney, say their clients are baffled and have long been operating--the Vault for about a decade and the Grateful Shed for more than 15 years--with the understanding that they are legal and aboveboard, and they want to know whether something has suddenly changed. They are uncertain where they stand because other stores selling similar wares were apparently not targeted and no charges have been filed in the stores that were targeted.

The Vault is closed ( "There's nothing to sell!" Sil says ) and Holstine says he's reordered some stock. "They told me to go ahead and restock my shelves but they might be back," he says. "These guys were more professional thieves than some guy who comes in with a crowbar in the night."
 
I bet they were stocking up for an undercover type thing and wanted to look the part without spending money.

Thay had to describe the things to be seized for the warrant.
They seized stuff = evidence.
No charges.
Seizure without charges= theft.

Only in America can theives tell you please restock, we didn't get enough and will need to return.
 
I had a bet with a friend of mine that selling items that can become parephrenalia is legal in my state. He finds this federal law that was passed last year and signed by Bush that makes it illegal to sell or transport drug parephrenalia accross state lines and it is illegal to sell or transport pipes in conjunction with drug literature across state lines because it would make the pipes and papers parephenalia.

Of course, further into the bill I read,I saw that there was the definition of parephrenalia and the "literature" addition was contradictory (free speech) and was suggested (to my layman mind) that it was only to be used when there was conclusive evidence that the pipes were parephrenalia?? Basically, in many states, an item is only parephrenalia only after it has been used for drug use and this bill seems to contradict itself and it seems to me that the DEA is interpreting it loosly on purpose in order to run some buisinesses out of buisiness while the courts are figuring it out. Just how many time has this happened to gun manufactureres and gun shops by the ATF and FBI?
 
Man that would seriously get me mad. I'd have the most ruthless attack lawyer on their ass in a heartbeat.
 
You just have to imagine that the DEA gets really cranky at the very thought of the fact that head shops can legally do business right on Main Street in Smalltown, USA.

This DEA 'operation' seems overboard, but I would be very interested if someone had details on what items were specified in the search warrants.

I would also be interested in LEO/lawyer input on whether items covered by a search warrant can be siezed without arrests being made.
 
Hmmm... so following this line of logic... I once confiscated a meth pip made out of a .25 acp semi-auto. (Most ingenious use I've seen a Raven put to in some time) Soooo.... Any gun with a barrel might also be likewise drilled and filled....

All right - all you guys with that evil paraphenelia! Here's my PD address - I wanna start seeing all those things arriving within the week or I'm gonna start writing affidavits for charges and search warrants! :rolleyes:

******

ANYTHING can be made into paraphenalia. ANYTHING. - I've seen bond schedules laminated into cutting boards and former court orders molded into bongs by one individual, lol. He went to jail again, but it was for selling dope to kids, not his creative use of the documentation of his last brush with the law...
 
You just have to imagine that the DEA gets really cranky at the very thought of the fact that head shops can legally do business right on Main Street in Smalltown, USA.
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Just like, I'm sure, the BATFE is pissed that there are still gun stores legally doing business on Main Street.

Speaking of T-shirts, a kid at the local middle school was suspended for 3 days for showing up for school in a T-shirt with a rifle on it.
 
Speaking of T-shirts, a kid at the local middle school was suspended for 3 days for showing up for school in a T-shirt with a rifle on it.
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And I bet that if the picture of a gun on his shirt had an X through it and said underneath "ban all guns", then they wouldn't have a problem with it. :barf:
 
Former LEO (NC certified and US Army MP) It is my understanding that a device does not become charageable paraphenilla unless it has been used to smoke / Snort Drugs. But a visible "glass pipe" can be used as PC for a search warrent, ie. I see a glass pipe in the ashtray of a car based on my training and experience as a professional law enforcement officer I know that that style of pipe is normally used to smoke Marijuana. I can now search the car and occupant and seize the pipe for chemical analysis. Based on NC State laws And federal laws I couldn't seize property that was for sale "new in box". This info was current Circa 2002, Laws do change though.
 
Right. New stuff with possible "multiple uses" is off limits. From the info presented, it sounds like DEA went a bit overboard. When we draw up an affidavit charging someone with paraphernalia, it must specify what made it so. I.E., a metal crack pipe is just a metal pipe, or a piece of coathanger isn't necessarily a stem cleaner. But a metal crack pipe containing Chore boy and burnt residue clearly is, and is listed on the affidavit like that. Same thing with new items. An exotic pipe may not be intended for smoking grass, but a new pipe sporting a marijuana leaf emblem is clearly intended for that purpose. How in the world a tee shirt could be used to do dope though eludes me. :confused:
 
Operations Pipe Dreams And Headhunter Put Illegal Drug Paraphernalia Sellers Out Of Business
National Sweep Shuts Down Retailers, Distributors and Internet Sites

Attorney General John Ashcroft at Operation Pipe Dreams news conference. Appearing from left to right: Acting DEA Administrator John B. Brown, ONDCP Director John Walters, and U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.

WASHINGTON, DC -- Attorney General John Ashcroft and Acting DEA Administrator John B. Brown, III today announced the indictment of 50 individuals on charges of trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia. The charges are the culmination of two nationwide investigations code-named Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Headhunter and include indictments against national distributors of drug paraphernalia and businesses nationwide. DEA offices in Boise, Idaho; Des Moines, Iowa; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Dallas and Tyler, Texas were involved in these investigations.

"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has exploded," Ashcroft said. "The drug paraphernalia business is now accessible in anyone's home with a computer and Internet access. And in homes across America we know that children and young adults are the fastest growing Internet users. Quite simply, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge. This illegal billion-dollar industry will no longer be ignored by law enforcement. Today, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, under the leadership of Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson and Associate Deputy Attorney General Karen Tandy, has taken decisive steps to dismantle the illegal drug paraphernalia industry by attacking their physical, financial and Internet infrastructures."

Felt tip marker with internal drug pipeThe defendants have been charged with conspiracy to sell and offering to sell various types of drug paraphernalia, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sections 846, 853 and 863. Federal law defines drug paraphernalia as those products that are primarily intended or designed to be used in ingesting, inhaling or otherwise using controlled substances, and include user-friendly and dealer-friendly devices. Items such as miniature scales, substances for "cutting" or diluting raw narcotics, bongs, marijuana pipes, roach clips, miniature spoons and cocaine freebase kits, among other things, are all considered drug paraphernalia.

All the defendants knowingly, intentionally and unlawfully sold the items for use with illegal narcotics. Many of the items were disguised as common objects such as hi-liters and lipsticks to elude detection as drug paraphernalia and were marketed using code names and symbols.

Gas mask converted to drug pipe
"People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different than drug dealers," said Acting Administrator Brown. "They are as much a part of drug trafficking as silencers are a part of criminal homicide. These criminals operate a multimillion dollar enterprise, selling their paraphernalia in headshops, distributing out of huge warehouses, and using the worldwide web as a worldwide paraphernalia market. With Operations Pipe Dreams and Headhunter, these criminals are out of business and 11 illicit dot.coms are dot.gone."

"Each of us standing here today took an oath of office to uphold and enforce our nation's laws," said John P. Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy. "The aggressive marketing of the tools and paraphernalia of drug use is illegal and has been an active affront to the efforts of parents, educators, and community leaders who are trying to help young people stay away from dangerous drugs. Today's actions send a clear and unambiguous message to those who would poison our children: We will bring you to justice, and we will act decisively to protect our young people from the harms of illegal drugs. I applaud the hard work of the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorneys, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, who have provided an important and welcome boost to our drug prevention efforts, and reaffirm the truth that no community, no city, no state, and no nation is better off with more drug use."

Federal law provides for a maximum total sentence of three years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, with respect to each count set forth in the indictments.

OPERATION PIPE DREAMS

The investigation leading to the indictments in this case was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, along with the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Immigration and

Naturalization Service, Pennsylvania State Police, City of Pittsburgh Police, Allegheny County (Pa.) Sheriff, Stowe Township Police, Chippewa (Pa.) Police Department and the Duquesne (Pa.) Police Department.

The individuals named in the indictments are:
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...continued in next post...
 
* Joyce J. Adamy, a/k/a Joyce J. Kunkle, and d/b/a Phantasm, age 27, of Johnstown, PA.;

* Jodey P. Bayle, d/b/a Pipe Emporium, d/b/a Sunrise Distribution, and d/b/a Pipesforyou.com, 48, of Erie, PA.;

* Glen W. Beers, d/b/a G.W. Pipedreams, 29, of Clarion, PA.;

* William A. Conover, d/b/a B&M Variety, 42, of Erie, PA.;

* Christina A. Cummings, d/b/a Phantasm, 28, of Johnstown, PA.;

* Michael Anthony Deblasio, d/b/a Heads-N-Threads, 24, of North Huntingdon, PA.;

* Jason Robert Harris, d/b/a Jerome Baker Designs, Inc., d/b/a Ghettoweb, Inc., d/b/a Universal Glass, Inc., d/b/a Jeromebaker.com, d/b/a Ghettoweb.com, d/b/a Smokelab.com, and d/b/a Higher Source, 32, of Eugene, OR.;

* Richard Kevin Jaussen, d/b/a Tela Ropa, Inc., 48, of Pittsburgh, PA.;

* Ara Melkizian, d/b/a Omnilounge L.L.C., and d/b/a Omnilounge.com, 29, of North Hollywood, CA.

* Saeed Mohtadi, d/b/a Jerome Baker Designs, Inc., d/b/a Ghettoweb, Inc., d/b/a Universal Glass, Inc., d/b/a Jeromebaker.com, d/b/a Ghettoweb.com, d/b/a Smokelab.com, and d/b/a Higher Source, 32, of Eugene, OR.;

* John Matthew Patrick, d/b/a California Colorchangers, Inc., and d/b/a Colorchangingglass.com, 38, of Forestville, CA.;

* Randolph Przekop, d/b/a Slacker, Inc., 36, of Pittsburgh, PA.;

* Ahmad Rakine, d/b/a A&E Wholesalers, Inc., 20, of Pembroke Pines, FL.;

* Eric M. Rodgers, d/b/a Stone Artworx, Inc., 32, of Phoenix, AZ.;

* Edward Ian Rothschild, d/b/a Edward Rothschild Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a Rothschild Consulting, Inc., d/b/a Gothic Dungeon, d/b/a 420now.com, d/b/a 420smile.com, d/b/a Gothicdungeon.com, d/b/a Testingfree.com, and d/b/a Themallusa.com, 48, of Columbia, SC;

* David V. Stone, d/b/a Stone Artworx, Inc., 38, of Phoenix, AZ.;

* Mary Louise Stone, d/b/a Stone Artworx, Inc., 58, of Glendale, AZ.;

* Ryan Vaughn Struble, d/b/a Headcase, and d/b/a Aheadcase.com, 30, of
Diamond Bar, CA;

* Ryan Teurfs, d/b/a 101 North Glass, Inc., d/b/a The Glass House, and d/b/a 101north.net, 29, of Arcata, CA.;

* Inez M. Thompson, d/b/a Pipe Emporium, d/b/a Sunrise Distribution, and d/b/a Pipesforyou.com, 48, of Erie, PA.;

* Jason Vrbas, d/b/a 101 North Glass, Inc., d/b/a The Glass House, and d/b/a 101north.net, 29, of Arcata, CA.;

* John Lee Walker, a/k/a John Lee Walker, Jr., d/b/a Headcase, and d/b/a Aheadcase.com, 35, of Riverside, CA.;

* Gabriel Watson, d/b/a 101 North Glass, Inc., d/b/a The Glass House, and d/b/a 101north.net, 29, of Arcata, CA.;

* Anthony Yanow, d/b/a Hot Comet Enterprises, d/b/a Puff Pipes, d/b/a Atmospheres Lifestyles of LA, and d/b/a Puffpipes.com, 31, of Los Angeles, CA;

* Waleed A. Zahrieh, d/b/a Wicked Corp. and d/b/a Sands of Time, 37, of Los Gatos, CA.;

* Nessar David Zahriya, d/b/a Wicked Corp. and d/b/a Sands of Time, 39, of San Mateo, CA.; and

* Tracie Lynn Zimmerman, d/b/a Heads-N-Threads, 34, of North Huntingdon, PA.

National Distributors

Named in the indictments announced today are 17 individuals who operated 10 national distribution companies of drug paraphernalia.

The following persons operated six businesses based in California:

# Melkizian operated Omnilounge L.L.C. which also did business over the internet as omnilounge.com.

# Patrick was charged as the operator of California Colorchangers, which did business as colorchangingglass.com.

# Teurfs, Vrbas and Watson operated another internet company named 101north.net, which also did business as 101 North Glass and The Glass House.

# Yanow has been indicted for running puffpipes.com, which also did business as Hot Comet Enterprises and Atmospheres Lifestyles of L.A.

# Struble and Walker were charged with operating aheadcase.com, also known as Headcase.

# Zahriya and Zahrieh were indicted in conjunction with their operation of the Sands of Time and its successor business, Wicked Corporation.

The individuals who ran the four other national operations charged were:

# Rothschild did business under all of the names listed above, and Gothic Dungeon in Columbia, SC;

# Rakine operated A&E Wholesalers in Pembroke Pines, FL.;

# C Stone, Stone and Rodgers ran Stone Artworx in Phoenix, AZ.; and

# Harris and Mohtadi owned Jerome Baker Designs and the other companies in
Eugene, OR.

Regional Retail Shops

Ten individuals who sold drug paraphernalia in retail shops in the Western District of Pennsylvania also face charges of conspiracy, offering for sale, and selling drug paraphernalia. The defendants in Pennsylvania are:

# Beers, G.W. Pipedreams, Clarion
# Conover, B&M Variety, Erie
# Jaussen, Tela Ropa, Pittsburgh
# Thompson and Bayle, Pipe Emporium, Sunrise Distribution and pipesforyou.com, Erie
# Zimmerman and Deblasio, Heads-N-Threads, North Huntingdon
# Adamy and Cummings, Phantasm, Johnstown
# Przekop, Slacker, Inc., Pittsburgh

OPERATION HEADHUNTER

The DEA resident office in Des Moines, Iowa, initiated an investigation into the sale and distribution of drug paraphernalia at headshops in Southern Iowa in January 2000. Federal search warrants executed at four such businesses in Iowa resulted in the seizure of more than $2 million in drug paraphernalia. The searches also implicated various national distributors, including four companies indicted today.

The investigation leading to the indictments in this case was led by the DEA, along with the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, Polk County (Iowa) Sheriff's Office and the Des Moines (Iowa) Police Department.

The individuals named in the four indictments brought in the Southern District of Iowa, announced today, include:
# Alan Bruce Clute, a/k/a Bruce Clute, and Lawrence Charles Bowman, d/b/a Smoky Mountain Trading Co, d/b/a Dream Factory Boutique and d/b/a Strange Daze Boutique, Detroit.

# Jose Corona Zavala, Jr., Juan Luis Zavala and Clinton Lee Goodson, d/b/a The Other Side, d/b/a The Crush, d/b/a The Worx, d/b/a The Bomb, d/b/a Toys in the Attic and d/b/a Artistic Alchemy Manufacturing, Sacramento and North Hollywood, Calif.

# Amanda Claire Ballard, a/k/a Amanda Claire Irwin, a/k/a Mandi Claire Ballard, a/k/a Mandi Claire Irwin and Allison Blakely Ballard, d/b/a Acme Distributing and Mfg., d/b/a Acme Distributing, d/b/a Smoke Stax and d/b/a A & M Gifts, Houston.

#

Catherine Nicole Adamson and Bruce Dean Ross d/b/a Grow Industries, d/b/a Zong Toy Company, d/b/a Zong Industries, d/b/a ZTC, d/b/a Seedless and d/b/a Seedless Clothing Company Shea Artis McComb, San Diego, Calif.

For additional information on Operations Pipe Dreams and Headhunter, please call the DEA Office of Public Affairs at 202-307-7979 or visit the DEA website at www.dea.gov.

###


www.dea.gov[/url[/quote] [b]Remember those names. Never forgive[/b]
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So the government has broad lattitude to describe what parephernalia is. It didn't say in that article that everyday straws, metal teaspoons, plastic stirring spoons and electronic alligator clips are also on that list. If Walmart sells one issue of High Times, then they are in violation of the law.

This law will not withstand judicial review and will go all the way to the supreme court. I also liked the "save our kids from this parephernalia onslaught" part. Adults should be legally allowed to buy a pipe with a marijuanna leaf on it as long as they don't use it for drugs.

"Unliklely" you would say? I don't smoke weed and I have rolling papers with a pot leaf on the cover (used to roll my own tobacco). I have had plenty of lighters with a light-up pot leaf on it (needed a lighter and the only one for sale). Heck, I knew someone that rolled their own cigarrettes that used a paper with a handle wire in it because they did not want nicotine stains on their fingers. I know plenty of people that smoke tobacco in hukas. I bought my electronic scale(that had grains on it) at a head shop. What is next....are they going to use a newsletter from NORML as probable cause to confiscate some garden shop owner's inventory? I can see this being very very abused and I hope the courts see it as well.
 
Gun magazines in school

This last year my son was reprimanded for having a Remington catalog at school. He was an eighth grader at the time, and is an avid shooter.
He tried to reason with school officials on the grounds of what is wrong with this since we have Outdoor Life and several other outdoor/hunting magazines in the school library.
I thought about letting him wear my t shirt from a NRA benefit shoot that had a picture of a trap shooter holding a shotgun. :D
The principal and guidance (?) counselor probably would have called in an airstrike . LOL
I'm glad he is out of that school now.
 
When I visited Amsterdam, I saw lots of pot/legalization-related posters, memorablia, etc. I pondered buying some.

Given Israel's own imitation of the DEA anti-paraphernalia campaign, I am happy I didn't.
 
I've used one pot pipe or another (or something similar) MANY times with regular tobacco: don't want to take the time to roll a smoke, but need to take the edge off my nic-fit. Still do use one (dad bought it for me in Thailand) on occassion...

Heh... the locals trying to bust me for "paraphenalia" would be a hoot...
 
Article quoted by Microbalrog said:
"People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different than drug dealers," said Acting Administrator Brown. "They are as much a part of drug trafficking as silencers are a part of criminal homicide."
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Hold on there, Mr. Acting DEA Administrator Brown. Would you care to cite statistics on how often silencers are used in violent firearm crimes? Maybe you should shut your mouth instead of spouting off about things of which you have no knowledge.
 
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