cannabisnews.com: The Bong Blues










  The Bong Blues

Posted by CN Staff on August 12, 2003 at 21:07:06 PT
By Noam Reuveni 
Source: Seattle Weekly  

On May 23, 2003, Tuere Sala, a prosecutor with the city of Seattle, says she set a precedent for how the drug war will be waged here. That was the day Todd Marsh, the owner of the Admiral Smoke Shop in West Seattle, was convicted of distributing drug paraphernalia, the first time, Sala says, the owner of a business representing itself as a tobacco store has been found guilty. On its own, the successful prosecution of Marsh (which is now on appeal), wouldn't raise many eyebrows—paraphernalia convictions are fairly rare in Seattle—but the steps the Seattle police took to secure Marsh's conviction demonstrate a new aggressiveness on the part of local law enforcement to go after retail stores—not just head shops—that sell merchandise favored by drug users. 
The story of Marsh's arrest began in fall 2001 with the formation of the Drug Paraphernalia Project by the Seattle Police Department. The project targeted mini-marts that were selling glass tubes containing small fake roses, and pens with glass tubes. The items, which commonly retail for just a few dollars, can be used to smoke crack. In response to concerns expressed by members of the community in West Seattle about these improvised crack pipes being found on the street, the South Precinct's Community Police Team distributed letters to 19 West Seattle mini-marts and gas stations officially informing them that the roses and pens they were selling were in fact crack pipes, and that if the businesses continued to sell them, they would be in violation of state law. "The idea was to give all these people the opportunity to get rid of these products without prosecution," says Sala, who is the city attorney's office liaison for the South Precinct. According to one of the Community Police Teams' operation orders, the target of the project was "mostly concerned with the sales of straight glass tubes, with or without the rose, to include pens and pipes." But on Jan. 4, 2002, Officer Willie Askew of the Community Police Team received a phone tip about bongs, pipes, and assorted other paraphernalia for sale at the Admiral Smoke Shop. The shop had not been an original target of the Drug Paraphernalia Project. Members of the Community Police Team first visited the Admiral Smoke Shop that afternoon to follow up on the tip. Askew and Officer Carl Chilo, as reported in court documents, entered the store and witnessed numerous metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, and ceramic pipes, as well as water pipes, chillums, and scales. The items in the store, Askew wrote in an affidavit for a search warrant, ranged from $6 to $250, well above the sums charged for rose pipes and glass pens at the mini-marts. Marsh told police at the time of the visit that the sales of such items weren't illegal, as he sold them for tobacco use only to adults at least 18 years old. Photographs taken by police on subsequent visits and during Marsh's later arrest show numerous signs stating that items sold at the smoke shop were for tobacco use only, and that water pipes must be referred to as such or customers would be asked to leave. Such disclaimers are a common tactic used by stores to avoid trouble with the law. Marsh's attorney, Douglas Hiatt, says that the Admiral Smoke Shop wasn't selling rose pipes or glass pens. Sala agrees, but says that the water pipes and glass pipes Marsh was selling, while commonly used to smoke marijuana, could also have just as easily been used to smoke crack. Police came back to the Admiral Smoke Shop on Jan. 7 to deliver a copy of the relevant laws to Marsh, and returned on March 15 to deliver a copy of the letter that they had distributed to mini-mart owners, informing Marsh that the Community Police Team considered what Marsh was selling to be paraphernalia. The Washington State Constitution requires that in order for someone to be prosecuted for the distribution of drug paraphernalia, they must know that what they are selling will be used for illicit purposes. Sala says that was the purpose of delivering letters to the mini-marts: to put them on notice about how the rose pipes and pens were being used. When police brought Marsh his letter, he refused to sign it, saying he needed to consult his attorney. Police then initiated a series of undercover operations designed to catch Marsh selling pipes knowing that they were for drug use. The first operation was on May 2 when Askew returned to the Admiral Smoke Shop with Officer Susanna Monroe, who was working undercover. Monroe purchased a blue and yellow swirled glass pipe that day for $40 and returned on May 15. When she came back, she carried with her a bag of marijuana, which Askew had borrowed from the Seattle police evidence room, wrapped in a $10 bill. She asked to buy a $7 metal pipe, and when it came time to pay for it, Monroe unwrapped the marijuana and dropped it on the counter. Monroe said in a statement she wrote after the buy that Marsh recognized that the bag contained marijuana, providing Sala with the evidence she needed to prove that Marsh knew what he was selling would be used illegally. But Hiatt contends the dropping of the marijuana was entrapment. "This was a last-ditch effort to get enough to try Marsh. It was a setup, just a straight-up setup," he says. A search warrant was subsequently served upon the Admiral Smoke Shop, and 271 pipes and bongs, which now fit squarely into the legal definition of drug paraphernalia thanks to the evidence provided by Officer Monroe, were taken. Marsh was arrested, and charged on June 26, 2002. After hundreds of hours of police investigation, over a year of court proceedings, and untold thousands of public dollars, Todd Marsh was found guilty by a jury on three counts of distributing drug paraphernalia. Drug paraphernalia distribution is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of 90 days in the King County Jail and a fine of $1,000, but Marsh was only sentenced to three days of electronic home monitoring and a $250 fine. "This was a criminal act. Despite the sentence imposed, it will send a message to other stores out there," says Sala. If the city wins Marsh's appeal, Sala will have the legal precedent she and other prosecutors need to go after other businesses selling pipes and bongs. But Hiatt feels it is a very dangerous precedent. "If the city is able to prevail on appeal, it gives them a green light to do more of these worthless prosecutions." Note: How a crackdown on crack pipes lead to the bust of a West Seattle tobacco shop. Special Report: The Drug IssueSource: Seattle Weekly (WA)Author: Noam ReuveniPublished: August 13 - 19, 2003Copyright: 2003 Seattle WeeklyContact: letters seattleweekly.comWebsite: http://www.seattleweekly.com/CannabisNews --Paraphernalia Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/paraphernalia.shtml

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Comment #6 posted by 13th step on August 13, 2003 at 07:36:35 PT
So did he take the pot?
...I re-read it, but it doesn't say that - so if someone drops it on the counter, he is supposed to know what it is and then refuse to sell them the merchandise?
I would imagine he ignored it and thought only of the sale, you know, making a living and such. Eating tonight, having a roof over his head. You know, things like that.Hmmm, so if I go to KMART or WALMART or any national chain gas station, and buy rolling papers, drop my weed on the counter, they can get busted for selling me those papers?I know, just thinking...(I would get busted for the weed, and they would get off scott free...)..If she gave him the pot, and he took it, then I can see it (although I still think that would be entrapment...) but this just confused me..Did she leave him the pot?This kind of reminds me of an episode of 'Cops' , where the drug dealers on the corner would ask you if you wanted a bag, they'd show you the bag, sell you the bag, (the customer didn't even have to ask for it) and then when the customer drove away with it they got arrested and found out that the guys offering them drugs were cops.Big pile o' dookey if'n ya' ask me.In my area, there was a shop (about 100+ miles away) that has sold pipes & such for years, they never allowed any mention of pot. If you did, you got escorted out, and you could not make a purchase. I witnessed a guy get thrown out for it. I think he just slipped up. But they were very zero tolerance on this, and weren't very nice about it. 
To the point of a friend of mine was wearing a hemp for victory t-shirt, and they asked him to leave, or cover it up. I was wearing an extra shirt, so he threw it on and stayed, but what's funny is he doesn't smoke - he's just into hemp for nutrition purposes...But, hey, it is thier livelihood, so I fully understand it, in this climate of ridiculous laws and gung ho feds wanting better stats to get their promotions...Bah. Double ugh.
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Comment #5 posted by Patrick on August 13, 2003 at 07:33:19 PT
Washington Apples
A conviction because a bag of weed was dropped on the counter??? Why don't the cops bust all the Washington apple growers. I have been using punctured apples off-n-on all my life for apple flavored bowls. Prohibitionists will stop at nothing apparently including spending thousands of dollars of tax money and man hours to collect a $250 fine. Geez 
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Comment #4 posted by mike2003 on August 13, 2003 at 07:13:35 PT:
wrong title again sorry! 
I didn't read post #1 until i had already posted, but this went to a jury trial and they found it reasonably that he knew what it was( the marijuana)i also belive that this was probably entrapment, but as a business owner you should never accept anything in a baggie. I own a shop, people try to give me stuff all the time, and sorry to say but i have to kick them out! Mike
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Comment #3 posted by mike2003 on August 13, 2003 at 07:12:41 PT:
black market&unemployment
I didn't read post #1 until i had already posted, but this went to a jury trial and they found it reasonably that he knew what it was( the marijuana)i also belive that this was probably entrapment, but as a business owner you should never accept anything in a baggie. I own a shop, people try to give me stuff all the time, and sorry to say but i have to kick them out! Mike
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Comment #2 posted by mike2003 on August 13, 2003 at 07:01:56 PT:
it must of been raise time
Everything was fine until this guy accepted marijuana.When going into a shop most everyone knows how strict the owners and managers are.A customer must use the right words and act like an adult.Owners in the pipe business sell pipes for legal purposes only this guy set himself up! Thanks. Mike
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Comment #1 posted by 13th step on August 13, 2003 at 06:58:07 PT
In my hometown...
The project targeted mini-marts that were selling glass tubes containing small fake roses, and pens with glass tubes. The items, which commonly retail for just a few dollars, can be used to smoke crack. You can buy these things at EVERY gas station, EVERY tobacco shop, and even at some major (national) chain stores. And they sit right next to those torch lighters. Hmmmm.Yet, I can't find a glass water pipe hardly anywhere.
And, after operation pipe dreams , the one place that did sell pipes, their merch went away, then about two months later it came back. This same store was also once busted for selling whippits, you know, 'cos there's a lot of people who need to whip their heavy cream, I guess.
For some reason I don't trust this... that Marsh recognized that the bag contained marijuana, providing Sala with the evidence she needed to prove that Marsh knew what he was selling would be used illegally. How in the hell does she know he recognized it as marijuana?
Not everybody would (although I hope most would) recognize it as such , if the bag was rolled up it could have been ANY plant matter...for instance, i have a huge garden, and often give friends dill, sage, oregano, basil, etc, in a little plastic baggie...It makes things convenient to carry. And yes, they all make the jokes, green stuff in a baggie. But this just goes to show them, and anyone else, not all plant matter in a bag is cannabis.Maybe she repacked her herbal blends (you know, the fake pot stuff) and it could have been that. A lot of those things are trying to pass off as buds, and in a baggie, from a small distance, it probably could have been either.And if it was some of that old, improperly stored, moldy commercial pot, then he probably thought it wasn't weed. We all know the cops have no clue how to properly store cannabis.Ugh.
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