cannabisnews.com: Police Seize Inventory of Dover Tobacco Business
Police Seize Inventory of Dover Tobacco Business
Posted by FoM on October 20, 2001 at 10:04:27 PT
By Brad Morin, Democrat Staff Writer
Source: Foster's Online
With a search warrant in hand to confiscate drug paraphernalia, Dover police seized a large portion of the inventory at Smoke Signals Pipe and Tobacco Shop. The business, at 1 Main St., sold glass tubes and pipes of various sizes, and a sign in the store stated that any customer making a reference to an illegal substance would be asked to leave. But Police Chief William Fenniman said the department obtained the warrant based on expert knowledge that these items are not used for anything other than smoking illegal drugs.
"If anyone was to view this material and tell you that this is sold for people to smoke tobacco, those individuals cannot say that and pass the straight-face test," Fenniman said.Fenniman said this was the first search warrant of its kind in the state. When asked if he believed it could set a precedent, Fenniman replied, "absolutely.""We have taken a unique approach to the law which has — to our knowledge — never been done before," he said."I think once we receive a conviction... any police department in the state will be able to use the search warrant and shut any paraphernalia shop down," he said.Smoke Signals opened last month and is leased to Kelly Hargrove of Exeter. Hargrove’s daughter and store manager, Susan R. Hargrove, 20, of 12 Beechstone Apartments, D5, Portsmouth, has been summoned on a misdemeanor charge of selling drug paraphernalia. She is scheduled to appear in Dover District Court on Nov. 9.Fenniman said there could be other charges, including some against the business itself.But Kelly Hargrove said she is looking into hiring an attorney and fighting the charges."We’re thinking seriously about fighting it," she said. "It’s something the community does want in town. We carry nothing illegal, even by Dover’s own town ordinances."Hargrove said the store sells legal herbal blends and tobacco to be used in its pipes, and it recently ordered a humidor for its selection of cigars. The business was closed after the seizure Friday, but Hargrove said she is looking to reopen with her remaining inventory.The telephone number for the building owner — Joseph Allis of Newmarket — was disconnected. Fenniman said a letter will be sent to Allis, notifying him of the incident and that his building has been deemed a nuisance and the city could take legal action.The search warrant was granted Oct. 18 by Strafford County Superior Court Judge Bruce Mohl. The items seized by police included some glass water pipes, better known as "bongs," including one that was three feet tall and priced at more than $300. There was also a pipe that was concealed inside a plastic marker that could really write, and a bottle of liquid called Klear, which Fenniman said is used by marijuana smokers to pass urine tests.Fenniman said the items are probably worth several thousand dollars. If the Police Department wins in court, he said they would be destroyed as contraband.The police affidavit to obtain the warrant states that undercover agents from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force purchased several items from the store. The clerks stated that they were to be used for tobacco, the affidavit stated.But in the affidavit, police cite several experts who stated that the items are used solely for drugs. These include James Noriss, commander of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force; Lt. Anthony Colarusso of the Dover Police Department; Fran McNally, assistant principal at Dover High School; Timothy Pifer, director of the State Police Laboratory and Raymond McGarty, executive director of Southeast New Hampshire Services.McGarty, for example, stated that he had never known the "bongs" and other items to be used for tobacco, according to the affidavit.To classify the items as drug paraphernalia, Fenniman points out a section of state law that said the items can be classified as such with "expert testimony concerning its use." But Fenniman said the items in this case will also qualify under sections that include "direct or circumstantial evidence" of the owner’s intent, instructions or advertising for the item’s use, the manner it is displayed and whether the object is customarily intended for use as drug paraphernalia.Claire Ebel, executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, said it sounds like a case like the one in Dover could go to trial, but she does not believe it should result in a conviction. She described the law regarding drug paraphernalia as a "catchall" that describes many devices that may or may not be used for illegal drugs."It is difficult to imagine that a jury of sensible New Hampshire people would convict anyone based on this law, but I guess that remains to be seen," she said.The position of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union is that marijuana and other "non-habit-forming" drugs should be legalized."Given the fact that the latest statistics indicate that there are at least 51 million American adults who are regular or periodic recreational users of marijuana, one might think that the police chief would have better things to do with his time than to seek out individuals who might be violating this particular subsection of the statute for this particular victimless crime," Ebel said.Fenniman said he is confident the case will stand up in court and believes it was important to take action."First of all, it’s a violation of the law. And second, particularly in the city of Dover, we have an extremely strong drug and alcohol prevention program with hundreds of kids involved and it would send an extremely poor message if we allowed an establishment like this to operate in the city," he said.This is not the first time this issue has been raised in Dover. In 1980, the City Council passed an ordinance to ban drug paraphernalia. Even before the ordinance passed, the public attention caused one store owner on Central Avenue to pull the items from his shelves.Complete Title: Dover Police Seize Inventory of Dover Tobacco Business Source: Foster's Online (NH)Author: Brad Morin, Staff WriterPublished: Saturday, October 20, 2001 Copyright: 2001 Geo. J. Foster Co. Website: http://www.fosters.com/Contact: http://www.fosters.com/site_info/feedback.htm ACLUhttp://www.aclu.orgCannabisNews Articles - Paraphernaliahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/paraphernalia.shtml
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Comment #21 posted by Rambler on October 21, 2001 at 18:55:53 PT
Kap
Here's the link;http://www.almartinraw.com/column34.html
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Comment #20 posted by kaptinemo on October 21, 2001 at 18:24:27 PT:
Rambler, do you have the link?
This is something, if it is true, is just the sort of thing to rub your Congresscritters and Sin-a-tors noses in for sleeping on the job:"Did you know about this? About what they want to do? And the uniforms; now, you tell me, what does that look like? My daddy fought the Nazis; I thought we beat 'em. But look; they're showing up here, in the US.""Homeland Security", "State Security Division"...does any of this strike any of you as being particularly haunting? From another time?An...evil...time?
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Comment #19 posted by i420 on October 21, 2001 at 05:45:08 PT
just say no to corncob piopes too...
Ban and confiscate every cornfield in amerika !!
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Comment #18 posted by Rambler on October 21, 2001 at 04:00:05 PT
Do You Know What's Actually Going On?
Well here's part of it,,,from an article by Al Martin; Watch Out for Jackboots and Swagger Sticks Before his speech, on September 20, 2001, George Bush Jr. kissed Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Everyone knows he should have kissed her because she was the deciding vote in the Florida ballot issue, which formally brought Bush Jr. into the White House. Later during the speech, Bush announced the creation of a Cabinet level position called "Office of Homeland Security." The Office of Homeland Security will initially be run by former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. It should be noted that Ridge himself got in trouble a few years ago for praising the efficiency of the Third Reich's civilian administration. Ridge also spoke highly of Mussolini's ability to keep the Italian trains running on time. Now Ridge will be the guy running the Office of Homeland Security. Although it hasn't been made public yet, there is a proposal being prepared. The Bush administration, however is playing it smart.They're being cautious by whipping up public support first. Later they will announce some of the more sinister activities of this agency.According to an inside source, the "Office of Homeland Security" will operate three divisions. One will be a plain-clothes division similar to the FBI, which will be called the State Security Division (SSD). Ironically SSD is the same acronym as the former East German Secret Police. The second division of the Office of Homeland Security will be a smaller uniformed division, which currently remains nameless. It will act as a defacto State Political Police. By the way, Ridge wants the uniforms of this State Political Police division to be modeled on existing state trooper uniforms - except done in black. If you've ever seen New Jersey or Pennsylvania State Police uniforms, they have dark blue pants and lighter blue uniform on top. They also have those old-fashioned pants that bag out like the old German or Gestapo pants. They'll have jet-black jackboots, and black uniforms with lots of gold insignias indicating the Power of the State. Of course, "State" here is used in the context of the American NationState. The third division of the Office of Homeland Security will be called the Office of the United States Air Marshals (Air Marshal Services.) They will have to federalize the new air marshal service because security on aircraft is currently being provided by state police. The problem, of course, is that there will be jurisdictional issues. The actual name of this agency, Office of Homeland Security, is very reminiscent of 20th century era German/Fascist and Russian/Communist secret police agencies. In America, "Homeland"
is a neuter word. In German, however, the word is translated as"Vaterland" (Fatherland), while in Russian, the word is "Rodina" (Motherland). In both cases, these words can be translated into the English neuter word -- "homeland." There is no precedent for the use of this word "homeland" in the United States Government. This new agency will also operate "with extralegal authority." They will then be able to act under suspension of habeus corpus and under suspension of the right against self- incrimination, the Fifth Amendment privilege, and also the Fourth Amendment privilege. That power will be in their charter -- they can act in an extra-legal authority, in certain cases, where the security of the "homeland" is "threatened." The Bush Administration is essentially laying the foundation for a
whole new classification of law. That's why, in his speech, Bush
purposely never used the words "national security." He did this
deliberately so as not to confuse the two. With this new agency, the seeds are being sown for a new
classification of law that will most likely be called "Homeland Security
Law." Nobody knows what it will be called yet. But this is obviously
what they're doing. Anyone, who knows the Bushes for what they are,
can see that this will be the groundwork for a new, more powerful,
more sinister agency, wherein all sorts of covert activity, illegal and
not, will be extant. In order to take the concept of "illegal" covert activity away, they
are laying the foundation for a whole new separate body of law that will
be parallel to, but above, the National Security Acts. The Office of Homeland Security will be a separate agency, not
under any other agency, not even under the Department of Justice. It
will be the most senior agency in the Cabinet. It will probably fall
somewhere between the Department of State and the Department of
Defense, or somewhere between Treasury and Defense. In terms of
authority, it will be called a "Super Agency," which implies it will not be
under anyone. It will act as a coordinating agency, but will be above
the FBI, CIA, NSA, and DIA. This will, of course, create a whole new
set of turf war battles. But no agency head - in this post-WTC
environment - will dare say anything against it because they'd lose
their job.
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Comment #17 posted by mayan on October 21, 2001 at 02:49:04 PT
Simple Economics(unless you're an anti)
Republicrats suck EJ....at least 99% of them do! Why close a headshop? If people want a bowl they will find a way to get one. They'll just drive to the next town & spend their money there if they don't want to spend 2 minutes making one. Tin foil should be banned! So should cardboard toilet paper rolls(steamrollers)!Fewer tax dollars for the greedheads. Screw em'!
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Comment #16 posted by E_Johnson on October 21, 2001 at 02:02:32 PT
Behind the Bill
I mean Bill Clinton.Unmask the Democrats as the liberal Taliban.The level of marijuana mendacity during the Clinton regime was shocking. And 700,000 people per year?
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Comment #15 posted by qqqq on October 21, 2001 at 01:49:29 PT
other documentary titles
"Fleecing,Fooling,Faking,and Fornicating the Flock,,,The W Years"
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Comment #14 posted by Patrick on October 21, 2001 at 00:08:46 PT
firedog
I agree except, I think the name of our repressive drug law documentary should be changed from "Beneath the Veil," to something like…Beneath the Bong or
Beneath the Bud or
Beneath the Buzz or
Beneath the Bureaucrats or
Beneath the Bullshit (sorry FoM) and that is just the B's for goodness sake!
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Comment #13 posted by firedog on October 20, 2001 at 18:09:21 PT
Repression is the same everywhere
Afghanistan: Lipstick as a weapon of resistance. The small pleasures in life. The desire to look pretty.New Hampshire: A bong as a weapon of resistance. The small pleasures in life. The desire to expand the mind.Afghanistan: The Ministry for the Suppression of Vice and Promotion of Virtue.New Hampshire: The Dover Police Department and their five "experts", including an assistant principal (?) and a police lieutenant. I'm not sure how one gets "expert" status on bongs, pipes, etc. although I'm sure that everyone here would qualify...Maybe we need our own "Beneath the Veil"...
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on October 20, 2001 at 17:50:21 PT
E_Johnson
That part got to me too. The simplest desire to look pretty. Just wanting to look pretty even if it was just for a fleeting moment.
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Comment #11 posted by E_Johnson on October 20, 2001 at 17:28:27 PT
The significance of small pleasures
Behind the Veil is so powerful it's hard to pick out any one part, but for me the scene in the underground beauty parlor made a big impact.Lipstick as a weapon of resistance, that really got to me.
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Comment #10 posted by p4me on October 20, 2001 at 16:13:40 PT:
this BS has got to end
I was doing my web reading and one figure said that 51 million people in the us would have smoked MJ this year. Usually you see the number at about 20 million. There are enough of us that if we could work in a concerted effort we could end this BS. I say vote against every incumbent down to dogcatcher and let them know they all need replacing. Cocky incumbents are allowed at the money table of the lobbyist. No matter who it is, if it is an incumbent besides those that have spoken out for change, they can count on me not voting for them. This is the only way I believe. To be an incumbent in Congress, you are guaranteed to have the largest war chest. Money doesn't matter. If they have not worked to change this BS, they need replacing. I am 100% for out with the old and in with the new.535 Congressman and not one can see the light. Our political process has failed us because we let it. The only terror the politician knows is that there is a block of voters that is going to vote against them. I mean so you have a joint punishable by $10,000 and a year in jail under federal law. And then they invent other ways to intimidate users by adding paraphanalia charges. If you grow a plant they add to possession, manufacturing and maybe something like possession with intent to distribute. They changed the law so that now if you buy a bag of weed they can charge you with conspiracy and that makes you as guilty as the person that sold it to you. So when they say, there are not that many people in jail for simple posession, it is an all but meaningless statement. If you have over a half an ounce in NC it is not simple posession anyway. And if they catch you buying it, there is your serious conspiracy charge. The next thing they will want is to charge you for keeping you in jail if they have not found a way to confiscate your property.And then there was the tactic that I read at http://www.dutchexperience.org about the political trick of passing a law that no money could be spent on any initiative that would legalize medical MJ for Washington, DC. Passing a funding law so you can not have iniatives. How would the people ever change things in a bought and paid for political system, if the corrupt politicians have legal tools to cut funding for the processing of the iniatives. It took the ACLU to get the votes counted and I am waiting to read more on this BS. I hope our Cannabisnews friends will let us know about the results of the vote and a more in depth look at this crap.Proposition 215 passed in California in 1996 and the state legislature have not passed laws that set up guidelines and regulations for the system to work. I think this is somewhere near treason. The initiative process was created so that the will of the people could override the political interest of the politicians. And yet when the people speak, with up to 80% in many areas, the government is fighting what the people voted for in a valid election. And NORML has not done crap or the ACLU either, altough the ACLU has many more issues to fight and is not directly involved in the single issue of "Reform Of Marijuana Laws."I think Alaska is going to have a vote that many people say will pass next year. Although the federal government will say it is still a federal crime, the wall could easily break. All I can say is every incumbent needs to have the fear that there is a block of voters that is going to vote to remove him if he does not have more sense to invent ways of stacking charges on top of something that should be legal anyway and standing in the way of voter initiatives that were designed to let the people speak for themselves instead of representatives that are not doing their jobs. I cannot believe there is something illegal about the California legislature not doing their job. There has got to be a way to impeach them for failing to do the public will. Bastards.
All I can say is vote all incumbents out and spread the word that this is the plan of action that some of 51 million people are going to take forever if this BS does not end.The land of the free is now the land of pee.
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Comment #9 posted by freedom fighter on October 20, 2001 at 13:51:59 PT
So called experts?
But in the affidavit, police cite several experts who stated that the items are used solely for drugs. These include James Noriss, commander of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Drug Task Force; Lt. Anthony Colarusso of the Dover Police Department; Fran McNally, assistant principal at Dover High School; Timothy Pifer, director of the State Police Laboratory and Raymond McGarty, executive director of Southeast New Hampshire Services.How does it qualify them as experts? Oh, I am sure they never saw anyone using bong with regular tobbacco.I am also sure that store does not sell anything to minors. So what does this assistant principal at dover high school have to with this.This is outrageous! Cops have better things to do such as making sure that there are no terrorists in their town! I do not think a bong dealer qualify as terrorist. Oh gosh, I forgot something, the cops are terrorists.I hope the owner will fight this out. ff
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Comment #8 posted by Sam Adams on October 20, 2001 at 13:28:15 PT
more media BS
Some times it just gets sad...will things EVER change? The whole tone of this article is like marijuana smokers are some evil cult out there, corroding children and society. It's SO commonplace - all the college kids in NH are smoking, half of the adults have smoked it. COME ON!I think humor is the only way to cope. This article is so funny...look at this:" The clerks stated that they were to be used for tobacco, the affidavit stated.But in the affidavit, police cite several experts who stated that the items are used solely for drugs."Cannabis: plant material with psychoactive ingredients. Deaths per year: 0Tobacco: plant material with psychoactive ingredients. Deaths per year: 400,000When I smoke a cigar, my head swoons and I can barely get out of my chair. Yet tobacco is tobacco and cannabis is a DRUG. DRUG DRUG DRUG! Evil!!! Hester Prynne! WHIP the evil DRUG smokers! Rout 'em out! Shackle 'em to the lightposts! Brand 'em!Worthless journalists. They make me sick. Just like the little suck-up kid in elementary school, kissing the teacher's ass.What can we do? Canada's looking better every day.......
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Comment #7 posted by lookinside on October 20, 2001 at 11:48:17 PT:
ej..
we have it on too...a rare documentary worth watching repeatedly............
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Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on October 20, 2001 at 11:26:53 PT
Our very own Taliban
I'm watching Beneath the Veil right now.So I'm seeing that America has its own Ministry for the Suppression of Vice and Promotion of Virtue.The courage of the woman who made Beneath the Veil is making me cry.Our own courage and humanity will defeat these cowards and bullies in due time.
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Comment #5 posted by qqqq on October 20, 2001 at 11:16:46 PT
Lookinside..you forgot..
shoes,and McDonalds coffee stirrers
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Comment #4 posted by lookinside on October 20, 2001 at 11:07:09 PT:
things i KNOW...
are drug paraphernalia...$1 bills, $2 bills, $5 bills, $10 bills, $20 bills, $50 bills, $100 bills, $1000 bills(if you can find one...)hemostats..
paperclips...
stainless steel butter knives...
beer/soda cans..(ran outta zigzags!)
swiss army knife...
brownie mix...
tweezers...
alligator clips...
credit cards...
business cards...
old style bottle openers...
butane lighter...
zippo lighter...
scissors...
key rings...
wood...and stretching it a little farther...automobiles...
national parks...
state parks...
county parks...
city parks...
streets...
homes...
public buildings...
boats...
prisons...
jails...reality?:planet earth...
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Comment #3 posted by Dave in Florida on October 20, 2001 at 11:06:00 PT
Supply and Demand
"First of all, it’s a violation of the law. And second, particularly in the city of Dover, we have an extremely
strong drug and alcohol prevention program with hundreds of kids involved and it would send an extremely poor message if we allowed an establishment like this to operate in the city," he said.The store had been open a month. If the idiots think they have good prevention, then normal business pressures would not make the store economicly viable and it would close in a short while from lack of business. They are afraid that the store would thrive.
Give peace a chance.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 20, 2001 at 10:48:18 PT
Patrick
Good to see you! I've heard of different ways to make a smoking device too but never a potato or apple. Necessity has always been the mother of invention.
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Comment #1 posted by Patrick on October 20, 2001 at 10:40:37 PT
Warning to grocery stores
Back in the day, I used to make disposable pipes from potatoes and apples. Apple flavored bud hits were quite tasty as I recall. If these morons continue their petty little drug war they should confiscate everything that can be used as a pipe including apples and spuds. What a joke and waste of New Hampshires tax revenue."I think once we receive a conviction... any police department in the state will be able to use the search warrant and shut any paraphernalia shop down," he said.
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