cannabisnews.com: US Says It Has Cut Off Supplies of Paraphernalia US Says It Has Cut Off Supplies of Paraphernalia Posted by CN Staff on February 24, 2003 at 17:03:01 PT By Eric Lichtlau Source: New York Times Federal officials said today that they had shut down the major suppliers of drug paraphernalia in the United States in a series of nationwide raids, arresting 55 people who prosecutors said had trafficked in an array of merchandise that included lipstick-shaped marijuana pipes and gas-mask bongs.Drug paraphernalia, once the province of neighborhood head shops, has "exploded" into a multimillion-dollar industry through the Internet, as suppliers have shopped their wares on public Web sites with little fear of prosecution, officials said in announcing the arrests. Federal officials said the raids had yielded several tons worth of drug paraphernalia used both by suppliers to help produce drugs for resale and by users to conceal drugs. Investigators said the items — which included drug pipes hidden in school highlighters, soft-drinks cans and lipstick cases — would sell for tens of millions of dollars on the open market.The authorities also shut down a dozen or so Web sites that had been used to sell paraphernalia. People who tried to log on were instead directed to a Drug Enforcement Administration Web site that informed them that the dealers were out of business.While trafficking in drug paraphernalia is a violation of federal law, it is a crime that has rarely attracted the interest of the federal authorities. But Attorney General John Ashcroft said the department decided to launch a multiagency undercover operation after a recent case in Pittsburgh involving a national dealer had pointed up the depth of the problem.Some groups opposed to the Bush administration's drug policies questioned whether the Justice Department was wasting its resources on a fairly obscure part of the drug-trafficking industry.But Mr. Ashcroft, joined by the head of the D.E.A. and the White House drug czar, said the rising ease with which young people could get their hands on paraphernalia was a growing concern to him and others in the administration."This is a federal case because it's against the federal law," Mr. Ashcroft declared. He said the paraphernalia business "has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge."Complete Title: U.S. Says It Has Cut Off Supplies of Drug ParaphernaliaSource: New York Times (NY)Author: Eric LichtlauPublished: February 24, 2003Copyright: 2003 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.com Website: http://www.nytimes.com/Related Articles:Feds Crack Down on Drug Paraphernalia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15550.shtml55 Charged in Drug Paraphernalia Sales http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15547.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by John Tyler on February 24, 2003 at 19:25:48 PT more paraphernalia Don't forget the sandwich baggies. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Heavy-D on February 24, 2003 at 19:03:01 PT: Where the Raids Started -Barmes & Chills For all of you that don't know the history of this, 18 months ago both Barmes Wholesale and Chills Industries were raided by the DEA/Feds.Chris Hill (from Chills) took a plea deal and gave all the information he knew at the time of his plea bargain (thus testifying against the other pipe sellers).Barmes Wholesale (Barmes is a big family, there is Brian Barmes, Marvin Barmes, Mark Barmes and many others) is still in some serious trouble. Beyond selling bongs and other pipes, Barmes has / had offshore bank accounts in the Bahammas where they funnelled all their profits to avoid US Taxes. So now Barmes is in a LOT of trouble - Drug Paraphernalia, Money Laundering, Tax Evasion and with the new Patriot act, they are "enemies of the state" (because of the offshore bank used with illegal activities).However, for some reason we haven't hear much about the Barmes case. I live in Indiana and the rumor mill is that Barmes is testifying and turning Federal evidence for a lesser charge.I don't know if this is true, but it would explain why none of the Barmes family is in jail (they even still sell their RiteWeight scales online).So I think it's safe to say that these raids were the result of a Snowball effect, pushed by the earlier raids on Barmes & Chills, powered with the renewed energy of the information given by Barmes & Chills.Anyway, be carefull out there! With all these people rolling and ratting it's a terrible time to own or operate a headshop. If you haven't been raided yet, it's just a matter of time till someone testifies against you and gets you shut down.Close your store and just walk away.Thank the lucky stars that nobody closed it for you.... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by mayan on February 24, 2003 at 18:08:05 PT Can You Say - "Futile"??? "Federal officials said today that they had shut down the major suppliers of drug paraphernalia in the United States in a series of nationwide raids, arresting 55 people who prosecutors said had trafficked in an array of merchandise that included lipstick-shaped marijuana pipes and gas-mask bongs."OOPS!!! They forgot to shut down the tin-foil factories and the aluminum-can factories. I'm sure they'll target those next, though. It's far more important than those pesky terrorists!The way out is the way in -Another motive for war: 9/11 coverup? http://onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/022003Burns/022003burns.htmlKaminski's Best 9/11 Sites - 4th Edition: http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/HL0302/S00024.htm9/11 Prior Knowledge/Government Involvement Archive: http://www.propagandamatrix.com/archiveprior_knowledge9/11 Truth Alliance: http://unansweredquestions.org/alliance/index.html9/11 Exposed: http://www.911exposed.com/The 9/11 Investigative Community: http://www.falloutshelternews.com/911Community.htm9/11 - Guilt In High Places: http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/911page1&2.htmMake No Mistake About It - 9/11 Was An Inside Job(The lost voxnyc article that the federales shut down!): http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:dv2JBpTIZHUC:www.voxnyc.com/archives/00000076.htm+&hl=en&ie=UTF-89/11 - The Road To Tyranny (Realplayer Video) http://sf.indymedia.org/uploads/the_road_to_tyranny__34kbps_.ramAftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11(QuickTime Video, parts 1-4) http://www.guerrillanews.com/after_math/The 9/11 Truth Movement - Selected Resources for Researchers and Activists: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/LEV212A.html9/11 Skeptics Unite: http://www.osamaskidneys.com/links.htmlPaul Thompson's Complete 9/11 Timeline: http://cooperativeresearch.org/completetimeline/The People's Investigation of 9/11: http://www.911pi.com/More 9/11 Links: http://www.keystonereport.com/911.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by freedom fighter on February 24, 2003 at 18:07:58 PT Just one Word to describe this STUPID!ff [ Post Comment ] Post Comment