Pubdate: Tue, 25 Feb 2003
Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)
Page: A - 4
Copyright: 2003 Hearst Communications Inc.
Contact:  http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/388
Author:Demian Bulwa, SF Chronicle Staff Writer

U.S. RAIDS FIRMS SELLING ITEMS USED BY POT SMOKERS ASHCROFT BLAMES INTERNET 
FOR PARAPHERNALIA

Saying high times are over for those who sell pipes and bongs favored by 
pot smokers, federal agents raided more than 100 homes and businesses 
throughout the nation Monday, including a glass-pipe company owned by 
actor-comedian Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame.

The raids stemmed from the indictments of 50 people, including six in 
Northern California, who face federal charges of trafficking in illegal 
drug paraphernalia.

Chong -- a man whose name is virtually synonymous with recreational 
marijuana use -- was not among those indicted, and he was not arrested 
during Monday's raids.

But the 64-year-old actor's Chong Glass company in Los Angeles was cleared 
of merchandise. A separate search of Chong's Pacific Palisades home 
uncovered a small amount of marijuana, according to a federal 
law-enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Authorities called the people who were indicted some of the nation's most 
popular distributors -- through storefronts, web sites and wholesale 
outlets -- of the often elaborate, artistic contraptions marketed in head 
shops as ostensibly "for tobacco use."

Federal grand juries in western Pennsylvania and Des Moines, Iowa, returned 
most of the indictments as part of "Operation Pipe Dreams," which included 
the Northern California suspects, and "Operation Headhunter," which 
targeted head shops in southern Iowa. Drug Enforcement Administration 
offices in several states were part of the investigation.

'BILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY'

"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry 
has exploded," said Attorney General John Ashcroft in a statement. "Quite 
simply, the . . . 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."

Family members of some of the Northern California suspects said they were 
angered by a 6 a.m. sweep Monday in which agents raided homes, handcuffed 
suspects and others, froze bank accounts and seized merchandise from shops 
and warehouses.

"Why after seven years in business does this happen? Why not just approach 
us?" said Fern Thomas, 29, a bookkeeper for 101 North Glass Inc. in Arcata, 
Humboldt County, which sells blown-glass pipes and other products to resellers.

Thomas's fiance, Jason Vrbas, was arrested along with co-owners Ryan Teurfs 
and Gabriel Watson. All three men are 29. Late Monday, the suspects were 
still in custody.

CLASHES ALONG HAIGHT STREET

Authorities have clashed with head shops -- best known in the Bay Area 
along San Francisco's Haight Street and Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue -- for 
decades over the sale of such items as hookahs, hand pipes and water bongs.

The debate, according to Steven Wishnia, a senior editor at High Times 
magazine in New York City, centers around "this weird semantic and semiotic 
definition applied to a piece of glass with a bowl at one end."

People who defend the sale of such pipes, he said, generally acknowledge 
they are meant for marijuana users. But many believe it's not a 
proprietor's business to predict the way a product will be used.

Chong, who made his name in shades of green with partner Cheech Marin and 
last year stayed in character by playing a hippie pothead on "That '70s 
Show," was shocked by raids on his business and his home, said his 
publicist Brandie Knight.

"It's awful," she said. "They're talking about war and everything else, and 
I can't believe they can't spend their time better. Chong Glass is artwork" 
- -- it was the subject of a Hollywood art exhibit in November -- "and we've 
been very careful about saying it's for tobacco use only, and you must be 
18 years or older (to buy it).

"We've done everything the right way, and the government is saying there is 
no right way." Asked if Chong currently smokes marijuana, Knight said, "No 
comment."

PENINSULA ARRESTS

On the Peninsula, agents arrested Waleed A. Zahrieh, 37, of Los Gatos, and 
Nessar David Zahriya, 39, of San Mateo. The pair allegedly sold illegal 
drug paraphernalia through businesses called Wicked Corp. and Sands of Time.

Reached Monday, Zahrieh's wife, who declined to give her name, said only 
that her husband sold items for tobacco use.

In Forestville, Sonoma County, agents arrested John Matthew Patrick, 38, 
who owns California Colorchangers, Inc. Its Web site, 
www.colorchangingglass.com, features an array of pipes and bongs. Its cover 
page states, "I agree to use the products offered herein for legal purposes 
only."

On Monday, authorities refused to go into detail about their investigations 
except to say they involved undercover work. They said businesses could no 
longer protect themselves by posting signs or Internet warnings indicating 
their products were for tobacco use only.

The suspects, if convicted, face a maximum of three years in prison, a 
$250, 000 fine, or both, for each count in the indictments.
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