Pubdate: Tue, 04 Mar 2003 Source: Maneater, The (Columbia, MO Edu) Copyright: 2003 The Maneater Contact: http://www.themaneater.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1283 Author: Amal Bala FEDS CRACK DOWN ON INTERNET DRUG PARAPHERNALIA TRAFFICKING U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and John Brown III, acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency, announced on Feb. 24 the indictment of 50 people on charges of trafficking drug paraphernalia on the Internet, an act that federal administrators lauded as a step forward in the war on drugs. Operations Headhunter and Pipe Dreams produced the indictments against national distributors, regional retail shops and individuals. Each count set forth in the indictments carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine. DEA offices nationwide were involved in the operations. Ashcroft's announcement denounced the cyberspace expansion of the drug paraphernalia industry, alleging it is invading the homes of families without their knowledge. Defendants were charged with conspiracy to sell and offering to sell various types of drug paraphernalia, the DEA said. It also claimed defendants knowingly and unlawfully sold items such as bongs, marijuana pipes, roach clips and cocaine freebase kits, many of which were disguised as lipsticks and markers. Brown said the criminality of those who sell drug paraphernalia equals that of drug dealing. Eleven Internet organizations were brought down as a result of the operations, he said. "People selling drug paraphernalia are in essence no different than drug dealers," Brown said in a prepared statement. "They are as much part of drug trafficking as silencers are part of a criminal homicide." The operations were summarized by legislators and administrators as a boost to the nation's drug prevention efforts and a message to drug and paraphernalia dealers that the government is actively protecting America's youth. Many people are skeptical, however, that these actions are inefficient in a time of increasing concerns about national security. "The arrests are ridiculous," said Anthony Johnson, president of the MU School of Law chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "The time and resources are better spent going after terrorists," he said. Keith Stroup, founder and director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, agreed with Johnson's sentiments. "We think it's an extraordinary, foolish use of resources," Stroup said. Malcolm Conant, a glassblower working for 101 North, an alleged paraphernalia supply company in Arcadia, Calif., said the indictments are unfair. "These people were legit," he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh