Pubdate: Mon, 28 Nov 2005
Source: News Journal (DE)
Copyright: 2005 The News Journal
Contact: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/opinion/index.html
Website: http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/822
Author: Adam Taylor

PARAPHERNALIA LAWS REQUIRE LINK TO DRUGS

Delaware's drug paraphernalia law lists dozens of items, from pipes 
and small spoons used to ingest drugs to containers used to store 
drugs, that are illegal -- as long as authorities can prove they are 
intended for drug use. In most cases, that means a merchant or user 
must say the items are drug-related, or police must find drugs near 
the items or drug residue in them to consider them "drug paraphernalia."

The proof-of-intent component makes it particularly hard to prosecute 
merchants who sell drug paraphernalia -- from operators of 
marijuana-oriented "head shops" that sell pipes and bongs to corner 
stores that sell makeshift crack pipes and baggies for drug 
distribution. That is why most paraphernalia charges are filed 
against users caught with drugs as well as paraphernalia, state 
Attorney General's Office spokeswoman Lori Sitler said.

Targeting dealers

Capt. Chip Simpson, commander of the Delaware State Police special 
investigations division, which includes the drug unit, said troopers 
spend most of their time going after dealers who have cocaine and 
heroin -- not just the equipment to use it.Advertisement

"Any enforcement we do of paraphernalia [laws] is complaint-driven," 
he said. "If we receive citizens' complaints about a store, we'll 
investigate it, but it's not something we actively seek out."

Some kind of link to drugs is needed to trigger a paraphernalia 
arrest. For example, having a scale displayed near pipes might help 
authorities prove a merchant's intent to sell the items to drug 
dealers, Simpson said. Selling a pipe decorated with a marijuana leaf 
also could help, indicating the pipe is intended for smoking 
marijuana rather than legal tobacco.

Too many bags

When Wilmington police raided Quisqueya Deli Grocery in July, the 
sheer volume of small bags they found helped police decide the 
merchants weren't selling the bags to coin collectors or craftsmen 
who store beads for necklaces. Ultimately, the owner of that shop was 
placed in a one-year first-time offender program.

The operators of an alleged head shop that was raided in Dover 
earlier in the year were charged under the federal paraphernalia law 
after they also were charged with being part of a marijuana 
distribution ring. Without the pot-dealing charges, the government 
would have not had a paraphernalia case, state police Lt. Bruce Von 
Goerres said.

Colm F. Connolly, U.S. Attorney for Delaware, said the Dover case, 
which is yet to be decided, is the first time the federal 
paraphernalia charge has been used in this state. Police agencies 
throughout the state have been told that federal prosecutors would 
like to see it used more often.

Leaving a trail

The FBI thinks that following the trail of suspected drug 
paraphernalia can lead to arrests of drug-gang members. A 2003 FBI 
report used an example of an operation in and around Baltimore that 
busted 80 drug dealers and got 30 stores closed by monitoring a link 
between sales of items that can be used as paraphernalia and drug trafficking.

Most local authorities, however, think that no amount of 
paraphernalia enforcement is going to stop people from smoking crack 
or pot. Beverage cans, for example, are used to smoke pot and crack. 
The can is emptied, then several small holes are pierced in the 
concave bottom, which holds the drug. The can is held upside down, 
then the drugs are lit and inhaled through the mouthhole.

"Back when I was a public defender, when crack first came out, people 
were smoking crack out of a Bic pen," Widener University Law 
Professor Jules Epstein said.

Von Goerres said he painstakingly tries to make paraphernalia charges 
stick, sometimes even sending the most rudimentary of homemade pipes 
to the state Medical Examiner's Office for analysis.

"If it comes back positive for marijuana or cocaine, it's 
paraphernalia," he said. "If it comes back negative, it's just a Coke 
can with a bunch of holes punched in it."
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