Pubdate: Mon, 30 Mar 2009
Source: California Aggie, The (UC Davis, CA Edu)
Copyright: 2009sThe California Aggie
Contact:  http://www.californiaaggie.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2725
Author: Jeremy Ogul
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?228 (Paraphernalia)

SMOKE SHOPS WON'T FACE EXTRA SCRUTINY

City Council Decides Against Tobacco Paraphernalia Ordinance

The smoke has cleared in an argument over whether to crack down on 
smoke shops in Davis that sell what some say is drug paraphernalia.

The Davis City Council decided earlier this month that the city 
should not pursue a possible ordinance restricting tobacco-related 
businesses. It was a 3-2 vote, with councilmembers Stephen Souza, Sue 
Greenwald and Lamar Heystek opposed to moving forward.

The discussion was apparently prompted by the opening of Illusions, a 
downtown gift shop that sells tobacco paraphernalia. Illusions is the 
new incarnation of D-Zone Novelties, which just ended a run of over 
four years at 140 B Street, and is operated by the same owners.

Mayor Pro Tem Don Saylor said he was concerned with businesses 
selling "tobacco paraphernalia" obviously meant for drug use.

"When you describe this as tobacco paraphernalia, it's hard to get 
real excited about it," Saylor said. "But when you look at the things 
that have actually been sold at the store on Second and G, some of 
the items match pretty carefully, pretty clearly with the items that 
are listed in this description of drug paraphernalia."

Saylor pointed out containers that were designed as storage for 
controlled substances, glass-blown carburetor pipes and a World War 
II-era gas mask with a pipe protruding from the end as examples of 
items being sold at Illusions that were probably illegal.

"There are some pipes that defy the imagination as being intended for 
use with tobacco, very clearly," he said.

Davis Police Chief Landy Black said enforcing drug paraphernalia laws 
is very difficult.

"An item by its appearance does not make it illegal. It's its usage 
that makes it illegal," Black said. "Without expending a great deal 
of time and resources to investigate the usage of that piece of 
paraphernalia, we don't have a successful prosecution. Currently, 
with our staffing as it is in Davis, that would fall at a very low 
priority investigation for us, without additional resources."

Black said if someone made a complaint about a particular item, 
police would investigate, especially if it was something like a 
syringe, which has a singular use. Something like a hookah pipe, 
however, has both legal and illegal potential uses. In order for 
police to enforce drug paraphernalia laws with an item like that, 
they would have to know what the intended use is, he said.

"It would require an undercover operation, for all intents and 
purposes, for us to get the seller of the product to tell us what its 
intended use is," he said. "If its intended use is to smoke some kind 
of narcotic, then the sale of that item would be illegal."

Mayor Ruth Asmundson said she was concerned with the impact tobacco 
paraphernalia stores have on community values.

"My issue is Davis is supposed to be a 'no-smoking community' in a 
way, and to have the sale of tobacco and cigarettes in the downtown 
is sort of contradicting the values of what we're trying to promote 
in this community," Asmundson said.

Councilmember Stephen Souza said he was not interested in wasting the 
council's time on the issue.

"I do not want to interject my morals into the individual legal 
rights of others when their purchasing behavior is not affecting my 
health or the health of others in our community," Souza said.

Souza said some in Davis are legally allowed to use marijuana for 
medicinal purposes and said they have a legitimate need for 
paraphernalia that doesn't harm their lungs in the same way a 
marijuana cigarette would.

"Frankly, I think the harm comes to individuals in the downtown far 
more from drinking alcohol, which is a legal substance," he said. "If 
we want to attack something that is affecting the health of our 
community, let us attack the consumption of alcohol that's taxing our 
police department on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights."

In meetings with Souza and Greenwald, the Downtown Davis Business 
Association said it was opposed to any new ordinances that could 
hinder the success of businesses already struggling in a difficult recession. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake