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Nonsuch · Feb 25, 2003, 10:32 AM

From an article on MSNBC:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 � Federal authorities charged 55 people Monday with trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia from coast to coast, using both traditional stores and the Internet. A federal grand jury in western Pennsylvania handed up indictments against 27 people as part of �Operation Pipe Dreams,� an investigation stretching from Pittsburgh to Phoenix to Southern California, Attorney General John Ashcroft said.

Nine more people were charged in four grand jury indictments returned in Des Moines, Iowa, under �Operation Headhunter,� which involved paraphernalia marketed nationwide by distributors in Michigan, California and Texas.

In all, 55 people were named in nearly three dozen indictments returned throughout the country.

Federal law makes it a crime to sell products mainly intended for the use of illegal drugs, including such things as bongs, marijuana pipes, �roach� clips, miniature spoons and scales. Those charged with selling and conspiring to sell such items face up to three years in prison and maximum fines of $250,000.

A search warrant in the Iowa case turned up more than $2 million in illegal paraphernalia, authorities said.

Here was the bit I found most interesting:

Ashcroft said the sale of drug paraphernalia has exploded on the Internet, making it easier for teenagers and young adults to buy it. The items often are disguised as such things as lipstick cases to escape detection and are marketed under code names and symbols.

�Quite simply, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge,� Ashcroft said in a statement.

Ah yes, where would a crusade be without an appeal to fear and outrage, especially the fear of corrupting our children? Personally and from my own experience I tend to think the majority of folks buying this stuff are grownups, not innocent kids being corrupted by amoral dope pushers, but then I'm not a politician ...

anarkisst · Feb 25, 2003, 10:48 AM

�Quite simply, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge,� Ashcroft said in a statement.

I guess he really meant pockets and purses...ok, confiscate all pockets and purses...in fact, all teenagers will have to attend school naked...wait...

I work right now for a "smoke shop" wholesaler...BOY, was he nervous yesterday. He doesn't sell "hard core" smoke paraphernalia like bongs and the ones mentioned...but papers, tobacco tasters and mill pipes aren't included on the FBI list I guess...

Time to find a new job...

imaxxedout · Feb 25, 2003, 11:00 AM

BUY YOUR BONGS NOW!!!!!!!!!!

gadster · Feb 25, 2003, 11:14 AM

The Basic Bong:
Plastic orange juice bottle, garden hose, cone fashioned from aluminium can.

The Bucket Bong:
Regular Bucket, large (2L) plastic orange juice bottle (botom cut off), garden hose, cone fashioned from aluminium can.

Good luck banning those.

zigzag · Feb 25, 2003, 12:53 PM

So does this mean that Bong Olympics is cancelled?

::maroma:: · Feb 25, 2003, 01:33 PM

Yeah, Ashcroft can have my bong when he pries it from my cold, dead hands. God, I can't wait until this administration is a memory.

Spheric Harlot · Feb 25, 2003, 01:50 PM

Congratulations.

This reminds me of other US perversions - how sex toys are marketed as "massagers" or "novelty items", or how you immediately know that somebody's transporting alcohol if the bottle's wrapped in a brown paper bag.

I'm impressed.

-s*

Axo1ot1 · Feb 25, 2003, 01:59 PM

As much as I dislike this current administration I am not holding out any hope for drug policy, or even drug paraphanalia policy to be relaxed, even if we had a democrat as president. Drugs don't have advocacy groups or lobbies. Fighting drugs is an easy thing to campaign with because they are widely held in disregard.

zigzag · Feb 25, 2003, 02:15 PM

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
Congratulations.

This reminds me of other US perversions - how sex toys are marketed as "massagers" or "novelty items", or how you immediately know that somebody's transporting alcohol if the bottle's wrapped in a brown paper bag.

I'm impressed.

-s*

It could be worse - they could be trying to imprison mild-mannered medical marijuana growers and overturn state right-to-die laws . . . er, wait, I guess it is worse.

wataru · Feb 25, 2003, 02:40 PM

I hate this country.

pooka · Feb 25, 2003, 02:51 PM

Originally posted by wataru:
I hate this country.

Joke is on you, suckah! This country hates you

nonhuman · Feb 25, 2003, 02:53 PM

Originally posted by pooka:
Joke is on you, suckah! This country hates you

Not as long as he pays his taxes and submits to the mandated morality it doesn't. I'm with wataru, I hate this country.

thunderous_funker · Feb 25, 2003, 02:59 PM

To whom it may concern in Iceland:

I would like to claim political asylum.

My government has made me the target of international terrorists with policies I have no control over. My vote doesn't count. I am utterly without democratic representation. And now the DOJ has seen fit to persecute me further.

I would like to wait out the rest of the War on Terror, War on Drugs debacle from the comfort of one of your lovely hot springs while sipping an alcoholic beverage.

Hopefully yours,

thunderous_funker

pooka · Feb 25, 2003, 02:59 PM

Originally posted by nonhuman:
Not as long as he pays his taxes and submits to the mandated morality it doesn't. I'm with wataru, I hate this country.

Well...
Baby Jebus hates you!

thunderous_funker · Feb 25, 2003, 03:02 PM

Originally posted by pooka:
Well...
Baby Jebus hates you!

Can you blame baby Jesus for hating him?

Everyone knows that every time you criticize the US government, an angel gets full blown AIDS.

Shame on all of you

pooka · Feb 25, 2003, 03:13 PM

Originally posted by thunderous_funker:
Can you blame baby Jesus for hating him?

Everyone knows that every time you criticize the US government, an angel gets full blown AIDS.

Shame on all of you

Do I blame baby Jebus? Hell nah. You freakin' crackheads deserve it.

I seriously don't see the problem. Everybody pissed cause they have to get off their lazy asses and make their own bongs? Sucks to have the gubment telling you can do in teh privacy of your own home, huh? Now you suckahs know how I felt when they took away my right to do full-auto AK conversions. Sucks having da man's nose in yo bidness.

anarkisst · Feb 25, 2003, 03:14 PM

Odd...the last time the Feds raided my boss's warehouse was in '91...2 weeks before the Gulf War I...coincidental?

nonhuman · Feb 25, 2003, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by pooka:
Well...
Baby Jebus hates you!

Meh, whatever.

LegendaryPinkOx · Feb 25, 2003, 07:21 PM

No! they'll never take Savage Henry!

Face Ache · Feb 25, 2003, 07:27 PM

Originally posted by anarkisst:
Odd...the last time the Feds raided my boss's warehouse was in '91...2 weeks before the Gulf War I...coincidental?

No coincidence my friend. Saddam has been using pipes to construct missiles.

Superchicken · Feb 25, 2003, 07:30 PM

Am I the only one on this forum who doesn't do pot?
Personally I wish Canada would do something about the pot problem. Not so much because the people around me are giving themselves cancer, are getting addicted to a controled substance, are giving away wads of cash to dealers... no not even that... Weed SMELLS! It's almost as bad as cigarette smoke! The worst part is pot heads never realize it! So I end up having to sit beside someone in class who's just been outside smoking and I feel like I'm gona puke casue they reek so bad.

If you can't quit because the government dosn't like it... at least quit so that I don't get natious.

AKcrab · Feb 25, 2003, 07:39 PM

What frightens me the most is, I think you're serious...

::maroma:: · Feb 25, 2003, 07:48 PM

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
Am I the only one on this forum who doesn't do pot?
Personally I wish Canada would do something about the pot problem. Not so much because the people around me are giving themselves cancer, are getting addicted to a controled substance, are giving away wads of cash to dealers... no not even that... Weed SMELLS! It's almost as bad as cigarette smoke! The worst part is pot heads never realize it! So I end up having to sit beside someone in class who's just been outside smoking and I feel like I'm gona puke casue they reek so bad.

If you can't quit because the government dosn't like it... at least quit so that I don't get natious.

Thanks for that ill-informed post. Nice to see that you're so knowledgable on the subject that you are so opposed to. Don't trip getting down off your high horse (not THAT kind of "high" horse!).

Spheric Harlot · Feb 25, 2003, 07:50 PM

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
If you can't quit because the government dosn't like it... at least quit so that I don't get natious.

You have a point.

However, by the same token, ban people from drinking. I far prefer the smell of weed to that of alcohol sweat.

And I do believe that if pot became an accepted social drug (as it already is in many circles), it would be consumed in much the same circles/circumstances as alcohol, i.e. you wouldn't be much more likely to sit next to somebody stinking of weed than someone stinking of alcohol. And going out in the evenings, it's just something to be reckoned with.

-s*

CollinG3G4 · Feb 25, 2003, 08:39 PM

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
Am I the only one on this forum who doesn't do pot?
Personally I wish Canada would do something about the pot problem. Not so much because the people around me are giving themselves cancer, are getting addicted to a controled substance, are giving away wads of cash to dealers... no not even that... Weed SMELLS! It's almost as bad as cigarette smoke! The worst part is pot heads never realize it! So I end up having to sit beside someone in class who's just been outside smoking and I feel like I'm gona puke casue they reek so bad.

If you can't quit because the government dosn't like it... at least quit so that I don't get natious.

nigga' plz

MikeM33 · 09:01 PM

I guess this means no more "Billy Bong Thornton" or "Wesley Pipes"

You just gotta learn how to improvise. If you've ever seen the movie "Half Baked", then you just have to learn how to be "The MacGyver smoker".

Here's a great (and real) example:

Take your garden variety chrome plated kitchen sink faucet which you can buy at any hardware store. Assuming you have access to the proper tools, saw the end off right where the neck meets the mount, file it and buff it down smooth so only the neck and spout remain. Inside the spout there's usually a screen which is great for collecting resin. Instant pot pipe!! This is exactly what my friend has at his place and it hits FAN-SMACKIN-TASTICALLY!!!!!! (because so much smoke gathers up inside the neck of the faucet-pipe).

If you're handy with carving stuff from wood, it's always easy to make a neat little pipe. Just bore it out with a drill and pop a screen into one end. You can carve all sortsa funky designs and stuff into it if you want. I made one of these in high school way back in the late '80's.

I can't imagine a bong would be too difficult either. I recall many a party back in my younger days when someone made a makeshift bong from a friggin empty plastic pepsi/coke bottle somehow, but I mean I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to make something a bit more permanant.

The coolest part is when you're smoking from it you can be all proud that you created it yourself. Anyone can just buy stuff from a head shop, but your bong is unique

MikeM

thunderous_funker · Feb 25, 2003, 09:01 PM

Wasn't it Dennis Leary that said that smoking pot doesn't lead to harder drugs, it leads to carpentry?

imaxxedout · Feb 25, 2003, 09:42 PM

I made a bong in my unsupervised high school electronics 2 class. We made it out of a beaker stolen from science class and (I **** you not) VCR parts. Mad geek/stoner skillz. Woo woo.

- $

cpt kangarooski · Feb 25, 2003, 09:52 PM

or how you immediately know that somebody's transporting alcohol if the bottle's wrapped in a brown paper bag.

Of course! I always wondered why people would hold paper bags in such a way that it appeared as though they were drinking from them, yet the bag remained intact, which wouldn't happen if it was filled with pretty much any sort of liquid.

But put a bottle IN the bag, and you might be able to pull it off. Boy, you'd have to be pretty devious to come up with that trick!

finboy · Feb 25, 2003, 10:01 PM

Originally posted by imaxxedout:
I made a bong in my unsupervised high school electronics 2 class. We made it out of a beaker stolen from science class and (I **** you not) VCR parts. Mad geek/stoner skillz. Woo woo.

- $

Right. When I was growing up, the stoners had to make due with lamp parts. About the only specialized thing you could buy (in rural South) was screens.

I'm glad for the crack down. They should have to make their own, like back in the old days.

imaxxedout · Feb 25, 2003, 10:09 PM

I kinda disagree. Smoking out of a double or triple filtered bong is healthier for you, and gets you more f*cked up.

- $

Worst. Episode. Ever. · Feb 25, 2003, 10:10 PM

Originally posted by thunderous_funker:
Wasn't it Dennis Leary that said that smoking pot doesn't lead to harder drugs, it leads to carpentry?

It was George Carlin.

finboy · Feb 25, 2003, 10:13 PM

Originally posted by imaxxedout:
I kinda disagree. Smoking out of a double or triple filtered bong is healthier for you, and gets you more f*cked up.

- $

Good point, I never thought about filters. Still, make the losers work for it.

nforcer · Feb 25, 2003, 10:22 PM

While they are at it, they need to forever rid the US of the scourage of all illegal drugs.

A lot of people have sure given flak to the current administration for not "handling the problems at home". How much closer to home does something like this get? Drugs kill/retard/deform people, and that's a fact. Drugs make people lose control, and therefore, make them a danger to others, and that's a fact.

I applaud the Bush administration for taking this action. Now they simply need to increase their actions by several orders of magnitude to accelerate the process.

wataru · Feb 25, 2003, 10:29 PM

I want to know what's up with the recent wave of reefer madness. I mean, those horrible commercials on TV ("It's more harmful than we thought") and now this? Was there some actual recent study that they're basing this off of, or is it just more bullshit?

fireside · Feb 25, 2003, 10:42 PM

more bullshit.

Joshua · Feb 25, 2003, 10:46 PM

Originally posted by wataru:
I want to know what's up with the recent wave of reefer madness. I mean, those horrible commercials on TV ("It's more harmful than we thought") and now this? Was there some actual recent study that they're basing this off of, or is it just more bullshit?

I know the ads revolving around sex/pot come from a recent study from the Kaiser Family Foundation. You can see a pdf fact sheet here (110kb). There's more info buried on the site somewhere.

But really, are you surprised that people are claiming pot impairs your judgements? Isn't that, uhhh... sort of a given?

Nonsuch · Feb 26, 2003, 12:15 AM

Originally posted by Joshua:
But really, are you surprised that people are claiming pot impairs your judgements? Isn't that, uhhh... sort of a given?

My favorite was the one where the girl gets knocked up, her parents are ashamed, her life is over, and you learn ... it's all because she smoked weed! Yeah, maybe if the frickin' Bush administration weren't so gung-ho about abstinence-only sex ed (which does nothing to discourage teen sex, BTW), the poor lass would've thought to have a condom in her purse. (Not to mention that most teens are far more likely to give it up drunk than stoned.)

Gawd, don't even get me started on those commercials. I never thought I'd see such distorted, hypocritical bullshit in my life.

ink · Feb 26, 2003, 01:13 AM

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
Am I the only one on this forum who doesn't do pot?

I don't `do pot', but I still think this whole war on drugs has gone too far in it's efforts. Banning Heroine and Cocaine through education and judicial punishment is one thing; doing sting raids on shops that sell bongs is quite another. They shut down three stores in my hometown:

http://www.journalnet.com/articles/2...cal/news04.txt

These aren't stores selling a few pipes here and there, nor are they selling legitimate tobacco-related products," U.S. Attorney Tom Moss said at the Boise news conference. "These are drug-oriented businesses, and they represent big money."

I've been in Pegasus Books (one of the 3 stores busted here), and they sold all sorts of things that were amusing, including the Anarchist Cookbook. I also have some buddies here from Kuwait, and they SMOKE TOBACCO IN BONGS that they bought from Pegasus. It's a special tobacco, grown over there that is is commonly used with such devices.

Meanwhile, Ashcroft is forcing tax-paying businesses under and putting these `evil people' on state rolls by using up judical funds. This makes the deficit grow in both directions.

Is it 2004 yet???

anarkisst · Feb 26, 2003, 01:27 AM

Originally posted by Superchic[k]en:
Am I the only one on this forum who doesn't do pot? ...So I end up having to sit beside someone in class who's just been outside smoking and I feel like I'm gona puke casue they reek so bad.
If you can't quit because the government dosn't like it... at least quit so that I don't get natious....

You have smelly, loud, annoying, liver damaged and driving when they shouldn't drunks too. And excluding the latter I don't see any crackdowns on mugs and shotglasses...you have people who can't moderate their intake of all substances. You learn from education and experience. The difference from wanting to get high to needing to get high.

But removing these devices isn't going to stop anything...sh!t, you can EAT POT! IT'S NATURAL.

Legalize pot. Take the billions saved in that and give it to the war on killer drugs.

pooka · Feb 26, 2003, 01:36 AM

I would love to see pot legalized. That would sooooo rule. Soon we would have OCP Bud Sticks for sale in every gas station. Soon millions of people will enjoy the delight that OCP Bud Sticks can provide.

But what's going to happen when OCP Bud Sticks make everyone fat? We sue the ****ing **** out of em mahn! Ooohhh sheeeit, mahn! We get to sue Frito Lay and Sara Lee at da same time! Sweet plan. I'm in!

fireside · Feb 26, 2003, 01:39 AM

Originally posted by Nonsuch:
My favorite was the one where the girl gets knocked up, her parents are ashamed, her life is over, and you learn ... it's all because she smoked weed!

good i hate that commercial. she cant have abortion? she cant put the child up for adaption? wtf?! and the whole thing about smoking weed got her pregnant is stupid. she could have been at a party, gotten pregnant without smoking weed. they're gonna blame everything on weed sooner or later.

pooka · Feb 26, 2003, 01:44 AM

Why can't the moral of the story be

"Don't be a whore"

or

"Handjobs don't make babies"

The Mick · Feb 26, 2003, 02:44 AM

Originally posted by Worst. Episode. Ever.:
It was George Carlin.

Nope, it was Leary.

zigzag · Feb 26, 2003, 06:09 AM

Originally posted by pooka:
Why can't the moral of the story be

"Don't be a whore"

or

"Handjobs don't make babies"

LOL

"Don't be skanky. A message from the Ad Council."