FEDS TAKE AIM AT N.C. HEAD SHOPS

RALEIGH -- Just about every college town in America has stores that
openly sell marijuana pipes and other accessories that everyone knows
can be put to illegal use. Now federal authorities in North Carolina
have waded into what many thought was a gray area of the law by
cracking down on head shops. On Monday, Frank D. Whitney, the U.S.
attorney for central and Eastern North Carolina, announced that
federal, state and local agents raided six businesses last week to
launch "Operation Pipecleaner."

Officers seized nearly 3,800 glass and metal pipes, along with rolling
papers and other items from four stores in the Triangle on Thursday,
court records show. Two of the stores are next to N.C. State
University. Agents said they also raided two stores near the
UNC-Wilmington campus and hauled away paraphernalia.

The operation in the Triangle has been going on for three
months.

"Drug paraphernalia distributors legitimize the use of drugs by
selling through public retail establishments but acting deliberately
ignorant of the use of paraphernalia devices," Whitney said at a news
conference. "Most importantly and most frightening, drug paraphernalia
distributors prey on impressionable youth, targeting universities and
high schools and distributing through the Internet."

The local seizures were at Buddha's Belly, 2112 Hillsborough St.,
Raleigh; Snap Dragons, 2526 Hillsborough St., Raleigh; Rock 'N' Roll
Outlet, 3601 Capital Blvd., Raleigh; and Rock-N-Roll Village, 2808-B
U.S. 70 West, Clayton. In Wilmington, Buddha's Belly, 830 S. Kerr
Ave., and Expressions, 419 S. College Road, were also raided.

Owners Could Be Cited

No one was arrested, but Whitney said store owners could be charged.
Three of the store owners or managers in Raleigh declined to comment;
the fourth couldn't be reached.

Drew Skidmore, co-owner of Expressions, said the store has been in
Wilmington about six years and had the permission of local law
enforcement to sell its pipes.

"We market them for tobacco; we don't want them to be used [for
drugs]," he said. "But I don't know how you can really control that."

Skidmore said it wasn't fair to say the store was trying to lure
children to buy pipes just because it also sells skateboards. "They
sell candy in convenience stores," he said. "I don't know where you
draw the line."

Whitney said the operation sends a message that the merchandise is not
legal, even though it's sold openly.

He also said he wants to warn youth that marijuana is typically six or
seven times more potent than it used to be, leads to harder drugs and
is a health hazard. He added that most of the marijuana sold in North
Carolina is no longer grown locally but comes from drug cartels from
Latin America.

Whitney said U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft issued a directive
last year, urging federal prosecutors to target drug users.

Congress in 1986 made it a felony to mail paraphernalia, and in 1990
made it illegal to sell or offer for sale pipes that are primarily
used to ingest drugs. The law defines specific kinds of pipes. There
is no state law that could be used.

Kris Krane, associate director of the National Organization to Reform
Marijuana Laws, said Monday in a phone interview from Washington,
D.C., that the North Carolina crackdown is new.

He said the Justice Department has prosecuted large paraphernalia
makers and online distributors but hasn't gone after head shops on
such an organized level.

"It's an utter and complete waste of money," Krane said. "We're
talking about busting businessmen here, not street dealers. ... This
is a relatively new development and a scary one."

Store Closes

On Monday, one of the stores, Snap Dragons, was closed. Empty display
cases could be seen through the dark glass windows. Agents reported
seizing more than 800 pipes from the store.

Down the street, Buddha's Belly remained open despite the loss of more
than 640 pipes, which were only a small part of the store's business.
It also sells skateboards, clothes and other merchandise.

Paul Newby, the assistant U.S. attorney who coordinated the
investigation, said mixing merchandise is a concern to
authorities.

"The owners of drug paraphernalia businesses glamorize drug use by
stocking drug paraphernalia along with clothing, posters and other
items, such as skateboards, that are attractive to young adults," Newby said.

Whitney said that the government will continue to concentrate on drug
traffickers, but that will be easier if authorities can also reduce
the demand for illegal drugs.

"We have to draw the line somewhere," Whitney said. "Let's draw it at
drug paraphernalia, because it's so blatantly illegal."