NEW FRONT IS OPENED IN WAR ON DRUGS

Anthony Yanow and his competitors have made a billion dollars off of
bongs, investigators say.

And the government wants their fortunes.

Federal prosecutors have opened a new front in the federal war on
drugs: paraphernalia. Using a fake company based in Cleveland, they
targeted a warehouse in California that they said supplied "head
shops" across the country with such devices as bongs, water pipes used
to smoke marijuana. Greater Cleveland has about a dozen such shops.

The government last week accused Yanow of conspiracy to sell drug
paraphernalia from his warehouse through the use of scores of catalogs
and a Web site to lure retailers into buying pipes and cigarette
rolling papers by the trunkload.

The Web site was gone yesterday, and Yanow could not be
reached.

His case is part of the U.S. Justice Department's recent crackdown on
the billion-dollar business of drug paraphernalia that for years went
untouched by law enforcement.

The government also accused 54 others across the country last week,
mostly in Pittsburgh. Federal officials said the $1 billion-a-year
industry has exploded via the Internet, where even small children can
find items.

"How can we put people in prison for years for using drugs, but not
touch these people, who are making their money helping people use
drugs?" said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Pinjuh.

Those who support the legalization of marijuana said the government
has more important things to worry about.

"They're just wasting resources," said John Hartman, leader of the
Ohio Cannabis Society. "Are you going to go after the guy who
shoplifts a loaf of bread or are you going to go after a guy who
strangles someone?

"[Attorney General] John Ashcroft and his people are attacking a
culture, basically the hippies of the '60s and the people who are just
liberal. It's a cultural war."

Yanow, 31, of Vancouver, British Columbia, is accused of running Hot
Comet Enterprises, Puff Pipes and Atmospheres Lifestyles of Los
Angeles along with a Web site called Puff-pipes.com.

Authorities say Yanow's company shipped items three times to a bogus
business set up by agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration.

Investigators said Yanow sold "user friendly" items, such as the
smoking pipes and bongs, rolling papers and clips to hold marijuana
cigarettes. Other businesses sold "dealer friendly" materials,
including cocaine free-base kits, tiny spoons and miniature scales.

If convicted, Yanow could lose four properties in California, as well
as an account in an Encino, Calif., bank. Assistant U.S. Attorney
James Morford, who is seeking forfeiture of the account, declined to
discuss it.