MARIJUANA PIPES SMOKED OUT OF SMOKE SHOPS

After June 11, local smoke shops will have to pack up their water pipes and
send them back to their suppliers. Gov. Gary Locke signed a bill April 3
that will make the sale of water pipes and some other kinds of pipes sold
in smoke ships [sic] illegal. The law will also apply to the sale of these
pipes and other paraphernalia over the Internet.

Water pipes -- also known as bongs -- cool down and filter smoke from
tobacco or marijuana. Bongs are one of the more popular methods of smoking
marijuana.

Several smoke shops on the Ave. sell water pipes for "tobacco" use. Owners
and employees of these as well as consumers will lose out when the stores
can no longer sell the pipes.

Shames Rai, an employee at Sam's Smokes on the Ave., expects the law to
take away customers. Many of the customers who won't be able to purchase
water pipes from Sam's Smokes and other head shops woluld have to purchase
the pipes illegally.

"People will pay the higher price on the street," he said.

Rai said he only sells water pipes "for tobacco purposes." He has no way of
controlling what his customers choose to do with the pipes after they leave
the store.

"If [drugs] are not available, these pipes are useless," Rai said. he said
he feels like the government is asking him to police what other people do.

On the other hand, Andy Lin of Tom's University Smoke Shop on the Ave.
agrees with the bill. He thinks children especially will be less likely to
try drugs if they can't buy the paraphernalia.

"It's good for our young children. It should've been done a very long time
ago," Lin said.

In the April 7 issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, an article about
the new bill targetting head shops explained how the bill originated. The
bill was reportedly pushed by a local community that was upset about the
presence of a head shop near its public schools.

Any stores selling the products listed in the new bill have a two-month
period to get rid of the soon-to-be-illegal supplies.