'OPERATION PIPECLEANER'

Officers Seize Stores' Drug Paraphernalia

Authorities Aim To Make Items Scarce

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The federal government is going on the offensive
against drug paraphernalia, seizing pipes and other items from half a dozen
stores in eastern North Carolina.

Federal prosecutors said Monday the searches and seizures are the first in
a new campaign designed to make it harder to find materials that could
entice teenagers to begin smoking marijuana.

"The distribution of drug paraphernalia is a federal felony," U.S. Attorney
Frank Whitney said at a news conference in Raleigh. "If we can cut down on
the demand for drugs, it will make our jobs easier."

Federal, state and local agents participated in Feb. 26 searches of four
Wake County and two Wilmington businesses as part of "Operation
Pipecleaner." They recovered decorative and brightly colored bongs, as well
as "roach" clips and miniature spoons.

These kinds of items are defined in federal law as drug paraphernalia, and
someone selling or trying to sell them can receive up to three years in
prison, face fines and have ot forfeit the cited goods.

No charges have been filed against the owners or employees at the six
stores, but criminal counts are possible. The investigation and operation
are continuing, Whitney said.

Federal and local officials defended their campaign against retailers.

After years of continuing efforts to convict drug suppliers, Whitney said
Washington asked that local U.S. attorney come up with ways to reduce the
demand for drugs.

Marijuana is often labeled as a gateway drug because people who smoke it
are many times more likely to use heavier drugs such as heroin and cocaine,
according to the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In the past, much of the marijuana smoked in North Carolina was grown
in-state. Now, more of the drug is coming aboard tractor-trailers from
Mexico and Central America and contains higher amounts of marijuana's
active chemical, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.

"The marijuana of 2004 is not your parents' marijuana, if they experimented
with it," Whitney said.

Keeping paraphernalia farther away from high-school or college students
should help discourage experimentation, the operation coordinator said.

"The message is, 'The gateway is closed,'" Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul
Newby said. "No more tickets will be sold."

In February 2003, federal authorities charged 55 people with trafficking in
illegal drug paraphernalia in an investigation they said targeted the
nation's biggest Internet distributors of bongs, crack pipes and other
gear. At the time, White House drug czar John Walters said, "This is a
devastating blow to the drug paraphernalia business."

Although Newby declined to discuss the specific stores in North Carolina
that were searched, he said many outlets sell drug paraphernalia alongside
skateboards and clothing.

Agents seized items at Buddha's Belly stores in Raleigh and Wilmington;
Snap Dragons and the Rock 'n' Roll Outlet in Raleigh; Rock 'n' Roll Village
in Clayton; and Expressions in Wilmington.

Drew Skidmore, the co-owner of Expressions, said the store talked to local
law enforcement to ensure that their sales inventory was legal. He was
surprised by the federal search.

"If they didn't want to us sell the stuff, they could have just sent us a
letter," Skidmore said. The items Expressions sells are intended solely for
tobacco or legal herbs, he said.

Skidmore questioned the point of singling out the six stores. "You can
smoke illegal drugs out of any pipe in the world," he said.

Police can charge paraphernalia vendors in state court, but there is no
specific count against paraphernalia sales.

A person who identified himself as the manager at Buddha's Belly said
agents removed items from about 20 percent of his store but declined
further comment. Attempts to reach the other businesses were not successful.