CITY SAYS 'NO' TO SALES OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA

FARMINGTON -- City councilors hope to take a bite out drug use in
Farmington.

Councilors gave unanimous approval Tuesday to the publishing of an
ordinance banning the sale of any object designed or marketed for the
smoking, injecting, administration or consumption of a controlled substance.

Devices named in the ordinance include water pipes, roach clips,
miniature cocaine spoons and vials, chamber pipes, chilams or bongs,
just to name a few.

The amended city ordinance also states instructions, statements,
descriptive materials, prior convictions of a business owner, direct
or circumstantial evidence of ratio of object sales, the proximity of
the object to other drug paraphernalia, or expert testimony concerning
an objects use, can be used as evidence in determining whether any
object is paraphernalia.

The reason for the ordinance change is to adopt the Model Drug
Paraphernalia Act into city code.

The act was drafted by the Drug Enforcement Agency, was adopted by the
state and has been upheld by the United States Supreme Court, said
Assistant City Attorney Kane Graves.

"We believe it would be beneficial to the citizens to more clearly
define and clarify the prohibited sale, use and possession of drug
paraphernalia," Graves said.

The change stems from the previous citation of a local business owner
who pleaded guilty in Municipal Court to selling drug paraphernalia in
the form of multi-colored glass pipes.

"He assured both the Municipal Court and District Court he was no
longer selling any other types of paraphernalia, which he did admit
were paraphernalia," Graves said.

Graves said he recently went into the place of business and in fact,
the paraphernalia was still being sold.

An undercover police officer was also sent to the business.

The officer was able to purchase drug paraphernalia and was told by
the salesman, "where he could hide his weed" in the paraphernalia,
Graves said.

"The salesman also told the undercover officer that they had been
selling 30 to 40 pipes, of the prohibited ones, that cost $30 to $40
each, each and every day," Graves said.

Because paraphernalia is still being sold at the business, Graves has
also changed the amendment to state a knowing or intentional violation
of the drug paraphernalia ordinance shall be sufficient grounds to
revoke a business registration or license to do business in the city.

The council unanimously agreed to publish the ordinance.

Quoting a recent Daily Times article, Mayor Bill Standley said if the
business owner brings in $2,000 a week in paraphernalia sales, than
the city has serious problems.

"This is one of those things that needs to be a cooperative effort
that we really eradicate because the PCP problem and the meth problems
that we have here in San Juan County is just outrageous. If the public
really knew the causes and effect of those two uses and what is
happening to our youth and young people as well as adults and crime in
the area you would be scared out of your wits," Standley said.