PIPE DREAMS AND HEADHUNTERS

Concerns Raised Over the Feds' Crackdown on Drug Paraphernalia

Jay O'Mally just wanted to take home a few souvenirs from his Puerto
Vallarta getaway last February.

Lazy strolls along the sandy beaches led to a few finds, including a
hammock chair, a good bottle of tequila and four custom-made pipes.

But O'Mally was never able to add the unique pipes to his collection
at home.

Instead, U.S. Customs raised its eyebrows at the "suspicious"
souvenirs he brought through Mitchell International Airport later that
week. He says officials were quick to label the knickknacks as
contraband and demanded that he "voluntarily abandon" them. Failure to
comply would result in a lengthy, and costly, series of
proceedings.

O'Mally believes Customs officials were acting in accordance with two
nationwide investigations code-named Operation Pipe Dreams and
Operation Headhunter. Spearheaded by Attorney General John Ashcroft
and supported by acting DEA Administrator John B. Brown III, both
initiatives are aimed to curb the sale of drug paraphernalia
nationwide. Ashcroft says he launched the initiative in response to
the mass marketing of drug paraphernalia over the Internet, which
allows teen-agers increased access to purchasing such items.

Since their inception, "Pipe Dreams" and "Headhunter" have arrested
more than 60 people for supplying pipes, bongs, roach clips, spoons
and other possible drug-related items. Offenders face up to three
years in prison and /or $250,000 in fines.

"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia
industry has exploded," Ashcroft says on instituting the campaigns.
"The drug paraphernalia business is now accessible in anyone's home
with a computer and Internet access. And in homes across America, we
know that children and young adults are the fastest growing Internet
users."

But O'Mally, 42, says he had no intention of using the pipes for any
sort of drug-related activities.

"The way I look at it, they're pretty much doing away with the
Constitution by taking away people's property without conducting a
hearing," he says.

After refusing to comply, O'Mally and his girlfriend were contained at
the airport for several hours. They were not arrested, but Customs
officials confiscated the pipes on site.

They are set to be destroyed by officials, he says.

Open-Ended Enforcement

O'Mally isn't the only person who's crying foul at Operations Pipe
Dreams and Headhunter. Former Congressman Tom Barrett says he is
concerned that some citizens will be unfairly targeted for possessing
items that could be considered as paraphernalia if the context is
misinterpreted.

"My concerns pertain primarily to ordinary, everyday items that could
be classified as drug paraphernalia," Barrett says.

Barrett's worry is that innocent people will be prosecuted for
carrying ordinary items like lunch baggies that the government
misconstrues as drug paraphernalia.

O'Mally shares his concerns. He says the U.S. government's broad
definition of such items allows Customs officials varying degrees of
freedom when confiscating contraband. He also cites regulations
against spoons and straws as being too open-ended for just
enforcement.

"There's all kinds of ways you can do things," O'Mally says on seizure
stipulations.

Not all paraphernalia is vaguely defined. U.S. statutes more clearly
define items, like pipes, which include all "metal, wooden, acrylic,
glass, stone, plastic or ceramic pipes with or without screens,
hashish heads or punctured metal bowls." By law, O'Mally's pipes fall
into this general category.

"But they're not being used; they're trinkets," he says. O'Mally also
questions if more valuable, antique items clearly not intended for use
could also be confiscated.

"What if I had bought a hand-carved pipe from 15th-century Germany?"
he asks.

Adds Barrett: "If (government officials) move forward, they must make sure
that the definitions are very tight."

Paying to Speak?

Ashcroft and company's possible infringement on civil liberties has
also raised concerns. O'Mally says he was forced to voluntarily
abandon the pipes without a proper hearing

But a letter sent by the U.S. Customs Service on Feb. 4 states that he
had the right to petition for relief within 30 days. Once the deadline
passed, Customs began its administrative forfeiture proceedings. They
informed him he had the right to stop such proceedings by filing a
claim for the merchandise, along with a $250 bond, with Customs and
Border Protection. Only after that would the matter be referred to the
U.S. attorney for further review.

"The fact is, I can pay $250, which allows me to have a hearing,"
O'Mally says, but he declined the offer. He claims he felt that the
initiatives were written to ensure that innocent citizens, like
himself, didn't have a fair chance to win and therefore wouldn't waste
their time and money.

O'Mally maintains that it's an issue of protecting his personal
freedoms. Operatives such as "Pipe Dreams" and "Headhunter" are
crossing the boundaries of American freedoms.

"They're (the government is) declaring something illegal that in
itself is not illegal," O'Mally reasons. "I feel as if my government
is allowed to rob me. There's no recourse."