PIPE COMPANY OWNER INDICTED ON FEDERAL CHARGES

Chris Hill's company makes pipes commonly used for marijuana.

SARASOTA -- Chris Hill was in a business where it's best to keep a low
profile: manufacturing the glass and plastic pipes commonly used by
marijuana smokers.

Hill, 30, was so successful at it that he cracked Inc Magazine's list of
the 500 fastest growing private companies in 1999. His brand name, Chills,
was stamped on the license plate of his Porsche.

Hill caught the attention of federal prosecutors in September. They
indicted him on charges of distributing drug paraphernalia and are now
threatening him with up to 20 years in prison.

Pipes like those that Hill made are sold in 5,000 stores across the United
States. He says the authorities are picking on him.

"If anyone had ever said, 'You're breaking the law; you need to stop,' I
would have called my attorney and then I would have stopped," Hill said.
"But it's not that kind of party. They want to shoot first and ask
questions later."

Hill was targeted by federal prosecutors in Iowa after they found his pipes
in three smoke shops that were raided by postal inspectors and the Drug
Enforcement Administration.

The prosecutors who filed charges against Hill have a reputation for going
after pipe vendors -- they won a landmark Supreme Court case in 1994 that
broadened the legal definition of drug paraphernalia.

A spokesman for the Iowa prosecutors declined to comment on the case and
would not say whether the government plans to go after other wholesalers
whose wares were found in the Iowa shops.

Hill's attorneys have their own theories.

"Maybe they're bored in Iowa," said Victor Martinez, a Tampa lawyer working
for Hill. "We have legitimate drug problems to pursue, without having to
really stretch it."

Robert Vaughn, a Tennessee attorney who specializes in federal drug
paraphernalia law, said every pipe shop and manufacturer in the United
States could be prosecuted on similar charges.

But in most places, authorities are not concerned with such small fry,
Vaughn said, and thousands of shop owners are willing to take the risk.

"The odds are like 1 in 10," Vaughn said. "Some people just play the odds.
There's guys down the street that have poker machines that are illegal. Why
do people do that?"

Shop owners try to keep out of trouble by saying the pipes are for smoking
tobacco or blends of herbs. The word "bong" is taboo, and so is any
reference to drugs.

At Headzup, one of two Sarasota smoke shops, a sticker in the window
advertises Cannabis Culture, "the marijuana magazine." But mention
marijuana, reefer or pot to the big, dreadlocked clerk and he'll show you
the door.

The gleaming smokeware is displayed in a back room so casual shoppers don't
ask questions.

"This is Da Boot," says a sign near the pipe displays. "Don't make me use it."

One local shop owner says that Hill, who is known in the business as an
aggressive marketer, violated an unwritten rule.

"He sold to Iowa, everybody in this business knows that's a no-no," said
Kelly Schaefer, a co-owner of Phreakies. "They're very, very strict."

Hill doesn't get along with owners at Phreakies or Headzup and didn't sell
his wares locally.

He says he took steps to make sure that the 1,100 shops that sold Chills
pipes did business by the book.

Sales reps at Chills asked store owners if they sold "High Times" magazine
or other "drug-oriented" publications. He said he wouldn't sell to "head
shops," businesses that blatantly catered to drug users.

On the other hand, Hill did business with stores in Iowa that had names
like "Hemp Cat" and "Head on In."

Hill started Chills in 1993 in his father's garage. He bought the Central
Avenue warehouses in 1996 with a loan backed by the federal Small Business
Administration.

Sales hit $3 million in 1999, with Chills products in 1,100 retail stores.
Hill added roll-your-own tobacco and cigarette papers to his stock, and had
33 employees when the government raided the warehouse in the fall.

Two days after he was arrested, he posted $25,000 bail. Now he flies to Des
Moines for court appearances. Trial was set for February, but it has been
delayed while he haggles with prosecutors over a possible plea deal.

Since the raid, Hill has cut his inventory to just tobacco and rolling
papers, which used to account for only 30 percent of sales. Five employees
work at the warehouse now.

According to court records, two of the shop owners in Iowa have pleaded
guilty to selling drug paraphernalia and have agreed to testify against
Hill for a chance at lighter sentences, as have several former employees.

The government is also using Hill's logo against him. The face of a space
alien labeled WORLD DOMINATION is cited as evidence of a criminal conspiracy.

Hill's marketing plan "included an announced intention to seek 'world
domination,'" U.S. Attorney Kevin VanderSchel wrote in a December report to
the court.

Hill says the prosecutors have been watching too many James Bond movies.

"They're accusing me of trying to take over the world," he said. "Maybe I
should have a little white cat and shave my head. Next time, Mr. Bond."