DRUG PARAPHERNALIA CONVICTION UPHELD

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a Virginia Beach man's conviction of
selling drug paraphernalia, even though he posted signs in his store saying
the water pipes and other items were intended for legal tobacco use.

Rules posted in the Fatty Shack warning customers not to use terms such as
"bong" or "weed" helped prove Brian Morrison knew the products he was
selling were used to consume illegal drugs, the court said yesterday.

Morrison was arrested in June 2000 after state trooper Ross Thompson saw
him sell pipe screens to a customer at the Fatty Shack. Morrison argued he
was protected by signs stating the merchandise was intended for legal
tobacco use only.

However, Circuit Judge H. Thomas Padrick ruled that water pipes - also
called bongs - and roach clips clearly are intended for using drugs, not
tobacco.

"If I put a sign on a dog that says, 'I'm a cat,' that doesn't mean it's a
cat," Padrick said in upholding Morrison's General District Court conviction.

The appeals court agreed, saying Virginia Beach Police detective Glenn
Michaels, a drug paraphernalia expert, examined several items seized from
the shop and determined only cigarette rolling papers were intended for use
with regular tobacco.

"According to the expert witness, most of the items recovered by Thompson
were used with illegal drugs only and had no legitimate tobacco use," the
court said. "Furthermore, the trial judge did not have to accept
appellant's testimony that he did not intend to sell products for use with
illegal drugs."