ALLEGED HEAD SHOP BUST 'SETS PRECEDENT'

Expert testimony used by the Dover Police to obtain search warrants and
seize thousands of dollars worth of alleged drug paraphernalia from a town
tobacco store may break new legal ground in New Hampshire.

While Dover is not the first to go after such shops, authorities in nearby
jurisdictions said the department's use of warrants based on a future
linkage to drug use, if successful, will give them a new tool to seize such
devices.

"This sets a new precedent," said Dover Police Chief William Fenniman. "The
items seized were readily apparent and customarily used for the ingestion
of narcotics."

Police searched the downtown business Smoke Signals last week and seized
$3,000-$5,000 worth of devices that authorities say could be used for
smoking illegal drugs. The store's manager, Susan Hargrove, was charged
with selling drug paraphernalia and will be arraigned on Nov. 9.

The shop continues to sell cigarette wrapping papers, cigarettes and cigars.

While seizing drug paraphernalia from such shops is not a high priority for
law enforcement, police maintain it is an important part of controlling the
drug problem.

However, shop proprietors said that paraphernalia can be fashioned from
everyday items such as toilet paper rolls and that shops are unfairly
targeted. Hargrove said she made it clear that the shop's pipes were meant
for legal substances.

The store, which opened last month, plans to fight the seizure. Roughly 50
people have signed a petition in support of the store.

Shawn Ranfos, 26, of Kittery, who visited the shop on Wednesday, said he
was surprised to hear of the seizure. Most of the tobacco stores he visits
in the Seacoast area have water pipes, he said.

Ranfos was one of the few customers to enter the store since police seized
the paraphernalia. Hargrove said prior to the warrant, the store made about
$700 to $1,000 a day. Now, the store makes about $100 a day.

"People are afraid to come in here. Basically, (the seizure) has killed
business," she said.

Dover police used expert testimony from members of the state's Attorney
General's Drug Task Force, educators, drug chemists from the State Police
Laboratory in Concord and the executive director of the Southeast New
Hampshire Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services Center.

Undercover officers also were used to gather evidence prior to the warrant.

All the experts said that the water pipes, called bongs, are used solely
for smoking illegal drugs, such as marijuana. Such devices sell for between
$30 and $200.

"Generally in my experience, three-foot bongs are not used for smoking
tobacco," Fenniman said.

Cigarette rolling papers were not seized because Fenniman said they are not
as clearly associated with narcotics as bongs.

He said the search warrant is the first of its kind in the state and could
allow other law enforcement agencies a new means to shut down such shops in
their communities.

"In my opinion it is an attempt to break new ground," said Claire Ebel,
executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union

While Ebel said a successful prosecution may lead to broadened police
powers, area law enforcement officials said they hope to have another tool
to fight drugs.

"I think it's great what Dover is doing," said Capt. Jamie Sullivan of the
Hampton Police Department.

"We always use every tool available to prevent violence and other
problems," he said. "If more tools become available, then we'll use them."

Such shops are not limited to Dover. Similar tobacco shops exist in
Laconia, Portsmouth and Hampton. Each police department fashions its own
approach to the problem of drug paraphernalia.

Laconia Police Chief Bill Baker said he has met with the owners of Soul
Sisters on two occasions in the past year and a half to discuss with them
the impact of their products on the community.

"Their product line does not seem to enhance the quality of life in
Laconia," he said.

Like Smoke Signals, the owners of Soul Sisters insist the devices are only
used for tobacco and other legal blends.

However, Baker is skeptical.

"Soul Sisters is full of psychedelic-looking pipes. It's one of those
things that lends itself to interpretation," he said.

Police departments thought Maine and New Hampshire must consider a variety
of factors when determining whether an item is drug paraphernalia.

Factors include the manner in which the object is displayed, instructions
accompanying the instrument's use, proximity to an area known for a large
number of drug arrests and whether the instrument is customarily used as
drug paraphernalia.

New Hampshire law also allows for experts to testify to its use.

Baker is keeping a close eye on the outcome of Dover's litigation.

Currently, when Laconia officers discover narcotics and paraphernalia, they
try to find out where suspects got the devices. Baker said officers may
then field charges against shop owners who sold the device.

Hampton Police also deal with several such shops. Sullivan said typically
officers will ask the owners to remove the items. While many cooperate,
Sullivan said he is sure some stores still stock the merchandise out of sight.

Detective Capt. Adam Price of the Portsmouth Police Department said about
four years ago police got a search warrant after undercover officers
solicited discussions in a store about how to use the paraphernalia with
drugs. The parties settled out of court and the police kept the devices.
One of the two shops is now out of business.

Many times prosecutors face the challenge of proving the sellers intended
to sell the pipes for illegal purposes.

"You look at the totality of the circumstances and try to infer the
intent," said James Cameron, a Maine assistant attorney general.

He recalled a case about four years ago when a man had filled a van with
bongs and was heading to a Phish concert at an abandoned Air Force Base in
Washington County.

The man planned to set up a booth at the concert and sell the bongs,
Cameron said.

Maine officials believed the devices were paraphernalia, but were unable to
prove it in court.

David Crook, a district attorney near Augusta, Maine, said he wants anyone
who tries to set up a shop in his district to know that life is going to be
difficult for them.

While shutting down the businesses is not a priority for police officers,
they will eventually find the time to seize the merchandise.

Currently, Maine courts are deciding the fate of a large amount of
paraphernalia seized recently from a Waterville store. A decision is
expected in coming days.

"Everybody knows what these things are used for," Crook said. "I've never
seen a bong advertised in a pipe magazine."