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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Items added to paraphernalia list; includes “Love Roses” pipes

Sticking a plastic flower in a crack pipe will no longer be a way around the city’s ban on drug paraphernalia.

The Spokane City Council on Monday approved legislation greatly expanding the definitions of drug paraphernalia. The rules were written with the intent of outlawing drug pipes marketed as novelty items with plastic flowers inside. But the rules go further, including items such as blenders, balloons, straws and spoons.

Earlier this year, Spokane resident Mike Conrad urged the City Council to ban the pipes, which have been sold under names such as “Love Roses,” after he found them being sold at several Spokane convenience stores.

“You are going to send a message in our community,” Conrad testified Monday night.

City Prosecutor Howard Delaney said the changes don’t alter the intent of the city’s drug paraphernalia law. But they will make it easier to prosecute violators because the definitions are clearer, he said.

Delaney said just because an item is listed as paraphernalia doesn’t mean it will be outlawed in all cases. Rules state that an item’s legality depends how it’s marketed or displayed.

For instance, selling straws in a grocery store is not a violation, Delaney said. But selling them under a sign promoting drug use could be a violation.

Councilman Richard Rush, the only council member to vote against the new rules, said he would have supported adding a line in the city’s paraphernalia law to outlaw novelty items such as the crack or meth pipes masquerading as “Love Roses.”

But, Rush said, the rules went too far, taking the law from two to six pages and including too many items such as balloons and straws that mainly have uses unrelated to drugs.

“This broad and all-encompassing legislation is a threat to our civil liberties,” Rush said. “It is an invitation to expensive litigation.”

But supporters said the rules could keep youth from methamphetamine use by blocking access to paraphernalia.

“It’s very important that we take a stand,” said Lynn Soderquist, community outreach coordinator of the Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council’s Prevention Center.

Justin Wilson, co-owner of Piece of Mind smoke shop, told the council he supports the changes and will work with police to make sure his store is in compliance.

Bringing a pinwheel to the podium as an example, Spokane resident John Howard testified that just about anything can be drug paraphernalia. He said the rules address an effect of drug abuse, not the cause.

“Find an actual solution to a real problem,” he told the council.