A friend of mine and I got into a discussion about pot paraphernalia, i.e. pipes, papers, etc. I've heard for most of my life that owning paraphernalia isn't illegal; it's the smoking of pot that is. She thought that actually having the stuff on hand - even without any pot or pot residue - was illegal.
Now, I know this will be different on a state-by-state basis, but does anyone know what the general rule is on this?
Disclaimer: Neither she nor I have any; we were just discussing the oddity of laws, and it came up that one could have the supplies without doing the deed and that would be okay.
Papers? You can also make cigarettes with those papers, so they can't really be illegal, no?
Yeah, papers are sold in tobacco stores, so I know those are legal. I was thinking more along the lines of pipes and the like.
Is there a difference between tobacco pipes and pot pipes? :unsure:
Not sure, but I can tell you that headshops in both Kentucky and Masssachusetts openly sell paraphernalia. I bought a one hitter at a place in downtown Louisville a year or so ago and it was sitting out in plain sight next to a bin full of bongs.
Don't know about the US, but here it's not considered illegal, but is good cause for a stop-and-search and a search of property or car. Don't think anyone carries a crack pipe for it's aesthetic value.
Quote from: merithyn on December 23, 2009, 06:34:06 AM
A friend of mine and I got into a discussion about pot paraphernalia, i.e. pipes, papers, etc. I've heard for most of my life that owning paraphernalia isn't illegal; it's the smoking of pot that is. She thought that actually having the stuff on hand - even without any pot or pot residue - was illegal.
Some municipalities won't allow them to be sold in some areas, but it's not illegal in and of itself.
Although, we used to apply the plain view doctrine with that stuff. I don't know if the Supreme Court ever bounced that.
It always varies by locality. Some provinces and states as far as i know have to call such things "novelty items". It's like calling vibrators "back massagers". Ridiculous. Tommy Chong went to jail for selling pipes online ffs.
Quote from: merithyn on December 23, 2009, 06:46:47 AM
Is there a difference between tobacco pipes and pot pipes? :unsure:
Pot pipes, which I haven't seen in decades, are way smaller. If you tried to fill up a tobacco pipe with ganja it would cost a million dollars. All I see these days are pinch hitters (look kinda like cigarette holders).
Paraphernalia itself is not illegal in Canada.
However it has residue on it it might be.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 23, 2009, 01:54:35 PM
Pot pipes, which I haven't seen in decades, are way smaller. If you tried to fill up a tobacco pipe with ganja it would cost a million dollars. All I see these days are pinch hitters (look kinda like cigarette holders).
Yeah, you'd never mistake a pot pipe for a tobacco pipe. I don't actually have one unless you want to count my pinger as a "pipe", but they typically look more like a whistle than a tobacco pipe.
Quote from: Caliga on December 23, 2009, 02:06:21 PM
Yeah, you'd never mistake a pot pipe for a tobacco pipe. I don't actually have one unless you want to count my pinger as a "pipe", but they typically look more like a whistle than a tobacco pipe.
Whistle? More like a kazoo.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 23, 2009, 02:07:51 PM
Whistle? More like a kazoo.
Yeah, much better comparison. But still more like a whistle than a tobacco pipe. -_-
The law in NYS gets whacky. I don't believe that paraphernalia by itself is illegal but it does become so when several items are brought together.
An example...
It's not illegal to own them but if you possess a digital scale, some glassine baggies, and a cutting agent at the same time it becomes Criminal Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. There doesn't have to be drug residue present.
Here afaik only the ownership, buying and selling of drugs is verboten. The actual consumption isn't. Neither is the owning of papers, pipes, bongs, shillums, kawooms and whathaveya.
That being said possession of paraphenelia can attract extra police attention, can be grounds for a search warrant, can be used as evidence to prove intent to traffic, etc.
I've seen a bunch of shops openly selling weed smoking gear. They know their stuff, they know just how far they can go without breaking the law.
Quote from: Tyr on December 23, 2009, 04:31:52 PM
I've seen a bunch of shops openly selling weed smoking gear. They know their stuff, they know just how far they can go without breaking the law.
Those places usually either will sell you weed if you know how to ask, or will hook you up with someone close by. You don't think they can stay in business by selling bongs and marijuana-leaf posters do you?
Quote from: Barrister on December 23, 2009, 04:47:55 PM
Those places usually either will sell you weed if you know how to ask, or will hook you up with someone close by. You don't think they can stay in business by selling bongs and marijuana-leaf posters do you?
I'd imagine that they would indeed point you in the direction of people who sell it but I doubt if they sell it themselves, as others said earlier association with this kind of stuff doesn't exactly keep them under the police radar.
You'd be surprised what you can stay in business selling.
My friend's husband told us that there is a head shop in town, so apparently it's perfectly legal to buy and sell paraphernalia in our area.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on December 23, 2009, 01:54:35 PM
Pot pipes, which I haven't seen in decades, are way smaller. If you tried to fill up a tobacco pipe with ganja it would cost a million dollars. All I see these days are pinch hitters (look kinda like cigarette holders).
I meant in usage, not size. I've seen both - though no pot pipes in ages - but didn't know if the use would be the same. To be honest, I've no idea of what the difference is other than size of the bowl. That's more what I was asking.
Quote from: Barrister on December 23, 2009, 04:47:55 PM
Quote from: Tyr on December 23, 2009, 04:31:52 PM
I've seen a bunch of shops openly selling weed smoking gear. They know their stuff, they know just how far they can go without breaking the law.
Those places usually either will sell you weed if you know how to ask, or will hook you up with someone close by. You don't think they can stay in business by selling bongs and marijuana-leaf posters do you?
It's just the opposite in the U.S. The shop owners know that the local police will be watching closely for the slightest infraction. Even mentioning smoking marijuana is grounds for being asked to leave.
I suppose if you know the shop owner personally it's a different matter.
It seems that the drug culture is different in HK. Judging from news reports that I've seen, most people here take drugs in the form of pills.
Quote from: Monoriu on December 23, 2009, 11:42:10 PM
It seems that the drug culture is different in HK. Judging from news reports that I've seen, most people here take drugs in the form of pills.
I think that's the largest percentage of drug use/abuse in the U.S. as well, if not the entire industrialized world.
Quote from: Barrister on December 23, 2009, 04:47:55 PM
Those places usually either will sell you weed if you know how to ask, or will hook you up with someone close by. You don't think they can stay in business by selling bongs and marijuana-leaf posters do you?
Of course they can. I've known several people who worked in head shops, none of them were involved in selling drugs, just overpriced bongs and hookahs.