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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA023 - informative article provided to Council City of STAY AMES, Iowa Public Safety Bldg. 50010 (515) 232-6210 JOHN R. KLAUS City Attorney SANDRA M. ZENK CRAIG V. SCHRADER Assistant City Attorneys July 16 , 1980 X Honorable F. Paul Goodland, Mayor JUL 1 6 1°.o And Members of the City Council Of The City of Ames , Iowa In Re : Drug Paraphernalia Dear Mayor Goodland and Council Members : The Court is likely to issue a decision soon in the challenge to the constitutionality of the Ames Paraphernalia Ordinance. If the decision is favorable, the paraphernalia shop will certainly appeal, and no decisions by the City Council will be necessary. If the Court grants the injunction and declares the ordinance invalid it will be necessary for the City Council to decide whether to appeal or draft a different ordinance taking some other regulatory approach. Of course , no comment or decision in this regard can be made before receipt and study of the Court ' s ruling. However, I believe the enclosed article on the subject will be informative , interesting and helpful to the Council in gaining perspective and inspiration before the day of decision occurs . Respectfully submitted, e R. Klaus City Attorney JRI:/dls Encl. A Combining Education and Industry with Hospitality Drug Abluic a Alcohollirm NEWSLETTER VOL. IX, NO. 5 VISTA HILL FOUNDATION JUNE 1980 PARAPHERNALIA by Sidney Cohen, M.D. Editor One spinoff of the multibillion dollar drug abuse sometimes carbureted so that the smoke is forced into industry is the billion dollar paraphernalia business. It the mouth under pressure. Roach clips hold the last is not quite enough these days to smoke pot rolled in tiny butt of the marijuana joint for its ultimate con- cigarette paper, now the paper must be double width, sumption. Cocaine spoons, jewelled or made of pre- scented, flavored and embossed. cious metals, measure out the quantity to be snorted. Cocaine is hardly ever inhaled through an ordinary Some items are intended to enhance the effects of a straw, gold and silver tooters are being employed drug. Freebase kits convert street cocaine hydro- instead. Thousands of stores across the country are chloride to cocaine alkaloid, intensifying its effects selling drug accessories exclusively, or they are kept when smoked. Isomerizers are alleged to convert THC as a sideline in some record shops, novelty gift stores acid into THC despite the fact that combustion in a or boutiques. cigarette or pipe will do the same thing at no cost. Some head shops sell the legal mind-altering drugs They Call if Recreation like isobutyl nitrite (with lurid trade names such as Paraphernalia has come to mean those items made Rush, Toilet Water, Locker Room and Joc Aroma), or to prepare, package, store or use the so-called recrea- nitrous oxide cartridges normally used for whipping tional drugs. The recreational drugs involved are usu- cream. Procaine, a mild euphoriant, supposed to be a ally marijuana and cocaine, but nitrous oxide, amyl sort of beginner's cocaine is also available in some and butyl nitrite, the hallucinogens and sometimes shops. Spores for growing Psilocybe mushrooms and opium are included under this rubric. Drugs like her- poppy seeds along with fertilizers and lamps to grow oin, barbiturates and amphetamines have been ex- one's own opium can be found in a few stores. A cluded at present, and the injection of all chemicals is variety of dubious herbs, spices and teas of variable not considered "in" by the better class "dopers." activity ranging from none to mild are also part of the stock in trade. In addition to these, pseudodrugs like Why Paraphernalia? practice grass made of alfalfa are stocked for the Items of paraphernalia are available that have no young novice to train on before moving on to the real direct connection to actual drug use. Drug-oriented thing. jewelry, T-shirts or comic books are the peripheral fun Stash containers designed to hide or protect their and game items to be found in these establishments. contents have been designed with some measure of Nearby, records with some drug theme, popular drug- ingenuity. Cans that looked like Coca-Cola were once oriented magazines or other sources of misinforma- used for this purpose until the company took the stash tion may be displayed to facilitate better living through can manufacturer to court. Cans of soup and other chemistry. These oddities can be considered innocent products have been modified to provide a accessories before the fact. compartment for concealing drugs. Scented candles, Most head shops will deal in items that assist or incenses and aerosol sprays are available to mask the simplify the process of using one of the mind-altering pungent odor of marijuana. A shelf of books is drugs. The extra wide rolling papers and modern displayed, informing the reader how to smuggle drugs cigarette rolling machines make it easier to prepare into the country, or alternatively, how to concoct a marijuana to be smoked. Bongs are devices that variety of psychochemicals. concentrate the smoke, permitting the user to inhale a Even the adulterants to cut the pure drugs can be large quantity, thus producing a higher high. They are obtained in paraphernalia stores. Items like lactose and mannitol, commonly used to dilute cocaine, are offensive. For the first time since thelllflood of hedonis- sold, but it is dealers rather than consumers who tic drug-taking was unleashed, many community would be the likely market for these items. Test kits to groups have arisen to oppose drug Usage by children. check the melting point of the cocaine buy also are They have taken direct aim at the head shops as the available as a means of determining how markedly the most visible target of their frustrations. material has been adulterated. It works both ways: not The reasons for the upsurge in community action only are the adulterants sold, but kits to remove the are not difficult to identify. Parents are shaken adulterants are also obtainable. up when their junior high school offspring are found For the more paranoid customers, antibugging de- to be "doing" pot, Rush or downers. They discover vices, money belts and safes can be purchased. In that many kids in the neighborhood are stoned part some establishments fake I.D. cards and passports or all of their waking day. At least one member of are available to those in need of them. the community becomes angry enough to organize Despite the youthfulness of the clientele, sexual the neighborhood. aids and other porno shop items are on sale. There is Another reason for the strong public reaction which no end to the ingenuity of the euphoria purveyors. turns out to be more effective than most government Even a small nasal irrigator, supposedly to reduce the programs, is the number of drug-related deaths or irritant effects of cocaine, can be found next to the serious injuries involving young people. Statistics on coke snorters this point hardly exist, but the increasing demand for expert witnesses in felony cases is becoming a sub- What Does it All Mean? specialty for many psych opharmacologists. The rapid development and spread of shops that sell The number of two paragraph notices on the back accessories for use with mood-altering drugs reflects, pages of newspapers about drug-related homicides not only the widespread use of these substances, but and accidental deaths are impressive evidence. Sin- also the need to smoke, snort and swallow these gle car accidents in which the young driver is found to euphoriants in style. A certain glamorization and snob have drugs,with or without alcohol, in his bloodstream appeal is evident in addition to whatever practical are on the increase. Young dealers are shot or knifed usefulness some of the paraphernalia provides. for their drug supplies or their cash.Overdose deaths, The provocative anti-establishment nature of the usually from some drug combination,are not decreas- trade is obvious. This is a time when many of the ing. Accidental death to one's self or others while established values and standards are being ques- intoxicated, suicides or homicides' while under the tioned. A faddish quality to all this also is evident. It influence all continue to occupy the courts and the may be fashionable in some circles to wear a gold coroner's offices. When a loved child is lost in some coke spoon on a necklace, but when the junior high senseless drug-connected manner, many parents feel school crowd starts wearing gold plated ones, some- compelled to do something about it. thing new and different will have to be designed for the Add to these tragedies the high I visibility of para- swinging set. it also means that despite the cost of phernalia stores, and it is easy to see why parent euphoriant drugs, money for these superfluous groups have organized to somehow influence the oddities is not lacking. We remain an affluent, if not an situation. Their lobbying for anti-paraphernalia laws, effluent, society. and their exerting direct pressure on the owners and Perhaps the greatest objection to the head shops is landlords of head shops is only one of many activities. the aura of legitimacy they give to illegal drug use— They attempt to educate themselvesland their children especially to juveniles. Certainly, if the wherewithall to about the drugs involved. They have become much use the so-called recreational drugs is offered at the less permissive about their offspring's behavior, and local shopping center, what can be wrong with doing more restrictive about their unsupervised free time. hash, cocaine and the rest? Not only do such places Determined efforts are made to clean up the school provide symbolic permission to engage in chemical and its environs with the cooperation of the principal dabbling, but they deliberately entice the younger age and teachers. Other community groups are being group with pipes designed as space guns, frisbees enlisted in the anti-drug effort. The consciousness of and other juvenile equipment designed for smoking everyone must be raised about the preadolescents' marijuana.T-shirts for"tots who toke"and a variety of predicament; their having to make drug-using deci- other unamusing items belie the ostensible declara- sions at an early age for prevention activities to be tion that these enterprises do not serve minors. successful. All of the parents in a neighborhood must retrieve and reassume their responsibilities for their The Community Reaction children, otherwise the youngsters will win the "but all The offensive aspects of the paraphernalia estab- my friends are doing it" game. lishments have given rise to a remarkable counter- The success of such parent group efforts cannot be accurately measured at this time. It will take years number of jurisdictions that want to do something .before a reversal of adolescent drug-taking can be about the paraphernalia outlets. accurately estimated. Still, certain small gains have The Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and been achieved. Some youngsters now have the cour- Control, Lester Wolf, Chairman, held hearings on the age to say "No" to their peers. Some parents have paraphernalia issue on November 1, 1979. It recom- reviewed their priorities and spend more time with mended state, local and possibly federal legislation their children. A few have even decided to avoid regulating the sale and advertising of these items. smoking and drinking at home in order to provide a During the hearings witnesses for the paraphernalia drug-free environment. Cigarette papers and popular industry stated that about 150,000 people with an drug-oriented publications have been removed from a earning power of a billion dollars would be put out of number of convenience and drugs stores. The head work if the industry were abolished. This sort of shops are now claiming they will not sell to underage argument seemed unimpressive to those present for it youngsters. Certain items, clearly intended for chil- could also be used to justify protecting the Mafia and dren, have disappeared from view. related operations from prosecution. The Legal Question The Paraphernalia Industry Response Some merchandise, used with abused drugs, is With the growth of community generated opposition quite legal. Small spoons, safety blades, cigarette and of local legislation, paraphernalia manufacturers paper, pipes, straws, etc., can hardly be barred from and dealers have found it necessary to organize. An the market place because they happen to be used for Accessories Trade Association with regional socially unpopular practices. Advertising them is branches and appropriate industry publications such probably protected by the First Amendment. They as the Accessories Digest, have retained legal de- cannot be seized without due process under the Fifth fense groups that will advise or defend their member- Amendment. Therefore, the first efforts of city and ship in court cases. state ordinances usually were declared unconstitu- For the past two years the paraphernalia business tional because of vague or improper language. has slowed down. Whether this is due to grassroots It is legally possible to regulate and license drug pressures, law enforcement, or the recession is diffi- paraphernalia shops. They can be barred from areas cult to say. Nevertheless, in many cities the parapher- near schools, churches, libraries, etc. Specific adver- nalia outlet has become as familiar as porno shops, tising restrictions may withstand First Amendment adult movies and topless bars. It is believed that arguments. Ordinances forbidding the sale or gift of nationwide, between 15-25,000 retail stores sell drug these materials to minors have been upheld. States accessories. have been successful in seizing and destroying drug They make efforts to display their wares at respecta- accessories without arresting the possessor. ble related conventions, to use the word "accesso- The Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement ries" in preference to "paraphernalia," to invoke free Administration have prepared a model Federal anti- enterprise in lobbying against anti-paraphernalia paraphernalia act which can be adapted to the needs laws, and to be more discreet in their advertising—all of states and municipalities. Not all sections have in the hope of gaining greater acceptance and to been court tested, but it has been adopted by a avoid harassment by citizen groups. REFERENCES 1. Community and Legal Responses to Drug Paraphernalia. Serv- 2. Drug Paraphernalia. Hearing before the Select Committee on ices Research Report, NIDA. DHEW Publication No. (ADM) Narcotics Abuse and Control. House of Representatives. U.S. 80-963,1980. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, D.C.,1980. Sidney Cohen,M.D.,Editor.Former Director of the Division of Narcotic Addiction and Drug Abuse. National Institute of Mental Health, Washington, D.C.; Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Neuro- psychiatric Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles,California. Keith S.Ditman,M.D.,Associate Editor.Private Practice,Beverly Hills,California;Chairman of the EDITORIAL Research Committee, Vista Hill Foundation. Robert P.Graham,Advisor.Long Beach;Chairman,Public Information and Education Committee, STAFF Vista Hill Foundation. Robert A. Moore, M.D., Advisor. Vice President for Clinical Programs, Vista Hill Foundation; Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry,University of California,San Diego,School of Medicine. Robert Thorn,J.D.,Advisor.Attorney at Law,San Diego,California;Chairman,Board of Directors, Vista Hill Foundation. THE ADOLESCENT PROCESS IN HEALTH AND SICKNESS A seminar on the psychological aspects of physical illness in adolescents.This one-day program offers presentations by E.James Anthony,M.D.,and Irving N.Berlin,M.D.,a dialogue between them and audience discussion. Saturday, October 4, 1980 Sheraton Old Town Inn - Albuquerque, New Mejdco Presented by Vista Sandia Hospital and Vista Hill Foundation Speakers: E. JAMES ANTHONY, M.D. IRVING N. BERLIN, M.D. Blanche F. Ittleson, Professor of Child Psychiatry Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics Director of the Eliot Division of Child Psychiatry Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Director of the Edison Child Development Psychiatry Research Center University of New Mexico Medical School Washington University School of Medicine Albuquerque, New Mexico St. Louis, Missouri Approved for 6 hours New Mexico Category 4 Required Education credit and 6 hours AMA Cate- gory 1 Physicians Recognition Award credit.Also approved for 6 elective hours by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Registration fees, including luncheon $60 Professionals, $30 Interns and Residents, $15 full-time students Further Information: John C. McCormack, M.D., Medical Director Vista Sandia Hospital 501 Richfield Ave., NE Albuquerque, New Mexico 87113 (505) 898-1661 Vista Hill Foundation NONPROFIT ORG. Drug Abuse and Alcoholism Newsletter U.S. Postage 3420 Camino del Rio North, Suite 100 PAID San Diego, California 92108 (714) 563-1770 San Diego, CA Permit No.31 CX DODD- 12 THD6LS500I0 .TACK L UOOD MD MCFARDLANJ CLINIC 12TH S DOUGLAS AMI-S 1A 50010