cannabisnews.com: Feds Weed Out Drug Paraphernalia Sites 





Feds Weed Out Drug Paraphernalia Sites 
Posted by CN Staff on February 24, 2003 at 17:13:58 PT
By Declan McCullagh, Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Source: Business Week 
The U.S. Justice Department on Monday said it indicted 11 Web site operators for allegedly selling illegal devices including bongs and holders for marijuana cigarettes.Attorney General John Ashcroft told reporters that the government would ask a U.S. district court in Pittsburgh to point the sites to a Web page at the Drug Enforcement Administration explaining why they were taken offline, a new twist in crime-fighting.
"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has exploded," Ashcroft said. "The drug paraphernalia business now thrives not only in small shops but it is now accessible in anyone's home with a computer and Internet access...Quite simply, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge."The prosecutions, called Operation Pipe Dreams, represent the federal government's boldest attempt yet to shutter Web sites that sell drug paraphernalia. Under current federal law, that category includes any product that is "primarily intended" for use with illegal drugs, including water pipes, roach clips, chillums, bongs, and small spoons used with cocaine.Ashcroft said that a total of 27 people in a dozen states had been charged with selling illegal drug paraphernalia in an investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and centered in Pittsburgh. The list of Web sites targeted in coordinated raids that took place on Monday includes PipesForYou.com, OmniLounge.com, ColorChangingGlass.com, 420now.com and PuffPipes.com.As of Monday afternoon, many of the sites were still reachable. OmniLounge.com describes itself as a "one-stop head shop for a wide selection of water pipes and smoking accessories at great prices," and AHeadCase.com, which says it has two stores in southern California, sells water pipes and drug test kits.If the court orders the sites to be redirected, Ashcroft said, they will point to a DEA.gov Web page that says: "By application of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Web site you are attempting to visit has been restrained by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853 (e)(1)(a)."Keith Stroup, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said it was ridiculous for the Justice Department to be indicting bong sellers when the United States is on high terror-alert status. "This latest enforcement initiative is primarily an expression of extremism of this particular attorney general," Stroup said. Ashcroft "is a right-wing zealot. Now I'm not a fan of the Bush administration, but I have to think that President Bush and most of his serious advisers have far more serious work to focus on right now than whether someone's selling rolling papers and roach clips.""You simply cannot outlaw rolling papers," Stroup said. "They're perfectly legal assuming that they're used with tobacco. Those of us who smoke marijuana can always find rolling paper to roll our joints with. All this is going to do is criminalize a class of young entrepreneurs."In a 1994 case that arose out of the same law, the Supreme Court ruled that the statute was not unconstitutionally vague and that prosecutors do not need to "prove specific knowledge that the items are 'drug paraphernalia' within the meaning of the statute."Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said redirecting Web visitors to DEA.gov raises novel legal issues. "It sounds like this is a concluded drug operation segueing into a new sting operation," he said. "In effect, the defunct Web sites become electronic flypaper for those looking for illegal drug paraphernalia, reporters covering the story, and people who have trouble spelling in Google."The DEA.gov site's privacy policy, which is the same as other Justice Department sites, permits it to give personal information about visitors to law enforcement. It says "we may take additional steps to identify you based on this information, and we may share this information, including your identity, with other government agencies." Note: Operation Pipe Dreams represents the federal government's boldest attempt yet to shutter Web sites that sell drug paraphernalia. Source: Business Week (US)Author: Declan McCullagh, Staff Writer, CNET News.com, News.com Published: Monday, February 24, 2003Copyright: 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.Contact: bwreader businessweek.comWebsite: http://www.businessweek.com/Related Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/US Says It Has Cut Off Supplies of Paraphernalia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15551.shtmlFeds Crack Down on Drug Paraphernalia http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15550.shtml55 Charged in Drug Paraphernalia Sales http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15547.shtml 
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Comment #27 posted by Max Flowers on February 26, 2003 at 09:57:42 PT:
More than two choices...
Padmakundal:
Our choice is painfully clear: To fight and, perhaps die, on our feet -- or live on our knees.Actually there's a third choice: to get the fukk out but then contribute to the fight against this monarchy from the safety of a friendly country (like from Canada). To my mind there's a lot of productive things you can do from elsewhere. If I were 25 or something I would stay and help from here, but I'm not warrior material anymore and am sick, if I had to go in the joint these days I'd likely die.
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Comment #26 posted by Ron Bennett on February 25, 2003 at 02:39:56 PT
Making a Pipe Out of Duct Tape...there's an idea!!
Speaking of glass...if that's now illegal, perhaps someone can find a way to make a usable pipe out of duct tape.Imagine the publicity if the DEA et al busted someone with that...seriously though, I think The Onion should do a piece on someone smoking from a pipe, bong, etc that's made totally out of duct tape - be really cool if they also showed a picture :;As far as terror alerts...as many have noted in the past, whenever the terror alert is raised, the real threat, for many folks, is the U.S. government itself...it's sad how big raids, busts, etc of cannabis users and the like seem to primarily occur during "High" terror alerts...all the while, real threats continue to be ignored :(Ron
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Comment #25 posted by Kegan on February 25, 2003 at 02:17:38 PT:
Canada a threat to US
As Poland was a threat to Germany....Glad all that glassware is off the street. That should mean the US can go back down to Yellow alert? Right?I mean now that the homes of America have been made safe from....... glass.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on February 24, 2003 at 21:40:53 PT
2nd New York Times Article Today!
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15555.shtml
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on February 24, 2003 at 21:20:09 PT
Washington Post Article
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15554.shtml
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Comment #22 posted by Ron Bennett on February 24, 2003 at 21:11:27 PT
Redirection Setup Messed...it could be awhile :)
Took another look at the name server entries, etc for many of the domains...redirection won't be happening anytime soon for most of them...their name server entries are really messed. ns.pipedreams.dea.gov isn't registered in the gov zone for one and secondly it contains no A records; technically it's possible to set it up that way, but that's not how the other dea.gov entries are...so I guess they're not ready to redirect the domains yet...and hopefully if there's enough of an outcry, they never will.Ron
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on February 24, 2003 at 21:01:04 PT
Thanks greenmed
1:33 AM ET! Will turn it on. We need to let everyone know that we can. I didn't see the whole program but enough to know they are serious. Thanks again!
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Comment #20 posted by greenmed on February 24, 2003 at 20:51:18 PT
Replay of Ashcroft & Walters on C-SPAN
... on CSPAN-2 at 1:33 AM Eastern Time (Tuesday)http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/schedule2.csp
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on February 24, 2003 at 20:49:34 PT
Ron
Check out http://www.TommyChong.com and you should find it there. I forgot the name but it wasn't redirected a few minutes ago when I looked. I saw about the warning on C-Span today and that confirms they are going to try to do it. Between C-Span and the news articles I believe they will try. On CNN Headline News I just saw that marijuana activists are wondering why in a time of intense issues why is Ashcroft going after a Bong.NBC4 TV Video of Raid at Tommy Chong's Business: 
http://cf.nbc4.tv/la/sh/videoplayer/video.cfm?id=2000745&owner=la 
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Comment #18 posted by Ron Bennett on February 24, 2003 at 20:44:27 PT
My guess is that the domains will redirect to ...
My guess is that the DEA seeks to have the domains redirect to http://www.dea.gov/concern/paraphernaliafact.html
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Comment #17 posted by Heavy-D on February 24, 2003 at 20:43:25 PT:
Here's the IDAHO Story Posted:
Idaho authorities crack down on "Headshops" 
02/24/2003 Anna Rau
Idaho's NewsChannel 7 Authorities say they've effectively shut down 17 Idaho businesses that sold illegal drug paraphernalia here. It's the culmination of a national investigation that stretched from Pennsylvania to California and Idaho had more than it's fair share of those businesses. "It's a multi-million perhaps billion dollars industry that sells illegal products to facilitate and to enable the use of various illegal drugs." Attorney General John Ashcroft said. The crackdown on businesses that allegedly sell marijuana pipes, crack pipes and drug related items was part of two operations by the government…Operation Pipe Dreams and Headhunters The U.S. Attorney's Office has indicted dozens of people here in connection with the investigation. One of those is the owner of the Red Eye Hut, Allen Pieper, faces 17 counts in the indictment against him. The sign outside the Red Eye Hut in Ontario says it sells things like Zippo lighters, and bulk tobacco. But undercover drug agents say much more was going on behind the walls of the Ontario Red Eye Hut and other businesses like it. "No one had any idea how big of an operation or how big business this paraphernalia business was." Larry Headberg with the Drug Enforcement Agency said. Agents call them “head shops”. Across the state they served search warrants on 17 of them. They say they sold pipes that can be hidden in a highlighter pen, oilcans that can hide illegal drugs. And they say it’s obvious from looking at the blown glass pipes and bongs that they weren’t made for tobacco. "The businesses make a lot of money, it's a money-making business and I'm talking big money, here in Idaho." United States Attorney Thomas Moss said. "Drugs are literally destroying our community all across the nation,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Monte Stiles said. “Anyone who says that marijuana does not hurt people is either clueless or lying." But it isn't just marijuana authorities are worried about. They say some of those pipes that businesses like the Red Eye Hut sell, are used for crank. And they say the miniature scales, and small baggies they sold indicate the shops weren't just targeting the users…they say they were targeting the dealers too. So Monday authorities targeted them. "I feel confident today in saying that the headshop business here in Idaho, is pretty much out of business." The charges carry a maximum sentence of 3 years in prison and a 250 thousand dollar fine. And the government can force them to forfeit their property. If that happens, the property will most likely be sold and then proceeds will go to the law enforcement agencies involved in the investigation. 
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Comment #16 posted by Ron Bennett on February 24, 2003 at 20:39:14 PT
Monitoring Domains Now...Don't Like What Im Seeing
Monitoring the domains now...found some that have already been updated - and could be redirected in the very near future.Disturbing part is that the government does not own the domains - they simply updated the name servers...so not are the owners faced with a situation where their domain(s) are being used to express viewpoints they likely don't agree with, they're also faced with a situation where the public at-large will likely mistakenly assume the website content reflects that of the owner...Whois entry for ghettoweb.com:Checking server [whois.crsnic.net] 
Checking server [whois.register.com] 
Results:Organization: 
Ghettoweb, Inc. 
J. Harris 
3003 West 11th Street, PMB 226 
Eugene, OR 97403 
US 
Phone: 541-607-5991 
Fax..: 541-607-5995 
Email: jason universalglassinc.com Registrar Name....: Register.com 
Registrar Whois...: whois.register.com 
Registrar Homepage: http://www.register.com Domain Name: GHETTOWEB.COM Created on..............: Wed, Dec 08, 1999 
Expires on..............: Mon, Dec 08, 2008 
Record last updated on..: Mon, Feb 24, 2003 Administrative Contact: 
Ghettoweb, Inc. 
J. Harris 
3003 West 11th Street, PMB 226 
Eugene, OR 97403 
US 
Phone: 541-607-5991 
Fax..: 541-607-5995 
Email: jason universalglassinc.com Technical Contact: 
Bigstep.com 
Hostmaster Bigstep.com 
2601 Mission St., 5th Flr. 
San Francisco, CA 94110 
US 
Phone: 415-229-8500 
Fax..: 415-229-8501 
Email: hostmaster bigstep.net Zone Contact: 
Register.Com 
Domain Registrar 
575 8th Avenue - 11th Floor 
New York, NY 10018 
US 
Phone: 902-749-2701 
Fax..: 902-749-5429 
Email: domain-registrar register.com Domain servers in listed order: NS.PIPEDREAMS.DEA.GOV 10.1.24.2 On the bright side, it appears someone screwed up though...they've got a network IP associated with the nameserver - and only one name server is assigned...I don't think this one will be resolving (working) today...but likely they'll fix the glitches and it could be redirecting possibly by sometime late tomorrow :(I've begun monitoring the domains and will keep folks updated...if anyone has found the website they're going to redirect to, please let me know...just started searching for it, but not found it yet.Ron
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on February 24, 2003 at 20:28:45 PT
Thanks Richard
Thank you! I haven't tried to go to any of the web sites since the story broke but I watched C-Span and they showed on a projection type screen what will appear if you go to any of the web sites. It was blurry but she said it will tell you tell you that the site has been seized by the DEA or close to that and will send you to their site. I couldn't find the show on C-Spans web site earlier but it might be there now. 
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Comment #14 posted by Padmakundal on February 24, 2003 at 20:22:31 PT:
RESISTANCE
This latest move by the Department of "Justice" is but the latest battle in a larger cultural war. Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country.This illegally begotten presidential administration, whose oil-soaked hands are clearly implicated in the tragedy of September 11, 2001, has in record time scuttled what remains of the U.S. Bill of Rights.I urge all who care about liberty and peace to fight the cultural war on every imaginable front. Do your part to subvert every plank of the dominant paradigm: agitate, protest, and counter all that is held in esteem by conservative, Judeo-Christian culture -- from their guns, to their god, and most of all, their despotic government.Letters to the editor and attempting to "work for change from within" are futile. The time has come, if not long passed, for direct action, resistance, and revolt. War was long ago declared against the working people of these United States. Our choice is painfully clear: To fight and, perhaps die, on our feet -- or live on our knees.This citizen refuses to kneel!
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Comment #13 posted by Richard Lake on February 24, 2003 at 20:21:20 PT:
U.S. govt will have no impact on non-U.S. websites
Canada, for example, has no law about bongs, etc., as their attempts at such laws have been stuck down by their courts.Canadian ISPs just laugh if someone is silly enough to even think about asking them to take down a profitable site, just because there is some U.S. takedown law or direction.CNEWS and all DrugSense hosted sites are on a Canadian ISP's server, just because we don't trust the U.S. government.But I am not sure how much good it does to order bongs from Canada as they could easily be caught in shipping.It's not like seeds, basically in a legal gray area in Canada, where you can send 10 seeds via mail first class from Canada and it is protected from opening as long as the dog doesn't smell them - as I understand it. Stuff the size of a letter of a few pages with seeds taped inside is hard to detect, for sure. Opening first class mail requires probable cause.Note however:I am not licenced to pratice law in this state.Richardp.s. Has anybody found any actual redirected sites yet?p.w. I will send a note off to the Michigan ACLU, Ron. This would be a good thing to get the National Lawyers Guild interested in, too, IMHO.
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Comment #12 posted by Virgil on February 24, 2003 at 20:13:01 PT
More insanity as the ship sinks
I wonder what the fines will be and what happens when they cannot pay them because everything these peolple owned was seized. If $250,000 isn't excessive, what is? All of the cannabis penalties are excessive because there is no victim or crime against humanity like the WOSD.UKCIA has three articles you may want to check out. One is about 23% of those asked had smoked cannabis with a parent. It talked about how some parents would rather there children do cannabis than take to the pub scenes. It claims people are learning the reality of things and live accordingly. You know cannabis is number 1 for a reason and it is not because it addictive.Another one is not very interesting because it talks of drug testing health care workers. The one on making chocolate as THC4MS does is informative and estimates the market GWP will have at 250 million pounds per year.- http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=5951ukcia website is http://www.ukcia.org/news/default.php
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 24, 2003 at 19:36:59 PT
Ron
Please don't apologize and vent away because this is very serious. Any web site could be next. I know we don't sell anything on CNews but it might not matter because they do what they want. I sent in the New York Times article to Map and they might do a focus alert I bet. We've come to far to give up now. We might not win but we sure try.
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Comment #10 posted by John Tyler on February 24, 2003 at 19:35:32 PT
Republican Party
Didn't Chris Hill (from Chills) accidently embrass the Bush Adminstration a while back? He won some Republican Party busness award for fastest growing new business in the country, or something like that. No one bothered to check on what kind of business it was though. The Republican hard liners then looked like a bunch of fools. 
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Comment #9 posted by Ron Bennett on February 24, 2003 at 19:31:42 PT
Redirection Very Wrong...this is a serious issue..
I apologize for posting so much about this redirection issue on so many different lists, but it's very serious and ANY website, including this one could potentially be redirected at anytime on the whim of the U.S. government.Thus I can't emphasize how important it is that everyone, and I mean everyone who truly values freedom of speech and expression to contact the ACLU and related organizations, political representatives, etc...point is spread the word!Anyways, I'm really fed up, pun intended, and seriously thinking of redirecting DRUGABUSE.COM, which I own, to drcnet.org or perhaps to MAPInc.org or maybe various similar sites at random! Sad thing is that many folks rely on DRUGABUSE.COM for real drug abuse help and information, but if they want to play that game I will too - guarantee it will get the government's attention since they own drugabuse.gov...but many visitors end up at my drugabuse.com website instead :)Venting here...don't think I'll really do that, but geez the idea the government would even think about redirecting websites belonging to others to websites that express a different viewpoint than that of the owners is very wrong; even more so when they have been convicted of NO crime.Ron
DrugAbuse.com - Honest Drug Abuse Information
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Comment #8 posted by Bounce to the Ounce on February 24, 2003 at 19:27:22 PT
Unrelated in a way, but still pisses me off....
Did any of you see Conan O'Brian last night? They showed Will Farrell chugging beer than all but 10 minutes later, they show one of those commercials with the girl who gets shot by the dimebag dealer? Unbelievable hypocrasy
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Comment #7 posted by John Tyler on February 24, 2003 at 19:21:12 PT
paraphernalia fiasco
These Feds just do not have enough to do with their time do they? They could be out looking for "evil doers", but that is too much trouble, when knocking over a few domestic web sites is so much easier. It is not going to stop anyone from anything, when you can fashion devices out of many ordinary houlsehold items. If you must have something fancy you can try foreign web sites or check out middle eastern oriented stores in your area for things you might find interesting.
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Comment #6 posted by Ron Bennett on February 24, 2003 at 19:14:40 PT
Just contacted ACLU...others please do the same!
I just contacted the PA chapter of the ACLU - a portion of the email I sent them is shown below.I hope others contact the ACLU as well - the authorities potentially could redirect any website...imagine cannabisnews.com being redirected to the anti-drug.org or freevibe.com, etc...remember the owners of the seized sites have NOT been convicted of any crime.------To whom it may concern-As you may be aware, state and federal authorities recently conducted raids of various companies/individuals that sell "drug paraphernalia", such as pipes and related materials.Reason for writing is to express my concerns about the comments by Mr. Ashcroft regarding the seizing of their websites and redirecting them to the DEA.A frightening quote from the a Voice of America article:
http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=FAAF0B60-2B80-4100-BD255885C43351A6"Mr. Ashcroft says customers who want to visit some of their favorite drug paraphernalia websites are in for a big surprise in the days ahead. They will be automatically redirected to the website for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration."In essence the DEA is going to usurp the freedom of speech and expression of the people who run those seized websites. This would be akin to the U.S. Dept of Justice redirecting your "aclupa.org" website to the "usdoj.gov" website.And then there are the serious privacy issues involved if the DEA redirects the seized websites, since they'll be logging all visitors, obtaining their IP address and other information.------Ron
ACLU - working to protect your freedoms...
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 24, 2003 at 19:10:35 PT
Idaho Article from KTVB TV on Raids
http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/ktvbn-drugs-february_24.14417de.html
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Comment #4 posted by Heavy-D on February 24, 2003 at 19:00:58 PT:
Where the Raids Started -Barmes & Chills
For all of you that don't know the history of this,18 months ago both Barmes Wholesale and Chills Industries were raided by the DEA/Feds.Chris Hill (from Chills) took a plea deal and gave all the information he knew at the time of his plea bargain (thus testifying against the other pipe sellers).Barmes Wholesale (Barmes is a big family, there is Brian Barmes, Marvin Barmes, Mark Barmes and many others) is still in some serious trouble. Beyond selling bongs and other pipes, Barmes has / had offshore bank accounts in the Bahammas where they funnelled all their profits to avoid US Taxes.  So now Barmes is in a LOT of trouble - Drug Paraphernalia, Money Laundering, Tax Evasion and with the new Patriot act, they are "enemies of the state" (because of the offshore bank used with illegal activities).However, for some reason we haven't hear much about the Barmes case. I live in Indiana and the rumor mill is that Barmes is testifying and turning Federal evidence for a lesser charge.I don't know if this is true, but it would explain why none of the Barmes family is in jail (they even still sell their RiteWeight scales online).So I think it's safe to say that these raids were the result of a Snowball effect, pushed by the earlier raids on Barmes & Chills, powered with the renewed energy of the information given by Barmes & Chills.Anyway, be carefull out there! With all these people rolling and ratting it's a terrible time to own or operate a headshop. If you haven't been raided yet, it's just a matter of time till someone testifies against you and gets you shut down.Close your store and just walk away.Thank the lucky stars that nobody closed it for you....
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Comment #3 posted by Heavy-D on February 24, 2003 at 18:37:56 PT:
TOTALITARIAN COUNTRY
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/February/03_crm_106.htmHere's a link to the actual posting on the website
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Comment #2 posted by i420 on February 24, 2003 at 18:11:11 PT
Live n learn
Sure shut down these shops so your kids start making homemade paraphernalia that is more dangerous to their health than the drug itself.Got an apple???
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Comment #1 posted by JHarshaw on February 24, 2003 at 18:01:58 PT
American websites
Hi ; ) Does this mean a boom for Canadian web-based Head shops? I don't see how they can exend their authority beyond U. S. borders but we'll have to stay tuned to the next episode of the Internet's longest running soap opera, "As the Drug War Turns."Peace and pot
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