cannabisnews.com: Sarasota Pipe Maker Faces Paraphernalia Charges





Sarasota Pipe Maker Faces Paraphernalia Charges
Posted by FoM on February 18, 2002 at 09:10:33 PT
By The Associated Press 
Source: Naples Daily News 
Perhaps Chris Hill got too high-profile for his business — manufacturing the glass and plastic pipes marijuana smokers commonly use. He was listed among Inc Magazines's 500 fastest growing private companies in 1999 and he had his brand name, Chills, stamped on the personalized license plate on his Porsche. But now the Sarasota businessman is facing up to 20 years in prison, charged by federal prosecutors in Iowa with distributing drug paraphernalia. Federal agents say they found his pipes when they raided three Iowa smoke shops. His trial has not been scheduled. 
Hill says prosecutors are picking on him. "If anyone had ever said, 'You're breaking the law; you need to stop,' I would have called my attorney and then I would have stopped," Hill said. "But it's not that kind of party. They want to shoot first and ask questions later." The Iowa prosecutors declined to comment on the case when contacted by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. They would not say whether the government plans to go after other wholesalers whose wares were found in the Iowa shops. Hill's attorneys have their own theories. "Maybe they're bored in Iowa," Victor Martinez said. "We have legitimate drug problems to pursue, without having to really stretch it." Hill says he took steps to make sure that the 1,100 shops that sold Chills pipes operated within the law. His sales representatives asked store owners if they sold "High Times" magazine or other "drug-oriented" publications, he said. He wouldn't sell to "head shops," businesses that blatantly cater to drug users, he said. But he did do business in Iowa with stores that had names like "Hemp Cat" and "Head on In." Since his indictment last September, Hill has stopped making pipes. His inventory now consists of tobacco and rolling paper. One bit of evidence prosecutors are using against Hill is his company's logo — the face of a space alien labeled WORLD DOMINATION, saying it's a sign of a conspiracy. Hill says prosecutors have been watching too many James Bond movies. "They're accusing me of trying to take over the world," he said. "Maybe I should have a little white cat and shave my head." Complete Title: Sarasota Pipe Maker Faces Drug Paraphernalia Charges in Iowa Source: Naples Daily News (FL)Published: Monday, February 18, 2002Copyright: 2002 Naples Daily NewsContact: letters naplesnews.comWebsite: http://www.naplesnews.com/Related Articles:Court Says No Jail for Drug Paraphernaliahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11792.shtmlDaytona Tries To Quash Sales of 'Tobacco' Pipeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11650.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Paraphernaliahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/paraphernalia.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by kaptinemo on February 19, 2002 at 10:00:17 PT:
More Neanderthal mumblings
I swear, the more I think about it, the more I believe that the Neanderthals did not die out; their external appearence mutated. They look like us, they walk like us...you pass them every day on the street and take not the slightest notice of them.But when they open their mouths...gibberish. It sounds like English, yes...but gibberish. Semantic and logical nulls. Physically, they may have taught themselves not to drag their knuckles, but mentally, they are still doing it. And this is just one more proof. At the risk of sounding trite, Necessity is the mother of invention. I have built numerous waterpipes for friends using water aerator screens, candle cup holders, brass tubing, "clothespin doll heads", liqueur bottles (my favorite is the bottle for Irish Mist; I've been told it looks like something from "I Dream of Jeannie". Want to try to take that off the shelf, antis?) various rubber and plastic tubings, epoxy glue and a few simple hand and power tools. Those who've seen them have commented on their aesthetic value as well as being a (in some cases of even experienced smokers) an overwhelmingly cool smoke.All of the parts were commercially available, at craft and hardware shops...and none screamed "cannabis smoker!" to any sales clerk. a pipe could be assembled in two hours tops with all the right tools handy, if you didn't care about the appearence.The more you try to stamp out a culture, the more resiliant that culture becomes with each failure. Nietzsche said it best: "That which does not kill me, makes me stronger." This latest attempt to attack the cannabis culture will backfire, in that it will make it more likely that entrepeneurs will find other ways of getting around idiotic laws...and foster increasing contempt for the lawmakers, and law in general.All the while running rings around the 3 piece suited Neanderthals, who frustratedly grunt "Me thought me smashed them last time! Me thought me smashed them!"
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Comment #10 posted by lookinside on February 19, 2002 at 06:14:45 PT:
Yup!
ALL manufacturers of aluminum cans should be incarcerated. A dent, a few holes, VOILA, PARAPHERNALIA!
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Comment #9 posted by Mr X on February 19, 2002 at 00:21:42 PT
Stop technology
Any half retarded ape could turn a Pyrex test-tube into a pipe in 30 minutes flat. In states where paraphenalia laws are near nazi facism, people who want to smoke will turn a toiletpaper tube and aluminum foil into a pipe. Even when rolling papers are scarce you'll find people smoking blunts made from cigar wrappings.Any attempt to stop paraphenalia is flawed from the start. Any time a man wants to do something he will create the means to do it.An attempt to stop paraphenalia is an attempt to stop technology.  
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Comment #8 posted by mayan on February 18, 2002 at 15:34:18 PT
Jealous Pigs
Sounds like jealousy to me. 
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on February 18, 2002 at 15:21:19 PT
Porsche
Perhaps they like the car.It would be better for them not to steal, as in Do Not Steal.
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Comment #6 posted by MikeEEEEE on February 18, 2002 at 13:08:54 PT
Hunters
I could go into almost any deli in New York City and get a pipe. This is a witch hunt. Not all humans (antis) have evolved yet.
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Comment #5 posted by unknown pleasures on February 18, 2002 at 12:37:09 PT
Thank God for effective law enforcement
I am so relived that yet another dangerous criminal is finally facing justice. These pipes could easily have been used to hijack an airliner, or stab a police officer.Manufacturing pipes for the purpose of smoking harmless Tabacco is fine, but how dare this man construct pipes with the purpose of smoking the deadly and addictive Marihuana!?I mean, he did business with shady dope-crazed establishments like "Hemp Cat" and "Head on In"! I am convinced that those anarchist commie-hippies were diverting most of their profits to the Al Queada terrorist network!I would like to personally congratulate the Nazis of Iowa for a job well done! 
God Bless the USA! Zeig Heil!PS: On a personal note, this article upset me greatly, because I hold my big, green, 'chills' bong in very *high* regard! 
There's a very, very special place in Hell for anti-drug agents:)  
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Comment #4 posted by bruce42 on February 18, 2002 at 11:53:42 PT
I am pissed
I'm an Iowan and I am pissed. Pissed that A) this obviously successful businessman is being proscuted for a completely bogus crime, and B) that this is the first that I've heard of this.It's bad enough that people already think of Iowa as being a backwater hickland, and our government is not helping that image. The anti movement in this state is quasi-fundamentalist. I'm not kidding. Kids take dare shit seriously here. Politicians use the media to turn our crystal meth problem into a general haze of fear and paranoia in regards to drugs in general, and pure hatred for users.
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Comment #3 posted by E_Johnson on February 18, 2002 at 11:47:56 PT
Now more than ever we need to remember USSR
We're in danger of rebuilding their system here, one piece at a time.
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Comment #2 posted by idbsne1 on February 18, 2002 at 10:53:11 PT
true that...
And aren't any Iowans pissed that they are getting a bad name by saying things like, "One bit of evidence prosecutors are using against Hill is his company's logo — the face of a space alien labeled WORLD DOMINATION, saying it's a sign of a conspiracy."Showing their ignorance, bigotry, AND stupidity. AND all in one statement....idbsne1
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on February 18, 2002 at 09:29:17 PT
Back fire
This will certainly be an imposition, but it is a wall breaker. And Truth will crumble that wall.
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