Marijuana Pipes Smoked Out of Smoke Shops
by Debbie Reynard

April 15, 1998 - The University of Washington Daily - thedaily@u.washington.edu

After June 11, local smoke shops will have to pack up their water pipes and send them back to their suppliers. Gov. Gary Locke signed a bill April 3 that will make the sale of water pipes and some other kinds of pipes sold in smoke ships illegal. The law will also apply to the sale of these pipes and other paraphernalia over the Internet.

Water pipes -- also known as bongs -- cool down and filter smoke from tobacco or marijuana. Bongs are one of the more popular methods of smoking marijuana.

Several smoke shops on the Ave. sell water pipes for "tobacco" use. Owners and employees of these as well as consumers will lose out when the stores can no longer sell the pipes.

Shames Rai, an employee at Sam's Smokes on the Ave., expects the law to take away customers. Many of the customers who won't be able to purchase water pipes from Sam's Smokes and other head shops woluld have to purchase the pipes illegally.

"People will pay the higher price on the street," he said.

Rai said he only sells water pipes "for tobacco purposes." He has no way of controlling what his customers choose to do with the pipes after they leave the store.

"If [drugs] are not available, these pipes are useless," Rai said. he said he feels like the government is asking him to police what other people do.

On the other hand, Andy Lin of Tom's University Smoke Shop on the Ave. agrees with the bill. He thinks children especially will be less likely to try drugs if they can't buy the paraphernalia.

"It's good for our young children. It should've been done a very long time ago," Lin said.

In the April 7 issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, an article about the new bill targetting head shops explained how the bill originated. The bill was reportedly pushed by a local community that was upset about the presence of a head shop near its public schools.

Any stores selling the products listed in the new bill have a two-month period to get rid of the soon-to-be-illegal supplies.

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