[420 Girl]

Smoke shops throughout state are hoping a new law, regulating what they can sell, will go up in smoke.

Thirty shops have sued to block enforcement of the rules, which took effect in July, and eventually to kill them.

The law, passed in the last legislative session, makes it a misdemeanor for a smoke shop to generate more than 25 percent of its sales from pipes or smoking devices.

"This act is a dismal failure," said Clearwater lawyer Luke Lirot, who represents the stores. "You can't have these shop owners held responsible for the intent of someone else."

Store owners argue that some glass pipes can sell for up to $5,000, but aren't used at all for smoking. Those decorative pipes are displayed as art, said Jay Work, owner of Grateful J's smoke shops in Margate and Boca Raton, himself a glass blower.

Work is one of the owners involved in the lawsuit. Owners say the law could put some of them out of business, costing employees their jobs and costing the state tax revenue.

The new rules, contained in House Bill 187, were sponsored by state Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg. Initially, he said, he wanted to tax pipes, but when that didn't get support in the House he proposed limiting sales.

Rouson argued that pipes and other devices sold in "head shops" are used to smoke harder drugs, as well as marijuana.

The bill passed unanimously.

"I was concerned about the crack pipes that are sold in these stores," said state Rep. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Wellington, a co-sponsor of the bill. "I was going to be supportive of getting those out of the hands out the youth."

Rouson, a recovering drug addict, said he used to frequent smoke shops looking for such devices to feed his addictions.

"I used to brag, 'Take me to any city in America and I'll take you to the head shop and get a nice pipe to smoke,'" he said. "The law allows them to call themselves tobacco shops, yet 80 percent of them don't sell a stick of tobacco."

Rouson said smoke shops are perpetuating a "charade" about how their items are used. He wants to educate the public.

"This is an opportunity to expand your business," and not a threat that might put shops out of business, Rouson said. "Go get some tobacco and sell more products."

Shop owners disagree.

"The way the whole thing is written is unconstitutional," Work said. "There's no business in the country that has a cap on how much you can sell. It's like telling Pfizer that no more than 25 percent of your income can come from Viagra because it's sex-related."

On Friday, customers at Grateful J's in Boca Raton said the law seemed to aim at fattening the pockets of the tobacco industry, and that the shops still carry items beyond pipes.

Wyatt DeLaCroix, 37, of Boca Raton, said the shop has a lot of music-related items, such as posters and clothes, that are tough to find elsewhere.

"It will put a legal business out of business simply because the product's misused," he said.

At the minimum, Lirot said, enforcement should be delayed for a year, since smoke shops never have kept detailed records of their sales.

Moreover, he said, the law doesn't apply to other outlets for pipes, such as gas stations and the Internet. Rouson said he'll try to broaden the law in the future.

"It's not a legitimate legislative act," Lirot said. "It doesn't advance any government interest and is punishing the people. It will not make the world a better place by any measure."

Rouson realizes that restricting the shops won't win the war on drugs, but he hopes it will help.

"It's one aspect of the problem we can do something about," he said.


NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Sun-Sentinel.com
Author: Jerome Burdi
Contact: Sun-Sentinel.com
Copyright: 2010 Sun Sentinel
Website: Florida smoke shops sue state over new law restricting pipe sales

* Thanks to Oddnonsmoker for submitting this article


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