[420 Girl]

Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, has an interesting idea for raising revenues during these tough times.

House Bill 99 would add a “surtax of 5 percent” on items described as “drug paraphernalia” in Florida statute. That includes not only “bongs” and “hypodermic syringes,” but also, according to state law, common items that can be fashioned into drug tools including “a balloon,” a “2-liter-type soda bottle” and “duct tape.”

Rouson said that if lawmakers are going to consider increasing the cigarette tax, store owners who claim to sell tobacco-related pipes and other accessories frequently used for illegal drugs should pay more taxes as well.

“Why should they be sacrosanct and not taxed?” he said Monday. “You and I both know it’s only marijuana and drugs being smoked out of the c**** pipes and bongs … It’s another tool for law enforcement for those owners of stores who profit off of drug paraphernalia.”

Rouson, who was a guest at Gov. Charlie Crist’s wedding last week, has openly discussed his own past c****** addiction. He represents parts of Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

The bill as written would apparently extend the surtax to duct tape and two-liter bottles of soda. Rouson said it was not his intent to punish, for example, a handyman relying on the wonders of duct tape and he would amend the bill to exclude drug-free use of common items.

Section 893.145 of state law does provide an interesting clash of legal wording and the world of drugs.

Included in the definition of “drug paraphernalia” are “Separation gins and sifters used, intended for use, or designed for use in removing twigs and seeds from, or in otherwise cleaning or refining, cannabis” and “Roach clips: meaning objects used to hold burning material, such as a cannabis cigarette, that has become too small or too short to be held in the hand.”

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