177 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
177 lines
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Plaintext
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presents
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Parity: the Drug Paraphernalia Issue
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Toxic File #86
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Source HIGH TIMES, April 87 p30
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By Jon Gettman, NORML Director
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Keyed by Fetal Juice
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Critics claim that the purpose of drug paraphernalia is to
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glamorize drugs and entice the young. Consequently, they have spent
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much of the last ten years making it a criminal act to possess or sell
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drug paraphernalia in many parts of the country.
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Drug paraphernalia is hard to define, which is why you can still
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buy it. We all know what it is, critics know what it is, but no one
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can write a law that can adequately distinguish our water pipes from
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the tobacconist's - hence, the long shelf life of the drug
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paraphernalia issue. I think it is time to turn this important issue
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to our advantage.
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In the late '70s, the proponents of making criminals out of drug
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paraphernalia merchants thought they were on to something big. The
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drug paraphernalia issue began as the vehicle for a backlash against
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the decriminalization of marijuana. Since then, this "movement" has
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stalled in a fog of complicated legalities.
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My interest in this issue predates my involvement with NORML. I
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spent eight years in the drug paraphernalia business before
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discovering other things in life were more important to me then making
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money - like public service. I would like to offer a few words in the
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defense of this much - maligned industry, as well as a candid
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assessment of its faults prior to the current era of excessive
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regulation and official harassment.
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The first object of selling drug paraphernalia was, and still is,
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to make money. In the '70s we were all led to believe that not only
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was making money a respectable persuit but also that pioneering a new,
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legal to do it was admirable. The paraphernalia industry was a free -
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market capitalism at its best.
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The problem with the freewheeling paraphernalia market I
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participated in was that we were pandering to an illegal interest in
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the marketing of our goods. Much like sex is used to sell cars, we
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were, in retrospect, using drugs to sell knick - knacks. Just as the
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exploitation of women in commercials offends people, our exploitation
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of drugs was offensive to some, especially to parents trying to keep
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their kids away from any drug use, illegal or otherwise. Marketing
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products involves some glamorization. And some of the young are
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attracted by glamor, though no one as yet offered any hard evidence
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that young kids decide to try marijuana because they want to try out
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some neat new bong. Actually, the principal complaint against
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paraphernalia, that its very existence somehow bestows legitimacy on
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the drug scene, is absurd; it is the widespread use of marijuana
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itself that bestows legitimacy. Since marijuana is the drug of choice
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for an overwhelming number of illegal drug users, the majority of drug
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paraphernalia sold in head shops concerns marijuana use. But
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sometimes, knowingly or not, goods were sold to teenagers partly
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because we heads were sympathetic to rebellion. Our arrogance
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precluded any consideration of self regulation, and eventually various
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communities attempted to either regulate or eliminate paraphernalia
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stores.
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At this level, the solution seemed simple: set an age limit, tone
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down the marketing, and pursue peaceful coexistence. However, it was
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not that simple. The real problem being confronted by both sides was
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a disparity between myth and reality.
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The myth was the marijuana was dangerous, and that only fools,
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degenerates, and other social misfits used it, and that most people
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respected the laws banning its use, possession, and sale. The reality
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was that there was a vibrant marijiana subculture which was quite
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blatantly open. The existence of head shops and other vendors of drug
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paraphernalia was a visible refutation of the myth.
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With their livelihood threatened, paraphernalia merchants acted
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like most honest American capitalists: they either adapted to the new
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laws or went out of business. Compelled by some very surreal
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legislation, most of the industry began to pretend that their
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customers wern't marijuana smokers or cocaine users, but tobacco and
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snuff consumers. The store I used to manage is now Washington's
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premier tobacco shop. And its owners don't even pretend: it IS a
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tobacco store, shamelessly marketing one of the most addicitve
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substances on earth - as well as selling most of the merchandise I
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sold there five years ago.
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For the enemies of marijuana decriminalization, the move to ban
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drug paraphernalia was an effective tactic which delayed further
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reform of marijuana laws for over a decade. It reduced funding from
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the industry to the decrim movement, drove the drug subculture
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underground, and changed the fundamental public question from "Should
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adults go to jail for marijuana use?" to "How can we keep drugs away
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from our childern?" They changed the question to preserve their myth,
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because the answer to their question was to pretend that no one in
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there right mind uses illegal drugs.
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In fact, the whole campaign to go after the user of drugs as well
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as the supplier, the foundation of the Reagan drug policy, is an
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outgrowth of the movement to criminalize drug paraphernalia.
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We must acknowledge that the paraphernalia industry requires some
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legislation. I think it was, and is, wrong to market adult items to
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childern - whether it be tobacco, illegal drug taking, or gambling. I
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also think it is wrong to inflame people's lust to sell merchandise.
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But most paraphernalia legislation goes far beyond there
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measures, actually restraining First Amendment rights of free speech
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and expression, and encouraging a climate of hypocrisy. My approval
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stops when regulation becomes cultural harassment.
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Our opponents have actually handed us a great opportunity. We
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have reached a point in our social history when it is finally possible
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to attain parity between marijuana and the legal drugs, alcohol and
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tobacco. Consider this:
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Society now says, in effect, if you are going to sell
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paraphernalia for marijuana use you have to sell it on the same
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footing as that which is sold for tobacco use. There are social rules
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for the marketing of tobacco, alcohol, and thier attendant
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paraphernalia; they must be followed with marijuana as well.
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Society disapproves of the advertising of drugs or drug - related
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activity which encourages kids to copy adult drug taking. The
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constructive parts of anti-paraphernalia laws are those which make
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merchants follow the same rules and customs for marketing marijuana
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paraphernalia that the alcohol and tobacco merchants must follow: not
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in front of the childern.
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Society has determined not to depict drug use in public. People
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rarely are protrayed smoking tobacco on television. People are not
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seen actually drinking beer in commercials. The rule is that drug use
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itself can't be used as marketing tool. So beer commercials focus on
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taste, image, calories - but not how their product provides a better
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high then another brand.
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Society has also raised the drinking age to 21 to cut down the
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flow of alcohol to teenagers, and is considering further restriction
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on tobacco advertising. Once again, the guiding philosophy is "not in
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front of the childern."
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There is a pattern here that we best respect. Though hampered by
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extremism, this concern about how adult-oriented markets influence
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childern opens and opportunity for us to prove that we have learned a
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little more responsibility about conducting our affairs.
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Excessive regulation and harassment is counterproductive because
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it merely makes the paraphernalia a forbidden fruit, making it "cool"
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for a teenager to get his or her hands on the banned items. It also
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means that paraphernalia is much more profitable for the merchant; for
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some of the industy barons of the '70s, this last decade of
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regulations has been very enriching.
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Futhermore, to seriously influence drug abuse, you have to reach
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the drug user. Attaching health information to illicite drug
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paraphernalia would be an effective way, but this violates the rule
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that we all have to pretend that it's not drug paraphernalia.
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NORML came up against this obstacle in an early challenge to a
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state-wide paraphernalia law in Virgina. NORML was told by a court
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that our First Amendment rights to distribute literature, and
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presumably drug education literature, were valid but superseded by the
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seriousness of the drug problem. Consequently, we have the surreal
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situation where, because society wants to fight drug abuse by banning
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paraphernalia, we can't distribute antidrug abuse information in
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paraphernalia shops!
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We should advocate that our communities accept the notion of
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parity between marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco as potentially harmful
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substances that responsible adults, like it or not, indulge in. Clear
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statements need to be made that there are some things that adults do
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that childern and teenagers should not do.
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I think it is time for marijuana consumers, the merchants of
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tobacco accessories, parents' groups, and antidrug crusaders to put
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aside our differences and work together on the issues on which we all
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seem to agree - keeping out of the hands of kids.
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(c)opied right from High Times..Fetal Juice/Toxic Shock July 1990
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