DRUG GEAR TOO EASY TO GET

SALISBURY -- Three little words can prevent convenience store owners
from heavy fines or jail time when it comes to would-be drug paraphernalia.

By plastering the words "For Tobacco Use" on the display cases
containing glass pipes, a store owner can avoid being charged with
paraphernalia crimes that can result in up to eight years in prison,
a $15,000 fine or both.

"We're only selling it to you if you are going to use it for
tobacco," Wicomico County Deputy State's Attorney Sam Vincent said of
the store owners. "That's their way to disclaim accusation."

Proving a clerk sold an item to a customer knowing he or she was
going to use it for drugs is difficult.

"They try to get around the law through ignorance," said Wicomico
Assistant State's Attorney Beau Oglesby, who prosecutes drug cases
for the county. "They don't want to know why you're buying it."

Oglesby said making a legal case against head shops, which more often
sell would-be drug paraphernalia, is hard enough. Convenience stores
would be even more difficult.

So-called "head shops" sell T-shirts and black light posters with
felt marijuana leaves, magazines such as High Times and bumper
stickers displaying the time 4:20. They don't, however, sell tobacco
to use in the "For Tobacco Use" pipes, bongs and one-hitters on
display, he said.

"But convenience stores don't have the items that would paint a
picture for you of what these things are really used for," Oglesby said.

Another difficulty police and prosecutors find is that there are
legitimate, legal purposes for the items drug users convert into
paraphernalia, said Maj. Gary Baker of the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office.

"Our job is to enforce the law. It's not against the law to sell
these things," Baker said. "It's not our business until they are used
for purposes that are illegal."

But officials are trying to change that in some cities.

In Delaware, a Wilmington councilman is trying to pass a law that
would shut down convenience stores and gas stations from midnight to
4 a.m., in part because some stores that sold makeshift paraphernalia
would draw disorderly crowds.

But the purpose of the items, despite whether or not the majority of
buyers use them illegally, prevents the items from being barred from
convenience stores.

"It has a legitimate purpose until they use it for something
illegal," Baker said. "That's when it crosses the line and becomes
paraphernalia."

Drug users will often resort to common goods to make paraphernalia, Baker said.

"A Coke can can be bent up and put a hole through to make a crack
pipe," he said. "It's the same theory."Illicit tools of the trade

Maryland law requires stores to keep tobacco products out of the
reach of customers. Clerks must give patrons cigars, rolling papers
and glass pieces from behind the counter.

Customers, however, don't have to ask for items that can be easily
converted into drug paraphernalia.

Many Salisbury convenience stores sell a "Love Rose" that consists of
a small plastic rose encased in a glass tube.

With a push, the rose is out, leaving an ideal crack pipe. Screens
and filters are also sold in some stores.

"If (stores) are allowed to sell that stuff, then they should
legalize it already," customer Matt Dos said about the glass pipes on
the counter of a gas station on Snow Hill Road in Salisbury.

The store's clerk said he hardly ever sells the glass pipes encased
and labeled with "For Tobacco Use."

"But you can buy it, if you have ID," he said.

Police say that some drug users will hollow out cigars, such as
Philly Blunts, and fill them with marijuana. The Salisbury clerk said
plenty of people come in for the cigars.

The Food Mart store on Old Ocean City Road also prevents liability by
saying the pipes in the display case are for tobacco.

Store employee Ali Guieshi said he recently moved from an intense
drug use area in Washington. Here in Salisbury, things are different, he said.

Guieshi said although the store has glass pipes for sale, customers
rarely buy them. Rolling papers are also available, but aren't
commonly purchased either.

Even though the store sees its share of cigar sales, Guieshi said
drugs are not the reason.

"This area is very clean," he said. "I don't think they use it for
those things."

Smaller stores tend to carry items they know customers will buy, said
Vernon Bradley, owner of Bradley's Market on Lake Street.

The market carries cigars, but that's because customers -- especially
older men -- buy them just to smoke.

Bradley, however, draws the line at items he thinks people will use illegally.

"I've seen too many people destroyed," he said. "I'm from the days
when marijuana was (considered) harmless. But it's different now. I
don't want any part of anything dealing with crack cocaine."

Jeovonia Johnson, a Bradley's employee, said people come in asking
for the love roses and screens. She can only assume what the person
intends to use them for -- smoking crack cocaine.

"Those roses are a slick way of selling that stuff through stores,"
she said. "It gets right to the customer."