Also proceeding in meatspace USA and the Dutch - German
border...
The U.S. Justice Department on Monday said it indicted 11 Web site
operators for allegedly selling illegal devices including bongs and
holders for marijuana cigarettes.
Attorney General John Ashcroft told reporters that the government would
ask a U.S. district court in Pittsburgh to point the sites to a Web page
at the Drug Enforcement
Administration explaining why they were taken offline, a new
twist in crime-fighting.
"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia
industry has exploded," Ashcroft said. "The drug paraphernalia
business now thrives not only in small shops but it is now accessible in
anyone's home with a computer and Internet access...Quite simply, the
illegal drug paraphernalia industry has invaded the homes of families
across the country without their knowledge." MORE ON...
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985785.html?tag=fd_top
The prosecutions, called Operation Pipe Dreams, represent the federal
government's boldest attempt yet to shutter Web sites that sell drug
paraphernalia. Under current federal law, that category includes any
product that is "primarily intended" for use with illegal
drugs, including water pipes, roach clips, chillums, bongs, and small
spoons used with cocaine.
Ashcroft said that a total of 27 people in a dozen states had been
charged with selling illegal drug paraphernalia in an investigation led
by the Drug Enforcement Administration and centered in Pittsburgh. The
list of Web sites targeted in coordinated raids that took place on Monday
includes PipesForYou.com, OmniLounge.com, ColorChangingGlass.com,
420now.com and PuffPipes.com.
As of Monday afternoon, many of the sites were still reachable.
OmniLounge.com describes itself as a "one-stop head shop for a wide
selection of water pipes and smoking accessories at great prices,"
and AHeadCase.com, which says it has two stores in southern California,
sells water pipes and drug test kits.
If the court orders the sites to be redirected, Ashcroft said, they will
point to a DEA.gov Web page that says: "By application of the United
States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Web site you are attempting
to visit has been restrained by the United States District Court for the
Western District of Pennsylvania pursuant to Title 21, United States
Code, Section 853 (e)(1)(a)."
Keith Stroup, director of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws, said it was ridiculous for the Justice Department to be
indicting bong sellers when the United States is on high terror-alert
status. "This latest enforcement initiative is primarily an
expression of extremism of this particular attorney general," Stroup
said. Ashcroft "is a right-wing zealot. Now I'm not a fan of the
Bush administration, but I have to think that President Bush and most of
his serious advisers have far more serious work to focus on right now
than whether someone's selling rolling papers and roach clips."
"You simply cannot outlaw rolling papers," Stroup said.
"They're perfectly legal assuming that they're used with tobacco.
Those of us who smoke marijuana can always find rolling paper to roll our
joints with. All this is going to do is criminalize a class of young
entrepreneurs."
In a 1994 case that arose out of the same law, the Supreme Court ruled
that the statute was not unconstitutionally vague and that prosecutors do
not need to "prove specific knowledge that the items are 'drug
paraphernalia' within the meaning of the statute."
Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said
redirecting Web visitors to DEA.gov raises novel legal issues. "It
sounds like this is a concluded drug operation segueing into a new sting
operation," he said. "In effect, the defunct Web sites become
electronic flypaper for those looking for illegal drug paraphernalia,
reporters covering the story, and people who have trouble spelling in
Google."
The DEA.gov site's privacy policy, which is the same as other Justice
Department sites, permits it to give personal information about visitors
to law enforcement. It says "we may take additional steps to
identify you based on this information, and we may share this
information, including your identity, with other government
agencies."
The prosecutions, called Operation Pipe Dreams, represent the federal
government's boldest attempt yet to shutter Web sites that sell drug
paraphernalia. Under current federal law, that category includes any
product that is "primarily intended" for use with illegal
drugs, including water pipes, roach clips, chillums, bongs, and small
spoons used with cocaine.
Ashcroft said that a total of 27 people in a dozen states had been
charged with selling illegal drug paraphernalia in an investigation led
by the Drug Enforcement Administration and centered in Pittsburgh. The
list of Web sites targeted in coordinated raids that took place on Monday
includes PipesForYou.com, OmniLounge.com, ColorChangingGlass.com,
420now.com and PuffPipes.com.
As of Monday afternoon, many of the sites were still reachable.
OmniLounge.com describes itself as a "one-stop head shop for a wide
selection of water pipes and smoking accessories at great prices,"
and AHeadCase.com, which says it has two stores in southern California,
sells water pipes and drug test kits.
If the court orders the sites to be redirected, Ashcroft said, they will
point to a DEA.gov Web page that says: "By application of the United
States Drug Enforcement Administration, the Web site you are attempting
to visit has been restrained by the United States District Court for the
Western District of Pennsylvania pursuant to Title 21, United States
Code, Section 853 (e)(1)(a)."
Keith Stroup, director of the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws, said it was ridiculous for the Justice Department to be
indicting bong sellers when the United States is on high terror-alert
status. "This latest enforcement initiative is primarily an
expression of extremism of this particular attorney general," Stroup
said. Ashcroft "is a right-wing zealot. Now I'm not a fan of the
Bush administration, but I have to think that President Bush and most of
his serious advisers have far more serious work to focus on right now
than whether someone's selling rolling papers and roach clips."
"You simply cannot outlaw rolling papers," Stroup said.
"They're perfectly legal assuming that they're used with tobacco.
Those of us who smoke marijuana can always find rolling paper to roll our
joints with. All this is going to do is criminalize a class of young
entrepreneurs."
In a 1994 case that arose out of the same law, the Supreme Court ruled
that the statute was not unconstitutionally vague and that prosecutors do
not need to "prove specific knowledge that the items are 'drug
paraphernalia' within the meaning of the statute."
Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center said
redirecting Web visitors to DEA.gov raises novel legal issues. "It
sounds like this is a concluded drug operation segueing into a new sting
operation," he said. "In effect, the defunct Web sites become
electronic flypaper for those looking for illegal drug paraphernalia,
reporters covering the story, and people who have trouble spelling in
Google."
The DEA.gov site's privacy policy, which is the same as other Justice
Department sites, permits it to give personal information about visitors
to law enforcement. It says "we may take additional steps to
identify you based on this information, and we may share this
information, including your identity, with other government
agencies."
