Blunts Once Again Free To Be Sold In Philly

While we’re on the subject of praising judges, it’s time to give a hearty Philadelphia cheer to Judge Gary S. Glazer, who on March 7 threw out the city’s blunt ban.

John Street signed the blunt ban into effect back in January, and cigar manufacturers and distributors challenged it in court seven days later. The ban criminalized the sale of any item used to “convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, inject, ingest, inhale or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled substance in violation of [the Pennsylvania Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act]” in situations “where the seller knows, or under the circumstances reasonably should know.”

But, apparently, there are pesky state laws that prevent municipalities from criminalizing random legal items — such as bongs, pipes, rolling papers, blunts, apples and two-liter soda bottles. Let’s just quote here from the Northeast Times article:

In overturning the law, Glazer wrote, “Although the ordinance has a laudable anti-drug objective, its operation is inconsistent with state law. The ordinance converts a specific intent offense into a strict liability one, subjecting legitimate businesses selling legal dual-use products to the arbitrary enforcement of the City of Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections.”

That is, state law requires that local authorities enforcing restrictions on drug paraphernalia prove the intent by the seller, buyer or possessor to use the item as such. State law outlines 13 factors to consider when making such a determination.

The factors include verbal statements, written instructions, visual depictions, proximity of the alleged paraphernalia to controlled substances and expert testimony concerning its use.

Wait, people have to be guilty to be found guilty under the law? How dare they! City Councilman Brian O’Neill, who originally sponsored the bill, will attempt to pursue the issue. The city might appeal. But for now, smoke away on your blunts, as long as they don’t have marijuana in them! And you’re not in a public work place. And you’re not within 20 feet of a door. And you don’t litter afterward.

Law banning the sale of ‘blunts’ overturned [Northeast Times]
[Photo via that biggest purveyor of Phillies blunts, Sam's Club]

John Street, City Council End City’s Drug Problems

Congratulations, Philadelphia! Our city is now safe from the scourge of marijuana addicts walking the streets all day, eating our supply of cheeseburgers and easing the pain of their glaucoma. Mayor Street has signed a bill banning the sale of legal items in the City of Philadelphia.

These legal items range from bongs to blunts, apples to two-liter soda bottles and anything else somebody could smoke out of in a pinch. Cigarette rolling papers are now illegal, too!

Yes, the city has passed the anti-blunt bill, championed by police officer Jerry Rocks. The law (full text available here, .pdf) bans selling any sort of product that could possibly be used to smoke within 500 feet of a school, church, community center, regardless of the intent. Basically, it appears to give police officers the authority to decide on a case-by-case basis what’s an exception and what’s not and puts the onus on retailers and not the people actually causing problems. (The bill was proposed to stop kids from loitering outside stores. Oddly enough, the bill sets forth fines for the year 2005, even though it was introduced last year.)

Rocks began his crusade against blunts when he decided he didn’t like that convenience (or, as the CBS 3 article calls them “convenient”) stores were selling flavored blunts.

“I believe they’re drug paraphernalia. Sunoco says old men smoke the blunts and women. But I don’t know any women who smoke watermelon blunts and any old men that smoke blueberry and raspberry blunts,” said Rocks during a June 2006 interview.

Oh! Jerry Rocks doesn’t know anyone who does it, so we should criminalize it! Hell, while we’re at it, I don’t know anyone who likes the 17 people in City Council so concerned with telling us what we can and can’t put in our body or what how we may enjoy legal products. Can we get rid of them?

Mayor Street Signs Anti-Drug Paraphernalia Bill [CBS 3]