# Head Shops **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455 "2003-08-15T20:10:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/1 "2003-08-15T20:10:57Z")
If doing drugs is illegal how do paraphenlia shops stay open? I walked into a tatoo parlor not too long ago and what to my suprise when I walked in, but an entire showcase of bongs and pipes. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/2 "2003-08-15T20:14:58Z")
Hey, the feds _are_ busting head shops that sell bongs and pipes. The “dual use” claim apparently isn’t holding up very well. ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/3 "2003-08-15T20:27:58Z")
AFAIK, doing drugs is not illegal, but the sale or possession of them is. Head shops’ usual disclaimer is that they sell ‘tobacco’ pipes and bongs or ‘smoking accessories.’ I don’t know if anyone actually uses them for tobacco. Also, there are legitimate pipe shops out there that sell cigar humidors and actual tobacco pipes. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/4 "2003-08-15T20:42:46Z")
Up in Smoke: Feds Bust Online Head Shops [Nationwide Drive Against ‘Head Shops’ Runs Into a Federal Court Snag](http://www.nationalfamilies.org/publications/about_nfia/nationwide.html) Office of National Drug Control Policy: [Why we must attack the drug-paraphernalia trade](http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/oped3/032603.html) ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/5 "2003-08-16T03:12:41Z")
My old head shop, _Things for Your Head_ in Huntington Beach, CA, used to have a sign near the water pipe display that read something like this- “If you would like to purchase a water tobacco pipe, it would be in your best interest not to call it a bong.” Prolly because a bong is used only for smoking marijuana and is hence illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/6 "2003-08-16T03:36:16Z")
There’s a head shop over by me that will supposedly ask you to leave if you call it a bong (all though _I_ never saw it enfornced. OTOH if you by (legal) Nitrous Oxcide cartridges, fine, ask if they have any ballons and they’ll take them back and refuse to sell them to you. (That I have witnessed) ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/7 "2003-08-16T07:48:49Z")
There is one in my town. Other than being off limitis to military personell, I have never seen much in the way of police interference or anything. “High Times” magazine and other such items make it fairly clear there is no pretense for their goods being intended for “tobacco only”. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/8 "2003-08-16T08:10:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Isabelle \* > \*\*If doing drugs is illegal how do paraphenlia shops stay open? > I walked into a tatoo parlor not too long ago and what to my suprise when I walked in, but an entire showcase of bongs and pipes. \*\* The reason those shops are still around is the same reason that apples and soda cans are still legal. People can make a “smoking device” out of apples, soda cans, aluminum foil, 2 liter bottles, honey containers, and the list goes on. Simply making a drug easier to ingest isn’t a crime. Syringes save lives every minute, yet they are also used to shoot smack. If a “smoking device” is found to have narcotic residue on it, it is paraphenalia. However, nobody can take my soda can from me, even though I can use it to smoke dope through with little modification. I bet “pipes” have even been made from judge’s gavels, how’s that for poetic justice? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Friendly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Mr\_Friendly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Friendly)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/9 "2003-08-16T14:11:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dnooman \* > \*\* Syringes save lives every minute, yet they are also used to shoot smack. \*\* Not to mention that giving clean needles and clean heroin to addicts would save lives and money every minute. But that would be “condoning drug abuse” of course… ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/10 "2003-08-16T18:04:36Z")
WAG- Head shops are protected by a law designed to prevent cops from charging an innocent person with possession of paraphenalia and getting a conviction. When Rizzo was mayor of Philadelphia, it was common for cops to stop men on the street and beat them for the grievous crime of being black. If some evidence could be found to hang charges on, the whole thing could be made to look legitimate and legal. Under a vague enough law, lighters, matches, metal kazoos, occarinas, pocket knives, pens etc can all be claimed as drug paraphenalia. Black man claims that 3 cops yelled racial slurs at him and threatened him. Realizing that they’re going to beat the crap out of him, he runs. They catch him. He claims that the faucet he was carrying(still mint in package) was to replace one that was rusted beyond repair. ``` One of the cops says the saw the suspect talking with a known drug dealer. He was about to hand the dealer some money when the two spotted the police. The dealer had been conducting business in his car and sped away. They pursued the suspect on foot. He violently resisted arrest and had to be subdued. They gave him plenty of chances to submit, but he just kept fighting. The faucet may seem innocent, the cop explains, but the metal can withstand heat while the filter screen prevents users from enhaling embers. The other two cops back up the story of the first. ``` Innocent man goes to jail. So the definition of paraphenalia is tightened. On one hand, stores selling items almost certainly intended for drug use are now legal. OTOH, people don’t have to worry about being convicted for carrying aquarium supplies. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/11 "2003-08-16T18:18:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DocCathode \* > **On one hand, stores selling items almost certainly intended for drug use are now legal.** **DocCathode** , did you read any of the links I provided near the beginning of this thread? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/12 "2003-08-16T18:41:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > \*\ ***DocCathode** , did you read any of the links I provided near the beginning of this thread? \*\* Ummm…no. Have now though. If the cops in Philly are closing down head shops, I’ve missed it. I also dispute the sites’ claims that head shops instruct people where to buy drugs, what to pay, and how to use them. One of my friends is an extreme Deadhead. He’s a walking encyclopedia of marijuana information. I once went with him on a trip to his favorite head shop. I mentioned that I was surprised by all the glass pipes as I thought that stoned people would be likely to drop things. He immediately told me ‘Dude, any discussion of illegal activites will get us kicked out. Either watch what you say or get far away from me.’ He knows the store and its staff well. If they were instructing customers on such things, I’m sure he’d know. South Street is a consumer strip-book stores, boutiques, antique shops, restuarants, etc. Due to the large crowds, there are always cops on South Street. I was there a few weeks ago. One of the head shops still has a 3-foot tall water pipe in the window. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/13 "2003-08-16T19:18:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Walloon \* > [Nationwide Drive Against ‘Head Shops’ Runs Into a Federal Court Snag](http://www.nationalfamilies.org/publications/about_nfia/nationwide.html) Wow. Can anyone help me clear up the utter crap in that article, because it may be too big of a job for one person? 🙂 > [@](#): > > The shops, which can be found in most cities – often near supermarkets or schools, sometimes as part of record stores – sell items used with marijuana, cocaine, and other drugs. Catering to both minors and adults, they usually purvey marijuana-inhaling devices in the form of toys, or even pencils. Did anyone else read this paragraph and think of Helen Lovejoy’s voice exclaiming, “Won’t someone _please_ think of the children?!” The “catering to minors” line is pure BS. In fact, the headshops I’ve been to won’t even let you in the door if you’re not 18. I got kicked out of the first headshop I ever went to (Wonderland in Philly) because I didn’t have ID. The head shop here in Lafayette has very dark-tinted doors and a sign on the door clearly stating that nobody under 18 is allowed. Also, I have _never_ seen a headshop near a school. Geez. That would send the NIMBY people off the deep end. Head shops tend to be in poorer parts of town near other “sleazy” businesses. > [@](#): > > Justice Department and DEA officials say they do not know what effect closing head shops would have on illegal drug use. But head shops have a clear impact as a “meeting place for drug users,” says Mr. Nathan. Drug users meet in a place where they’re not allowed to talk about drugs? Um, okay… ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/14 "2003-08-16T20:19:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dnooman \* > \*\*The reason those shops are still around is the same reason that apples and soda cans are still legal. People can make a “smoking device” out of apples, soda cans, aluminum foil, 2 liter bottles, honey containers, and the list goes on. \*\* _Insert quote from the “McGyver Smoker” in Half Baked here_. 🙂 I’d be really pissed if they closed down head shops. First of all, some people really DO enjoy smoking good tobacco. I’ve only done it rarely, and only in regular rolling papers, but I could see trying it in a bong–oops–water pipe. Plus, doesn’t everyone know that a head shop is absolutely the last place you’d ever go to get drugs or information on where to buy them? Head shops are so drug-free that they should surround the schools with 'em.\* - [sup]Hyperbole. Please don’t nitpick.[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Osip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4491bb/32.png) [@Osip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osip)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/15 "2003-08-17T00:52:54Z")
Hurm… while in indiana this past week I noticed in the sunday paper that Hoopa pipes are the new tobacco craze for college students. I think it is hoopa… err indian (eastern) water pipes. Should have been Sundays (a week from tommorrows) Sunday edition of the Indianapolis times Osip ---
**Author:** ![Opus1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/858c86/32.png) [@Opus1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opus1)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/16 "2003-08-17T01:46:16Z")
Osip–very close. It’s hooka, not hoopa. ---
**Author:** ![D.E.S.K.Top668](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@D.E.S.K.Top668](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D.E.S.K.Top668)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/17 "2003-08-17T03:40:43Z")
In L.A. County (CA) my wife and I used to frequent a “retro” store that sells a T-Shirt with their warning sign on it. I’m paraphrasing, but it says along the line of “Any reference to bongs, crack pipes, or coke spoons will be met with a request to leave. All our merchandice is meant for legal use only” As an aside, I’ve tried MJ and had a lot of friends who used on a regular basis, but I personally would rather have an alcoholic beverage. Despite my personal lack of interest in MJ, I once had a bong and pipe collection numbering over fifty pieces, simply because some of the high end glass pieces are works of art. regardless of their intended purpose. Peace-DESK ---
**Author:** ![Spiral\_Out3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Spiral\_Out3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiral_Out3)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/18 "2003-08-17T05:35:33Z")
God. Does anyone else see what is wrong with all of this? Let’s ban lighters since that is an item which can be used for illegal drug usage. Oh, and let’s ban incense, since this item can cover up illegal drug usage. And it is true that head shops are near schools. But what they failed to mention was that the schools are really COLLEGES where students are adults and old enough to make their own decisions. Do you see any head shops near Park Green Elementary? No, thank you. Plus you have to be 18 to enter a head shop. The article states that head shops sell drug paraphenlia and promote drug usage to kids. This goes to show that you can’t believe everything you read! That article is a load of crap. ---
**Author:** ![Lateralus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@Lateralus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lateralus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/19 "2003-08-17T05:59:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spiral Out3 \* > \*\*That article is a load of crap. \*\* So is everything else about the War on Drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455/20 "2003-09-12T22:25:39Z")
When I was 16 and 17, I used to hang out at the neighborhood head shop, just playing the pinball machines and buying underground comics. Damn, I miss 1977… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/head-shops/195455.md?page=2)