Colorful glass pipes should soon disappear from near the cash register at more than a dozen convenience stores and gas stations in Vancouver, following a vote of the City Council on Monday to prohibit the display of drug paraphernalia in any area accessible by minors.
The new law doesn’t apply to licensed marijuana retailers, said City Attorney Bronson Potter. Those businesses are only for customers ages 21 and older.
The city worked with PREVENT!, Clark County’s substance abuse coalition, on the ordinance, which was approved by a 6-0 vote. Mayor Tim Leavitt was absent.
Potter said an estimated 18 stores within city limits sell glassware and other paraphernalia, defined, in part, in the ordinance as “any item, whether useful for non-drug-related purposes or not, which is displayed, grouped with other items, advertised, or promoted in a manner to reasonably suggest its usefulness in inhaling, injecting or ingesting of marijuana, hashish, hashish oil, cocaine, methamphetamine or any controlled substance.”
Potter said volunteers with PREVENT! surveyed businesses earlier this year to determine how many sell the items, and the Vancouver Police Department has contacted businesses to let them know about the new law.
Potter said the paraphernalia was broadly defined in the ordinance. Just one section lists: “metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic or ceramic pipes, with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish heads or punctured metal bowls, including but not limited to, glass tubes commonly marketed as novelty items such as a miniature rose, vase, air freshener or colored marking pens, which, when taken apart, contain a pipe that can be used for smoking or otherwise inhaling controlled substances.”
Under the law, items will have to be in a separate room or an enclosure that’s not accessible to minors. The businesses must post a sign warning that minors aren’t allowed.
Civil penalties range from $250 to $1,000, depending how often the business has been cited for violating the code.
Several people with PREVENT! testified in favor of the ordinance, noting cities such as Tacoma and Spokane have similar ordinances. They also said having paraphernalia on display equates to approval of underage drug use. A Columbia River High School student shared a story about a friend who first saw pipes in a convenience store and called an adult to buy him one. The friend was later arrested with the pipe and marijuana. His friend was granted diversion in juvenile court and appears to have learned his lesson, the student told the council, but his curiosity about the pipes was typical for teenagers.
Currently, signs in stores warn customers they must be at least 18 years old to purchase the items, and that the items are for tobacco use only.
