It used to be that drug users could take a short drive from Fargo into Moorhead to get their supplies, including things like bongs and glass pipes. This was legal because Minnesota doesn’t have the same laws regarding paraphernalia that we do. But in a reaction to this, the Moorhead City Council has passed a local ordinance banning such items.
The interesting thing, other than the fight in City Council to get it passed, is that the ordinance is “patterned after North Dakota law.”
Looking up our laws on drug paraphernalia, the problem becomes apparent. According to Chapter 19-03.4-01, drug paraphernalia includes such odd things as a “chillum” or “blenders, bowls, containers, spoons, grinders and mixing devices, used or intended for use, or designed for use… in preparing controlled substances.”
As to the first of those, the picture that heads this article is of a man holding a chillum – that’s an illegal item. They are carved bamboo tubes, sometimes used to draw in smoke so that it cools before inhaling. The second phrase reminds me of my kitchen. And patients who own a pill cutter might fall afoul of that section. The problem in our law is remedied, at least it’s got an attempted remedy, in the next section of the law. This next section deals with application of the definitions – after all, how can you tell whether a scale is used to figure out postage or weigh marijuana? The scale doesn’t care.
Section 19-03.4-02 tells us how to interpret the above items. It’s of particular interest to businesses who wish to sell such equipment. Among the deciding factors are, “national advertising,” “how an object is displayed for sale,” and “the ratio of sales of the object to total sales of the business.”
Critics argue that such laws are too much the subject of interpretation and unconstitutional on their face. The opponents of Moorhead’s new ordinance are tobacco shops, businesses that would ordinarily be able to sell products used for smoking – and if the substance smoked is marijuana, they get off the hook because of the dual use. However, it appears that Moorhead police will be taking a hard line. It will be interesting to see how the courts handle it.
