Arrests Made for Selling Tshirts With Marijuana Leaf Symbol

[JPZenger]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11130206/

The link above is from a Philadelphia TV station about police arrests at a Spenser Gifts Store. The CEO was arrested for selling drug-related items. Some of the items were bongs, which are illegal under PA. law. However, he was also arrested for selling Tshirts and hats with a marijuana leaf logo. That strikes me as a violation of free speech.

Excerpts:

"A popular store at area local malls is in hot water for allegedly selling water pipes and other items police believe promote marijuana use. Police have filed charges against Spencer Gifts' President and CEO Steven Silverstein, 46, of Summit, N.J., and Oxford Valley Mall Spencer store manager, Wayne Oles, 53, of Philadelphia...Both men are charged with selling drug paraphernalia and criminal conspiracy at two local malls.

Police seized water bongs, or hookahs, from the store in the Oxford Valley Mall in Langhorne, Middletown Township, Bucks County, in September, along with many other items with drug-related messages, such as T-shirts and shot glasses.

According to an affidavit obtained by NBC 10, a police detective was inside a Spencer's store in Oxford Valley Mall in Langhorne, Bucks County, when he observed "several items which depicted marijuana." These items included "T-shirts, hats, posters, key chains, leis of Marijuana leafs, stationary, incense, headbands, boxer shorts, candles, ice cube trays, coasters, dishes, glasses, phone books, chess sets, cookie cutters and other items," says the affidavit."

[MountainLaurel]

1. What an appropriate handle

But about this story: :wow:

[DS1]

2. It's typically poseurs who wear that crap anyway

Real burners don't advertise :D

[rucky]

3. Forget the War on Terror....Bring on the War on T-Shirts

[gordianot]

9. Guess the war on Christmas did not work out.

[rucky]

12. Any more failed wars & we'll have a War on Wars on Stuff

[SammyWinstonJack]

27. Depends on the T-shirts, ya know?

Pro Pinhead** T-shirts are A-Okay, Anti-Pinhead** T-shirts gets you arrested. Ah so American. :sarcasm:

[Saphire]

4. it's illegal to sell pictures of drugs now?

[obreaslan]

21. It's illegal to say drugs now!

An officer will be by shortly to pick you up.
Thank you.
Have a nice day. :)

[benburch]

5. The Spenser here has not had bongs in many years.

Why did they choose to comply with Illinois law and not PA law I wonder?

[malachi]

34. The article refers to "hookahs". Hookahs are not bongs. What's next

outlawing cigars because they can be made into blunts? For christsake, there are hookah bars in Philadelphia. What a fuckin' sad ass country we have become. These fucking undercover police jerkoffs have nothing better to do. Don't they know that osama b is lurking?

[benburch]

40. Aluminum foil can be made into a pipe, too.

Lets bust Reynolds.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

6. The War of T-shirts continues........ya, freedom is certainly on the march

:mad:

[gordianot]

7. T Shirts are dangerous.

[boobooday]

8. Pot leaf cookie cutters?

Ice cube trays? How can this be illegal?

Reefer madness strikes again.

[fooj]

10. Guess they left the large selection of viabrators for Karl and Co.

:kick:

[Double T]

11. What will be the breaking point for violation of your civil rights??

The neocons keep testing the waters.

[wtbymark]

13. Amerika

now is the fascist corperate state that quells all desent with a heavy handed dose of legal paternalism. I guess I should start learning Russian and dreaming of some other country that is free.

[JPZenger]

14. You are all under arrest for thinking about drugs

OK, everyone who responded to this thread. Assume the position now - Up against your monitor. You are all under arrest for thinking about marijuana.

[ET Awful]

16. I wasn't thinking about that, I was thinking about burly men in uniform

with handcuffs :P

[davidinalameda]

22. your kitties are so cute

but I prefer burly men with handcuffs as well

:bounce:

[ET Awful]

26. Well I don't really, I was just saying that to throw the cops off my trail

I prefer women with handcuffs :evilgrin:

[davidinalameda]

29. damn

oh well!

:rofl:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

32. fuzzy handcuffs - they sell them there!

Ohh. umm. I heard that from somebody who was in that store once. ;)

[ET Awful]

33. They keep 'em right over by the "personal massagers"

:evilgrin:

[McCamy Taylor]

15. That wont hold up in court.

[jayfish]

18. Your Probably Correct.

Problem is, what's to stop this sort of thing from occurring in the future? IMO police departments and DA offices (if they pursue the case) should be made to pay a penalty for these frivolous prosecutions.

Jay

[lectrobyte]

20. But they (cops) may not even care. Even if you win, your business has

been disrupted, inventory siezed, probably damaged, you're out legal fees etc., in an economy that is shakey already. You may win, but you may go broke, and with those new bankruptcy laws... It's called the chilling effect.

[Freddie Stubbs]

23. The T-Shirts are probably going to be used as evidence

When the store owner says that the bongs are for smoking tobacco, the state will use the shirts as evidence that it is a marijuana-themed store.

[High Plains]

37. The bust will undoubtedly hold up in court.

Drug paraphernalia laws are well established, unfortunately.

The cop was stupid to say he was seizing the shirts because of the marijuana images, but that's a side issue. In fact, the shirts may even work againt the store owner, because they will allow prosecutors to argue that selling dope-related stuff was what the store did. T-shirts aren't paraphernalia, but bongs and pipes are.

[AngryAmish]

17. I was in court once

A kid came in with a big t-shirt with a big mary-jane leaf on it. The judge was incredulous.

But it was only the second worst t-shirt I have ever seen in court.

[lectrobyte]

24. When pot leaf T-shirts are outlawed, only outlaws will have them...

Well yeah, I wouldn't wear my working-in-the-yard blue jeans to court either, but they shouldn't be illegal. At least until the seams split a little more anyway. Speaking of funny stuff in court, there was a case not long ago here in NC where someone showed up way wasted for their trial.

[Lars39]

25. OK, what was the worst t-shirt you've ever seen in court?

[AngryAmish]

28. A custom silk screen job

It was worn by a woman. The scene depicted was a woman receiving oral sex from a man, shown from the angle behind the man so the naughty bits were covered.

The caption was......

"The REAL Taste of Chicago"

No wonder that dumbass was getting evicted.

[Lars39]

31. *shaking head* I had to ask.

[rinsd]

19. I thought water pipes were legal in PA?

At least that's where we used to get them when I lived in NJ :evilgrin:

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

30. One of the Federal AG appointees convicted Tommy Chong in PA

Actor Tommy Chong gets nine months for selling pot pipes

Friday, September 12, 2003

By Torsten Ove, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

After describing himself as a former marijuana user who beat drugs by learning to dance to salsa, 65-year-old actor Tommy Chong told a federal judge yesterday that he's now a role model for young people in Los Angeles and wants to help them stay off drugs.

He and his lawyers were hoping for a community service sentence as punishment for distributing thousands of bongs and marijuana pipes online through his California company, Nice Dreams Enterprises.

But Chong, famous for such movies as "Up in Smoke" with longtime partner Cheech Marin, is going to prison instead.


U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, who appeared in court for the hearing yesterday, said the sentence was significant because it tells the public that "there are consequences for violating the law, even if the violator is a well-known entertainer like Thomas Chong."

http://www.post-gazette.com/localnews/20030912chong0912p5.asp

[rinsd]

41. Those were fed charges though, these seems to be state.

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

42. Hmmm, good point....I missed that.

:spank: My bad.

[rinsd]

43. No shame....you brought up a different but important point

That Chong's prosecution was as much about making an example of someone famous as it was about "enforcing" the law.

[KamaAina]

35. What would happen if Cindy wore one of those?

She'd probably get a first-class one-way ticket on the Gitmo Express...

[High Plains]

36. Convincing evidence that America has too many cops.

[SofaKingLiberal]

38. They hate us for our freedoms n/t

[stepnw1f]

39. They Are Building Feul for Rebellion

Another reason for adolescents to smoke up. They are just throwing more logs onto the metaphorical fire.