Paraphernalia Sites Take Hit in Fed Crackdown
Dozens of dot-com entrepreneurs saw their businesses go up in smoke Monday after they were charged with selling water pipes and other drug paraphernalia on the Internet.
In all, the Justice Department nabbed 55 online merchants -- including several in California -- in connection with Operation Pipe Dreams.
“With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has exploded,” Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft said. “The drug paraphernalia business is now accessible in anyone’s home with a computer and Internet access.”
It may be one of the few kinds of e-commerce ventures that actually make money. Mary Beth Buchanan, the U.S. attorney for western Pennsylvania, said the market for drug paraphernalia may be worth $1 billion a year.
Among those investigated was actor Tommy Chong, whose Gardena-based business manufactures water pipes that turned up for sale on some of the sites.
Chong, best known as half of the counterculture comedy duo Cheech and Chong, was not indicted. The star of the 1978 hit “Up in Smoke” could not be reached for comment.
One of those indicted was Ara Melkizian of North Hollywood, who allegedly operated Omnilounge.com. That site offers several Chong Glass pipes, including “El Fuego” for $114 and “Luscious” for $200. The site also offers rolling papers, “Herb Grinders” and hookahs, which are common throughout the Middle East.
There was no answer Monday at the telephone number listed on the site.
Also charged was Ryan Vaughan Struble of Diamond Bar, who allegedly runs Headcase.com. His site sells a $16.99 “Superstealth Hemp Hat,” which features a “secret pocket.” Struble could not be reached.
The Drug Enforcement Administration led the probe that prompted the seizure of “thousands and thousands of tons” of illegal products, Buchanan said.
The defendants have been charged with conspiring and offering to sell drug paraphernalia, both felonies. Under federal statutes, each charge can bring three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Water pipes are still widely available in shops where hippies once gathered and tourists visit.
“The pipes we sell are for tobacco use,” said David Medrano, owner of Smoke Signals on the beach in Venice.
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Bloomberg News was used in compiling this report.
