Heroin being cooked in a can.

Drug paraphernalia is defined by the American Federal Drug Enforcement Administration as any equipment, product, or material that is modified for making, using, or concealing illegal drugs such as cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine. The Drug Enforcement Administration ( DEA) is a United States Department of Justice Law enforcement agency tasked with combating drug smuggling and The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global Black market consisting of the cultivation manufacture distribution and sale of illegal Drugs Cocaine ( benzoylmethyl ecgonine) is a Crystalline Tropane Alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the Coca plant Heroin ( INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from Morphine, a derivative Cannabis, also known as marijuana or marihuana, or ganja (from Hindi / Sanskrit: गांजा gānjā hemp) is a Drug paraphernalia generally falls into two categories:

• User-specific products
• Dealer-specific products

User-specific products are marketed to drug users to assist them in taking or concealing illegal drugs. These products include certain pipes, smoking masks, bongs, cocaine freebase kits, syringes, marijuana grow kits, roach clips, and items such as hollowed out cosmetic cases or fake pagers used to conceal illegal drugs. See also Bong (disambiguation A bong, also commonly known as a water pipe, is a smoking device generally used to smoke cannabis, Tobacco Cocaine ( benzoylmethyl ecgonine) is a Crystalline Tropane Alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the Coca plant A syringe is a simple piston Pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube A roach clip is a Clip, or other form of holder which is employed to hold onto the stub of a Cigarette, usually a joint, that in this context A compact is a small typically round powder case usually containing two or all of the following a Mirror, pressed powder, and a Powder puff. A pager (sometimes called a beeper) is a simple personal Telecommunications device for short messages

Dealer-specific products are used by drug traffickers for preparing illegal drugs for distribution at the street level. Items such as scales, vials, and baggies fall into this category. A weighing scale (usually just "scale" in common usage except in Australian English where "scales" is more common is a Measuring instrument for A vial (also phial) is a relatively small Glass vessel or Bottle, especially used to store Medication as liquids powders or in other forms like Zipper storage bags, were patented by Robert W Vergobbi on May 18, 1954. Drug paraphernalia does not include any items traditionally used with tobacco, like pipes and rolling papers. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. Rolling papers are small sheets rolls or leaves of Paper which are sold for rolling one's own Cigarettes ^[1]

While most of the items listed above have little to no legal use to individuals, drug paraphernalia laws can also apply to items that have far more legitimate use than use for illegal drugs. Small mirrors, lighters, rolled up currency, razor blades, credit cards, and spoons have all been used to prosecute people under paraphernalia laws, whether or not they contain residue of illegal drugs. ^[2] While United States federal statute defines paraphernalia with the concept of primary use, in practice this can be interpreted to be what the individual was currently primarily using the item for, allowing for common items to be treated as paraphernalia only in cases where more clear evidence allows such determination of primary use.

Sales

With the rise of the drug culture in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, the country began to see the appearance of head shops which were stores that sold a wide range of drug paraphernalia. head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia related to consumption of cannabis, other recreational drugs and New Age herbs as well While some of the paraphernalia was crude and home-made, much was being commercially manufactured to cater to a fast-growing market. Enterprising individuals even sold items openly in the street, until anti-paraphernalia laws in the 1980s eventually ended such sales. Today, law enforcement faces another challenge. With the advent of the Internet, drug paraphernalia sellers have greatly expanded their sales to a worldwide market. For example, in a recent law enforcement effort, Operation Pipe Dreams, the 18 companies targeted accounted for more than a quarter of a billion dollars in retail drug paraphernalia sales annually. Typically, such businesses operate retail stores as well as websites posing as retailers of legitimate tobacco accessories when in reality the products are intended for illegal drug use.

Legal controls

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia as defined. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Controlled Substances Act ( CSA) was enacted into law by the Congress of the United States as Title II of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control There is no Federal law regarding simple possession of drug paraphernalia, but such possession is usually illegal under State law. The law gives specific guidance on determining what constitutes drug paraphernalia. Many states have also enacted their own laws prohibiting drug paraphernalia. Government crackdowns have resulted in the arrest of sellers of recreational drug paraphernalia, such as actor Tommy Chong, who spent time in prison in 2003 for the sale of glass pipes. Thomas "Tommy" B Kin Chong (born May 24 1938 is a Canadian Comedian, Actor and Musician who is well-known for his stereotypical

In the United Kingdom the sale of such Drug Parapernalia is not prohibited by law at present. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It is common to find at least one head shop in an average sized town selling vaporizers, water-bongs, one-hitters, stash cans, herb-grinders etc. head shop is a retail outlet specializing in paraphernalia related to consumption of cannabis, other recreational drugs and New Age herbs as well Sale is also not illegal in Canada, where not only are these items available in speciality stores such as head shops, but also at local convenience stores. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page A convenience store is a small store or shop. They are often located alongside busy roads or at gas/petrol stations. ^[3]

References

• US Drug Enforcement Agency. Drug Paraphernalia: Tools of the Illegal Drug Trade.. 2006.

See also

• Philadelphia blunt ban