Thread: Agents Seize 316,000 Bongs Disguised as Christmas Ornaments

In the smoke shops, they call them tobacco pipes.

Dixie

Drug Paraphernalia Seized At Local Smoke Shops - San Diego
News ... Jan 21, 2009 ... EL CAJON, Calif. -- A crackdown on sales of drug paraphernalia at seven East County smoke shops resulted Wednesday in the seizure of about ...
www.10news.com/news/18535076/detail.html - Cached - Similar
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This one is export.

Drug Paraphernalia Seized in North Dakota Outbound ...
(Wednesday, June 03, 2009). contacts for this news release ...
www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news.../ju ... 2009_5.xml - Cached

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by redpony353

Nothing will come of this. Unless the person or people are not licensed to sell these. There is a reason there have been no arrests in this case yet.

They already lost 316,000 bongs. That's a pretty hefty penalty in any country, even if no one ever gets arrested.

They were sent from China. The U.S. can't make arrest there, and China probably won't even envestigate.

They have to be able to prove that the people that they were sent to knew what they were. That's hard to do.

They have to all have been used to smoke drugs as well. So each pipe will have to be tested and found to have illegal drug residue on it. Because according to the law, that is how drug paraphanelia is defined. And if no residue is found, and the person is authorized to sell these items, then no law has been violated. In that case you and I as taxpayers will have to pay for damages to the pipes, or damages caused by the owner of the pipes not having access to the pipes. So the person who was suppose to recieve the pipes wont have to pay, taxpayers will have to pay.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by redpony353

Nothing will come of this. Unless the person or people are not licensed to sell these. There is a reason there have been no arrests in this case yet.

They already lost 316,000 bongs. That's a pretty hefty penalty in any country, even if no one ever gets arrested.

They were sent from China. The U.S. can't make arrest there, and China probably won't even envestigate.

They have to be able to prove that the people that they were sent to knew what they were. That's hard to do.

They wont lose it. They are probably covered in the Exemption clause:

(f) Exemptions
This section shall not apply to -

(1) any person authorized by local, State, or Federal law to manufacture, possess, or distribute such items; or (2) any item that, in the normal lawful course of business, is imported, exported, transported, or sold through the mail or by any other means, and traditionally intended for use with tobacco products, including any pipe, paper, or accessory"

They wouldn't have seized them if they couldn't keep them.

No one ships 316,000 used bongs because no one would buy used bongs.

They violate federal inport laws.

They have been seized and no one will test any of them because none of them have been used.

Would you go to federal court and ask the judge to return 316,000 illegally imported bongs and risk going to prison over it as well as loosing the stuff?

THE END.

[quote="JohnDoe2"]They wouldn't have seized them if they couldn't keep them.

No one ships 316,000 used bongs because no one would buy used bongs.

They violate federal inport laws.

They have been seized and no one will test any of them because none of them have been used.

Would you go to federal court and ask the judge to return 316,000 illegally imported bongs and risk going to prison over it as well as loosing the stuff?

THE END.[/quote

If they have been illegally imported then they would have already arrested the guy. The fact that the pipes are "clean" and "unused" precludes them from being classified as drug paraphanelia. Maybe they seized them because they wanted to find out if there were drugs included in the shipment. But it doesnt look as if there are drugs involved. So there is no paraphanelia classification. They will have to return the property.

You said they would not have seized them if they could not keep them. Interesting. There are many cases where property is seized and no one is ever charged with a crime. This practice is illegal and corrupt. Maybe they will keep the pipes. But why seize them? If they are not going to make an arrest why do it? Are they corrupt? Because if no law was broken, then they have no legal right to seize property. So that would show they have some other motivation....like maybe....selling the property themselves. If any laws were actually broken, they would have made an arrest by now. More evidence of our dysfunctional and corrupt government.

If it was my property would I go to court? Yes I would. If I had not broken any laws. And it appears at this point that no laws were broken. They would have made an arrest by now. So the answer is yes, I would go to court and retrieve my property.

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by Judy

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by Judy

We need to legalize/regulate/tax the illegal drug trade, run it as a legitimate regulated monitored enterprise and re-assign all customs and DEA agents now wasting their time seizing 316,000 colorful Christmas "bongs" to seizing illegal aliens and distributing them back to their home countries, so US citizens can get their jobs back and buy some Christmas presents for their kids in our country.

I agree. It is just so dumb that our borders are being invaded and they are worried about some pipes. Yes those DEA agents could help to protect the borders and fight crime. They are totally trained and most cities are short of cops these days. I am sure the feds could also use them in federal law enforcement....like to fight gangs or whatever. Pipes...omg.

Exactly. If we promoted this right, we could solve 3 birds with 1 stone. Pass the FairTax, (force illegal aliens while here to pay the same taxes as US citizens), legalize/regulate/tax under the FairTax the illegal drug trade (shut down illegal alien controlled drug gangs working for illegal foreign drug cartels and curtail the illegal aliens in our country running drugs drugs for this illegal enterprise by putting them out of business), reassign all LEO presently "looking for marijuana growing in the home" and "bongs" and wasting their time and our money arresting and prosecuting some poor dude for smoking pot or crack to the illegal alien and human smuggling operations, illegal alien labor networks, illegal alien document theft, identity theft, and all the other crimes they're involved with and our money would be much better spent, illegal immigration would dry up like a rain puddle in a desert, Americans would get their jobs back, go home with all their money and all their relatives presently in jail for non-violent drug charges would be set free to rejoin their families and help support them by going back to work.

It' a win-win-win deal. So it's definitely time for simple pragmatic solutions that solve multiple problems with 1 strategy, to improve life, liberty and working conditions for American Workers with 2 policy changes that stop illegal immigration and tax illegal aliens while they're here while denying them all benefits.

Ditto ...all that you said above. Also some of the DEA agents could be assigned to watch pedophiles when they are released. With the extra manpower, situations like the JayCee Dugard tragedy might be avoided.

DEA agents already have investigative and surveillence skills and that could be put to much better use. There is actually a shortage of good law enforcement in some sectors. Their talent is being wasted. And the jails are full of people who need treatment and are not getting it. So in and out they go and their root problems are never solved through being in jail.

If poor working conditions and lack of job security were addressed in this country maybe less people would be on drugs in the first place. It seems to me that in the past when people could build something during their life and could count on their job....there seemed to be much less drug and alcohol addiction.

Now we have a very depressing situation. Low pay, poor working conditions and lack of job security. And many dont have access to healthcare. Depressed wages has something to do with that. If wages had kept up with the cost of living over the years then people would be able to afford healthcare just like they did in the past.

Exactly. Only 2% of the population is addicted to drugs, the same 2% that was addicted in 1913 when they passed the first drug laws. Whether the drugs are legal and as safe as possible or illegal and as unsafe as they can be, there's a certain percentage of our population that has this propensity. It's just who they are and the craving for them will drive them to it whether it's legal or illegal. That's been all we've learned about during the soon to be 100 Year War on Drugs. What we as a society have done to these people is far worse than what any drug did to them. We stole their liberty, their livelihoods, their families and cast them into a trash bin, abandoned them, called them names, threw them out of the house, locked them up, and killed thousands of them in the process. For what purpose again? I ask that question a lot and no one really knows the answer so they blurt out "for their own good". And just how is stealing someone's liberty, livelihood, family, future and often their life in their own good?

The War on Drugs was a well-intentioned program that became a total perversion of anything we can consider decent. It's become both indecent and immoral.

Originally Posted by Judy

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by Judy

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by Judy

We need to legalize/regulate/tax the illegal drug trade, run it as a legitimate regulated monitored enterprise and re-assign all customs and DEA agents now wasting their time seizing 316,000 colorful Christmas "bongs" to seizing illegal aliens and distributing them back to their home countries, so US citizens can get their jobs back and buy some Christmas presents for their kids in our country.

I agree. It is just so dumb that our borders are being invaded and they are worried about some pipes. Yes those DEA agents could help to protect the borders and fight crime. They are totally trained and most cities are short of cops these days. I am sure the feds could also use them in federal law enforcement....like to fight gangs or whatever. Pipes...omg.

Exactly. If we promoted this right, we could solve 3 birds with 1 stone. Pass the FairTax, (force illegal aliens while here to pay the same taxes as US citizens), legalize/regulate/tax under the FairTax the illegal drug trade (shut down illegal alien controlled drug gangs working for illegal foreign drug cartels and curtail the illegal aliens in our country running drugs drugs for this illegal enterprise by putting them out of business), reassign all LEO presently "looking for marijuana growing in the home" and "bongs" and wasting their time and our money arresting and prosecuting some poor dude for smoking pot or crack to the illegal alien and human smuggling operations, illegal alien labor networks, illegal alien document theft, identity theft, and all the other crimes they're involved with and our money would be much better spent, illegal immigration would dry up like a rain puddle in a desert, Americans would get their jobs back, go home with all their money and all their relatives presently in jail for non-violent drug charges would be set free to rejoin their families and help support them by going back to work.

It' a win-win-win deal. So it's definitely time for simple pragmatic solutions that solve multiple problems with 1 strategy, to improve life, liberty and working conditions for American Workers with 2 policy changes that stop illegal immigration and tax illegal aliens while they're here while denying them all benefits.

Ditto ...all that you said above. Also some of the DEA agents could be assigned to watch pedophiles when they are released. With the extra manpower, situations like the JayCee Dugard tragedy might be avoided.

DEA agents already have investigative and surveillence skills and that could be put to much better use. There is actually a shortage of good law enforcement in some sectors. Their talent is being wasted. And the jails are full of people who need treatment and are not getting it. So in and out they go and their root problems are never solved through being in jail.

If poor working conditions and lack of job security were addressed in this country maybe less people would be on drugs in the first place. It seems to me that in the past when people could build something during their life and could count on their job....there seemed to be much less drug and alcohol addiction.

Now we have a very depressing situation. Low pay, poor working conditions and lack of job security. And many dont have access to healthcare. Depressed wages has something to do with that. If wages had kept up with the cost of living over the years then people would be able to afford healthcare just like they did in the past.

Exactly. Only 2% of the population is addicted to drugs, the same 2% that was addicted in 1913 when they passed the first drug laws. Whether the drugs are legal and as safe as possible or illegal and as unsafe as they can be, there's a certain percentage of our population that has this propensity. It's just who they are and the craving for them will drive them to it whether it's legal or illegal. That's been all we've learned about during the soon to be 100 Year War on Drugs. What we as a society have done to these people is far worse than what any drug did to them. We stole their liberty, their livelihoods, their families and cast them into a trash bin, abandoned them, called them names, threw them out of the house, locked them up, and killed thousands of them in the process. For what purpose again? I ask that question a lot and no one really knows the answer so they blurt out "for their own good". And just how is stealing someone's liberty, livelihood, family, future and often their life in their own good?

The War on Drugs was a well-intentioned program that became a total perversion of anything we can consider decent. It's become both indecent and immoral.

".....for their own good...."

That is what really scares me about this country sometimes....about this government to be more specific. They all decide on a mantra and then inflict it on the citizenry. Once they get entrenched in a mantra, they just all follow like robots and no one really examines the progress or effectiveness of that path until it causes so much destruction that it can no longer continue. They dont seem to get it that they are incarcerating ILL PEOPLE. It is wasting money and lives. Would we send someone to jail to be cured of cancer? Um...no. So why do we do it with addicts? IT DOES NOT WORK. I know I am preaching to the choir...lol. But it drives me nuts how they stay on a path that obviously leads nowhere.

Originally Posted by redpony353

".....for their own good...."

That is what really scares me about this country sometimes....about this government to be more specific. They all decide on a mantra and then inflict it on the citizenry. Once they get entrenched in a mantra, they just all follow like robots and no one really examines the progress or effectiveness of that path until it causes so much destruction that it can no longer continue. They dont seem to get it that they are incarcerating ILL PEOPLE. It is wasting money and lives. Would we send someone to jail to be cured of cancer? Um...no. So why do we do it with addicts? IT DOES NOT WORK. I know I am preaching to the choir...lol. But it drives me nuts how they stay on a path that obviously leads nowhere.

I know. It's sad, tragic, dangerous and I'm convinced taking a terrible toll on our society for no valid reason whatsoever.

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