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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US: Chain agrees not to sell water pipes
Christine Schiavo Philadelphia Inquirer
Monday 26 Jun 2006 A case against Spencer Gifts in Oxford Valley Mall has led to a halt at 600 stores nationwide. When a Bucks County police department took a chain store to court for selling water pipes in malls, it started a chain reaction that ended the sales of such merchandise in more than 600 stores nationwide. In an agreement signed last week in Bucks County Court, Spencer Gifts Inc. said it would stop selling tall water pipes, also known as hookahs, in all of its stores, said Daniel M. Keane, chief Bucks County deputy district attorney, who helped broker the deal. In exchange, Judge Kenneth G. Biehn dismissed charges against Steven Silverstein, 46, president of Spencer Gifts Inc., and Wayne Oles, 53, manager of the chain's Oxford Valley Mall store. Middletown Township police charged the men in February with delivery of or possession with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia and criminal conspiracy after store clerks gave an undercover officer tips on how to smoke marijuana from the pipes. Hookahs are used to smoke tobacco and other substances in some parts of the world. Executives at Spencer Gifts headquarters in Egg Harbor Township, N.J., did not return calls for comment. Oles referred questions to his attorney, who could not be reached for comment. Spencer, a speciality gift shop that is prominent in malls, had been under growing pressure to discontinue sales of hookahs and other items. In January, an employee and a manager at a Spencer store in Hanover, Mass., were charged after allegedly providing marijuana-smoking instructions with a hookah sale. In Massachusetts and Michigan, parents have protested at Spencer sites that sell lollipops that are made with hemp but that contain no intoxicants. At the Neshaminy Mall in Bensalem, the store voluntarily pulled the pipes off shelves after a visit from police last year. A clerk at a Spencer shop in Jersey City said that store had stopped selling hookahs in April. "We want the message to these stores to be that it's more trouble to be involved in selling these items than it is worth," Keane said. To amplify that message, Keane inserted a condition in the agreement that requires Spencer to donate $2,000 to each of three Bucks County charities: Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the Network of Victim Assistance, and A Woman's Place, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. Keane said he chose charities that deal with the effects of drug and alcohol abuse. He said Silverstein handed him a check for the full amount at Thursday's hearing. "They were cooperative with us from the day we served the search warrants," he said. "We were trying to find a way to resolve this so that the public's interest would be served." Middletown Detective Daniel Baranoski went under cover at the Oxford Valley Mall store last year after hearing complaints from parents. Baranoski said in an interview in February that although it may be legal to use a hookah for tobacco, Spencer was marketing the pipe for marijuana use. He said the pipes were displayed with thousands of T-shirts, keychains, Frisbees and other items depicting marijuana plants. Keane said Spencer had educated store clerks about the legal use of hookahs, but that some clerks had ignored those instructions and promoted the pipes for marijuana smoking. Keane said Silverstein did not mention how much money Spencer would lose in the discontinued sales. "I think in the end, Spencer realized it was probably in everybody's best interest if it didn't sell these items," he said. Contact staff writer Christine Schiavo at 215-348-0337 or cschiavo@phillynews.com. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/counties/chester_county/14901911.htm http://www.ccguide.org.uk/
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