Drug and alcohol addiction and abuse. Recognition. Prevention. Treatment
20/20 Parenting. Recognizing and mitigating early vulnerabilities and risk factors.
Kerry’s Journal
Reflections, Experiences, Shared Vision
Christmas, 2005
I made an upsetting discovery just before Christmas – my corner store, only half a block away is selling a large array of drug paraphernalia! I could hardly believe my eyes. How many times had I been there without noticing them I don’t know.
If it hadn’t been for a youth peering down into their two-shelved well stocked display case I might not have notice even then. The reason? The “tobacco” pipes (marihuana pipes) and glass bongs (hookahs) are multi colored things... they look like ornaments!
The fellow manning the till was a young employee who said to my protest “It’s not against the law to sell them. And we only sell them to people 19 and up”. Small consolation I say. I wasn’t born yesterday and I remember, as a teen, how adults would buy cigarettes for peers who were under age.
The Smaller one is a pipe given to me by a friend who found it on her doorstep... unsure of who it belonged to.
I left disgusted and called a parent I know who is up on the laws. The loophole: if a pipe can be used for a legal drug (tobacco) they have to allow them to sell it. While it is a Federal Offense to sell drug paraphernalia under the Criminal Code, (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46) in order for police and the Crown to prosecute they must establish, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the item was sold primarily for illicit drug use!
After Christmas I did a little sniffing around and found two more stores not far down my road also selling these items, though to a lesser degree. It’s scary that we allow this while prohibiting and limiting the precursors for the manufacturing of crystal meth. Perhaps when a greater percentage of marihuana is testing meth-laced, reflected in an even higher crime rate due to meth addiction, this discrepancy will be dealt with. Sad that it seems to have to come to that.
In the meantime, if you discover that your corner grocer is selling drug paraphernalia, you might talk to them about it. It can’t hurt to let them know that you don’t approve. I don’t advise you to do this in front of their customers or to cause a scene. And I don't recommend a personal boycott, though it might need to be reserved for a last resort.
However, if they are unresponsive and you really want to help them make a change, if only to put them out of the sight of young children to prevent normalization, I have a rather unique idea...
What if you made the commitment to them to buy MORE goods from them if they will stop carrying these harmful products? ...and you prove your commitment to them with follow through for a period of say two or three months before expecting a change from them. Of course you will need to keep to this commitment for the long term if they do comply.
I know the small convenience stores in my area struggle to survive for most of the year and these sales help to keep them in business. So who knows...it is a kinder way of handling it. And I suspect they would welcome the opportunity to clear their own conscious by not selling what they very well know are products used for marihuana and other drugs most likely. Whether this reverse boycott would really work or not, if enough of your neighbors would do the same, is another matter. It would be a great way to behave like the caring "village" our kids need.
Kerry Jackson
