CACC wants bong sales to end

The seven smoke shops that are located on El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue have members of the College Area Community Council voicing the need for heavier involvement of city officials in order to stop those businesses from selling drug paraphernalia. Section 11364.7 of the California Health and Safety Code declares the selling of any drug paraphernalia as illegal and Section 11014.5 defines exactly what qualifies as drug paraphernalia. But the College Area has yet to see strict enforcement of these laws as businesses in the area continue to publicly display bongs and a selection of glass pipes. While the sale of paraphernalia for the usage of methamphetamine or crack cocaine has slowed significantly because of a round of "cease and desist" letters sent out last year by City Attorney Mike Aguirre, other drug paraphernalia remain for sale in smoke shops throughout College Area. This issue was brought to the CACC's attention by Lisa Silverman, a member of the Mid-City Community Action Network, a group that looks at issues in the environment that affect drug use among the teenage population. While Silverman is not a resident of the College Area, she is promoting direct efforts to enforce state law. The College Area has been targeted because there are so many shops in the area for the college-aged population. Pacific Beach, a community with a similar population, is home to a significant number of smoke shops as well. "By reducing the easy access to drug paraphernalia we can help to eliminate drug use in the young adult population," Silverman said. According to CACC President Doug Case, the board deals with "quality of life issues in the College Area." He says this is definitely a quality of life issue for the community. "I don't think it's appropriate to have stores in the College Area," Case said about the existence of the smoke shops. The CACC's April newsletter urges anyone who wants to become involved in the cause to contact either San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders or Councilmember Jim Madaffer. However, Don Mullen, Madaffer's chief of policy, believes that it's more important to call the police department or the city attorney if someone knows the law has been broken. "It's great for people to call if their government is not doing something they want them to do," Mullen said, "but the councilmember has already done his part by passing the law." Daniel Osztreicher, a San Diego State student and CACC board member, believes the desire for enforcement of the law may have come about for reasons other than curbing drug use in the young adult population. "They are trying to improve the image of El Cajon Boulevard," Osztreicher said. Putting smoke shops out of business could have a positive effect on the aesthetics of the notorious street that seems to be a magnet for illegal activity. Consequences for breaking the California Health and Safety Code range from police confiscation of the paraphernalia to a revocation of the owner's business license.

Comments

Be the first to comment on this article!

Add comment


I am not posting spam. I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Verify you are human:

Enter the characters in the image above: