Is that a Rose in Your Crack Pipe

We missed it last week when BostonNOW published a story about a city ordinance proposed by City Councilor Chuck Turner to outlaw the sale of crack pipes in convenience stores. Yeah, that's right, prohibit the sale of crack pipes. Massachusetts already has pretty strong laws against the sale of drug paraphernalia. The restrictions force prices up in those Boston area stores that do stock those odd looking tobacco delivery devices, and local college students to grab their bongs outside of the city. The crack pipes aren't sold by head shops, they're available in your local Store 24's and 7-Elevens.

The recent proposal from Chuck Turner is supported by Michael Flaherty and Felix Arroyo would ban the sale of the pipes that are "disguised" by their contents. A tiny fake rose is contained inside. We finally know what Bobby Brown got Whitney any time he needed to apologize – and it only cost him 99 cents. Or maybe $1.04, the state will still charge you tax. We can't help but connect the dots between the proposed ordinance and the first local public reporting we'd seen about the convenience store crack pipe when Emily Sweeny blogged about them on FlipSide (and was later featured in the Sidekick's blog roundup). Could it be that a somewhat off handed commentary in the Boston Globe has sparked city officials to take action? True or not the ordinance would impose a $300 fine on the sale and possession of the convenience store crack pipe, er, rosebud. Similar laws have been taking effect from San Fran to St. Louis since 2001.