Local Smoke Shops in Danger of Losing Their Pipe Dream

By Paul Hankel
Contributing Writer

Citing a recent rash of complaints and an outcry of concern from Moorhead residents, the Moorhead City Council, headed up by Mayor Mark Voxland, is gearing up to pass a city ordinance that would ban the sale of most smoking accessories being sold by Moorhead smoke shops.

The ordinance was introduced at the monthly City Council meeting on July 25. City Council members voted 7 to 1 to pass the first reading of the ordinance. The result will be a second reading at the City Council meeting in August. At that time, if the ordinance is passed, the city could begin prosecuting offenders as soon as 30 days after the date of the meeting.

The new ban would make it a petty misdemeanor for anyone in the city of Moorhead to possess any form of paraphernalia. If caught, the person would be cited with a fine of “no more than $300,” said Police Chief David Ebinger. The punishment would be larger for anyone, such as local smoke shops, that was caught selling or distributing paraphernalia. The fine would increase to up to $1,000 and up to 30 days in jail.

One of the main concerns for Ebinger and the city is that the smoking accessories such as pipes, bongs, vaporizers, and scales are not being used to smoke tobacco as they are advertised to do so. “These devices are not being used for their intended purpose,” said Ebinger. “Most people know that they are being used to ingest marijuana and other drugs. Tobacco sales are nonexistent.”

Supporters of the smoke shops were quick to respond to this comment. “Are we going to ban lighters because they could be used to ingest illegal substances?” asked a Moorhead citizen. “These businesses sell a legal product. It’s up to the consumer to decide what they want [to] use the product for.”

City officials are also concerned about the number of smoke shops that are now operating in the city of Moorhead. “We have five smoke shops on Main Ave ... one of these shops advertises using neon lights,” stated Council Member Mark Altenburg. These shops include Discontent, two Mellow Moods locations, Mother’s Records, and Pyromaniacs.

The newest shop, Pyromaniacs, has recently been in the news as the result of a DEA and local police raid that took place on Wednesday, July 13. The result of the raid was the seizure of over 2,000 bags of herbal incense that had been banned by the state of Minnesota less than two weeks prior. The city has yet to bring formal charges against the shop and its owners.

Support for local smoke shops was in abundance at the council meeting. Tom Tepley, owner of Discontent, was in attendance and was very adamant in his resolve to fight the ordinance. “I have been in business here (Moorhead) for 35 years. I follow all city ordinances and have not once been prosecuted.” Tepley, along with his attorney, vowed to fight the ordinance. They cited the fact that Discontent has been very cooperative with city officials, including the removal of items that were deemed dangerous such as hidden pipes and controversial herbal incenses like K2. Tepley also pointed out that Discontent pays roughly $125,000 in sales tax per year and that he pays out over $9,000 every month in wages. Supporters claim that not only do these smoke shops provide much needed sales tax revenue for the state and city, but they also provide employment. The city disagrees, despite the fact that these smoke shops appear to be one of the only forms of business that can continue to thrive in a premiere spot in downtown Moorhead. “I know these guys,” said one customer who asked not to be named. “They pay all their taxes, follow all the rules, and now they are being betrayed by the same city council that gave them their smoking licenses to begin with.”

Ebinger was greeted with an outburst of laughter from supporters of the smoke shops when he stated, “We’re not trying to eliminate anybody’s business,” denoting the fact that, if passed, this ordinance will likely put many, if not all, of the local smoke shops out of business.

City Council members seemed overwhelmingly in favor of supporting the ordinance; however, they first want to see some improvements made before its second reading in August. These improvements include the language of the ordinance, what exactly the ordinance encompasses, and questions in regards to the burden of proof for someone caught in possession of smoking paraphernalia. Ebinger and Assistant City Attorney Matt Greenley, who both introduced the ordinance, will be working with other law enforcement officials from neighboring cities who have passed similar laws.

One of the main concerns regarding the ordinance among city officials, namely Council Member Luther Stueland, is that once it is implemented, residents will be able to simply go elsewhere for their smoking accessories, such as online websites. Stueland also stated that there would almost certainly be a black market created for paraphernalia, similar to the black market for drugs. This seems to be the general consensus among supporters of the smoke shops as well.

“Yeah, I’ll just buy my supplies online or order from a magazine then,” said one supporter when asked. “If the city doesn’t want my tax money, then fine, I’ll give it to some out-of-state business. Doesn’t really matter to me. It’s kinda ironic though, considering we just got out of a government shutdown based on a budget deficiency. I’m not sure that any government officials should be picky about where their revenue streams come from at this point.”

The second reading of the ordinance will tentatively take place at the Aug. 8 City Council meeting. Following the reading will likely be a vote to approve or deny the ordinance. If the ordinance is approved by a majority vote, City Council members will then vote to approve the title and summary, followed by publication in the local newspaper as early as Aug. 22. Local smoke shop owners would then have 30 days from the date of the public notice to vacate all smoking accessories listed in the bill from their shops as early as Sept. 22, 2011.

According to a city clerk, during that time Ebinger stated that he would be making personal visits to the shops to discuss any questions that shops owners, managers, and employees may have, as well as to ensure levels of compliance.

With a majority of the City Council members voting to support the ordinance, it looks likely that Moorhead will vote to pass it following the second reading. Barring a change of heart from Council members and a stronger showing of support from pro-smoke shop residents, it seems imminent that the ordinance will pass. “I know you’re going to pass it. I know that,” Tom Tepley stated to the Council members. “My questions is why? Why now?”

Moorhead residents for or against the ban are encouraged to attend the August City Council meeting and voice their opinions regarding the issue. The meetings take place at 500 Center Ave., on the first floor of City Hall, and begin at 5:30pm. The City of Moorhead can also be contacted by letter at PO Box 779 Moorhead, MN 56561 or by email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

(The date of the City Council meeting is tentative and subject to change, as stated by the city clerk when contacted. Any change of dates would result in differing dates of implementation of the ordinance and the proposed ban on paraphernalia sales. For more information about dates and times of Moorhead City Council Meetings, please contact the city of Moorhead at (218) 299-5166.)

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