Columbia moves to ban drug paraphernalia in the city
Water pipes, bongs, roach clips and a range of other products associated with drug use would be penalized in Columbia under a new ordinance being considered by City Council.
“City Council specifically finds that use of illegal drugs is ravaging this region and the number of crimes accompanied by illegal drug use is increasing,” reads a draft ordinance considered by City Council on Tuesday.
City Council approved the ordinance on first reading Tuesday but will send the draft back to the council’s public safety committee before the full City Council takes a final vote.
“It’s a pretty extensive ordinance change,” said Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, adding that the committee will go through the ordinance one more time “to make sure we’re not doing anything that causes some other issues instead of solving some issues.”
The ordinance targets items intended for the use of controlled substances. Marijuana, cocaine and hashish are specifically mentioned in the draft, but the new law would apply to equipment associated with any controlled substance.
Paraphernalia is defined in the ordinance as “all equipment, products and materials of any kind which are used, intended for use or designed for use” to process or use controlled substances. That means anything used to grow, produce, package, process or consume controlled substances would be illegal in Columbia.
Those items include scales that would be used to weigh material, testing equipment, containers used for controlled substances and more.
The law would make it illegal to posses or distribute drug paraphernalia.
Rickenmann told The State that the proposed changes to the city’s ordinance are not intended to ban the sale of any devices that are not specifically tied to the use of illegal, controlled substances.
Rickenmann said the intent of the law would not be to penalize the sale of any objects on their own, without an explicit connection to a controlled subject.
The draft ordinance says that factors that would be used in determining whether an object is illegal drug paraphernalia include how physically close the object is to a controlled substance; any residue of a controlled substance on the object; whether the owner of the object has previously been convicted of breaking a law related to controlled substances; the manner in which an object is displayed for sale; whether the owner is a legitimate supplier of similar, legal objects, such as tobacco products; and whether the object has legitimate, legal uses, among other factors.
Rickenmann also noted that the city’s draft ordinance addresses objects that are already illegal under state law. The city’s law would add penalties of up to $500 or imprisoned up to 30 days, according to the draft ordinance.
It’s unclear how widely the new law would be applied. One vape shop owner told The State they hadn’t heard about the proposed ordinance but worried it would impact their business.
Vape and tobacco stores often carry products such as glass pipes and water pipes. Those products can be used for tobacco, but they can also be associated with marijuana use. Marijuana is a controlled substance under federal law.
The city’s proposed ordinance includes a clause that would allow enforcers some latitude in determining whether something is drug paraphernalia.
A court or other authority should consider statements by the owners of the products regarding their use, the proximity of the products to controlled substances, evidence about the intended use of a product, the manner in which a product is displayed for sale, and the existence and scope of legitimate uses for the product in the community are among the criteria that can be used to determine whether an item would violate the city’s new law.
This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 5:30 AM.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to include additional context about the proposed drug paraphernalia ordinance provided by Mayor Daniel Rickenmann, including that the mayor says the law is not intended to prevent the sale of objects that are not explicitly tied to an illegal, controlled substance.
