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Town bans plastic stems
'Love rose' containers used to smoke cocaine
Photo by Monica Young
The tube (bottom), about 4 inches long, is easily turned into a crack pipe (top).
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Published: June 8, 2009
KERNERSVILLE - The red paper rose on a delicate green plastic stem looks innocuous enough inside of the glass tube.
The "Made in China" sticker makes the tube look like a novelty item that a child may ask for at the checkout or that a fellow may purchase on a whim for his date.
But the item, nicknamed a "love rose" and sold for less than $1 at convenience stores, is most frequently purchased and transformed into a piece of drug paraphernalia.
Kernersville Police Chief Neal Stockton, Mayor Dawn Morgan and other town officials met last week with Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School Superintendent Don Martin at Southeast Middle School to sign a town ordinance prohibiting the drug stems.
Drug users and peddlers buy the tubes, which measure 4 inches long, to entice young teens to enter the world of drug use. After removing the rose, a snippet of a copper scouring pad is placed at one end of the tube; and an instant crack-cocaine pipe is created.
"The problem is that an innocent kid could have one of these tubes and not know. We're finding that parents are not aware of the stigma attached to these tubes," Stockton said.
The new ordinance empowers Kernersville-area school resource officers, all of whom fall under the local police department's jurisdiction, to be vigilant about drug paraphernalia. The ordinance makes the purchase or possession of these items intended for drug use a violation of town law.
"Kernersville is serious about fighting drug use. We want to join hands with the schools and the community," Morgan said.
So far, Kernersville SROs have not found glass tubes in their schools, and the police want to maintain that record, Stockton said. The tubes have been spotted in the community and in the possession of teenagers, he said.
Stockton noted that the novelty and size of the tube appeals more to an impressionable teen than if a drug dealer approached a potential client with a syringe and needle.
Southeast Middle School was selected as the site to sign in legislation because of its 90.9 percent sign-up rate for the Kernersville-centric "It's My Call" anti-drug campaign.
Southeast Principal Debbie Blanton-Warren suggested that SROs include drug-paraphernalia training for teachers so that staff and teachers recognize novelty items signify drug usage.
"We could add banning these to our Code of Conduct and extend to every school in the county," Martin said, noting that he had seen these tubes for sale at local convenience stores.
Stockton said that several Kernersville area convenience stores have stopped selling the tubes as word spread about the ordinance, which was passed Tuesday night by the board of aldermen.
"This ordinance gives our officers the authority to confiscate the tubes and prevent our kids from becoming victims from something that may look fashionable,'' Stockton said. "It takes just one hit of crack cocaine for the brain to form a chemical connection and desire more."
Currently, Greensboro and Charlotte have penalties for selling the glass vials for drug-related purposes. In March, N.C. House Bill 722 was submitted as the "Paraphernalia Control Act" to regulate devices such as glass tubes meant for drug usage; the bill is before the state legislature.
Winston-Salem's city council considered action in 2006, but decided against it, with police officials saying that the Greensboro law, approved in 2005, had not resulted in any enforcement actions. Instead, Winston-Salem police have fought against the sale of drug paraphernalia by writing letters to store owners, warning them that they could face charges if they continue to sell such products.
■ Monica Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com.
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