Broward County Commission Drops the Bong-Hammer on Youngsters

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​Thanks to the Broward County Commission, youngsters under the age of 18 now have to get permission from Mom or Dad to buy a "smoking device."

All hope is not lost for the young potheads of Broward -- the commission didn't ban kids from buying apples.

The ordinance, sponsored by Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, may be the first of its kind imposed by a Florida county, according to Kimberly Maroe, the commission's public information officer.

Jacobs ended up showing some of the smoking devices people can buy to the rest of the commission, which included a few disguised as pens, highlighters, or tubes of lipstick.

"People under eighteen can't buy cigarettes, but they can buy items to smoke them in and through a legal loophole there's nothing illegal about it," Jacobs says in a statement. "The sales of 'deceptively designed' smoking devices to minors are also banned under the ordinance."

Thanks to the internet and cannabis magazines, we're sure kids are well aware there are other ways to smoke weed aside from glass pipes in a head shop, and as this review from Cannabis Culture goes to show, there are still "loopholes" you can find in the fruits and vegetables aisle of the grocery store.

In case you're wondering what the actual definition of "smoking device" is, here's what Florida Statutes have to say about that:

• Metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic smoking pipes, with or without screens, permanent screens, or punctured metal bowls
• Water pipes
• Carburetion tubes and devices
• Chamber pipes
• Carburetor pipes
• Electric pipes
• Air-driven pipes
• Chillums
• Bongs
• Ice pipes or chillers

Stores that sell the "devices" to kids without parental consent are subject to a $250 penalty for the first violation and $500 for violations after that.

According to Kayla Olsen, director of the county budget office, they may not be counting on too many stores to break this ordinance.

"Few violations are expected, therefore, the fiscal impact is anticipated to be minimal," Olsen writes in a memo to the commissioners.

The ordinance passed through the commission unanimously, and it also requires that shops selling things to smoke out of post a sign notifying people of the ordinance.

All in all, the commissioners say it's for the kids.

"Our children are our future," Commissioner Dale Holness says. "As we do things to protect them, we build a better life for them and for us. The more productive they are, the better off we all will be."

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Follow The Pulp on Facebook and on Twitter: @ThePulpBPB. Follow Matthew Hendley on Facebook and on Twitter: @MatthewHendley.

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