Commentary: Healthy living, Put this in your pipe and smoke it

The recent arrival of two tobacco shops in Scotts Valley has caused concern for some residents, particularly parents of young and impressionable students. Some of the recent phone calls and e-mails I have received noted the close proximity of one smoke shop to our local middle school, as well as concern over the pipes, bongs and related paraphernalia often associated more with the drug culture than tobacco use. The smoke shop near the middle school offers ice cream snacks, which one parent likened to an attractive enticement for curious students.
City Councilman Randy Johnson, City Attorney Kirsten Powell and I met with middle school Principal Mary Lonhart and Vice Principal Tracy Basso to discuss these growing concerns. After our meeting, we visited the smoke shop in question. The shop sign outside reads, “Tobacco,” but inside we discovered pipes, bongs and offensive T-shirts glorifying sex, drugs and alcohol. Johnson’s opinion was that the shop had all the trappings of a “head shop” under the guise of tobacco sales.
A few folks have questioned why the police department opposed the establishment of a medical marijuana dispensary but did not oppose tobacco shops. Unfortunately, tobacco shops are retail establishments and, as such, fall under the “permitted uses” section of the city’s municipal code. Despite my concerns about the deleterious health consequences of tobacco products, the smoke shop’s unfortunate location and questionable paraphernalia, my only real recourse is to acknowledge the concerns, hold the smoke shops accountable and educate the public.
Section 308 of the California Penal Code clearly states that every person who furnishes tobacco or its paraphernalia to another person under the age of 18 years old has committed a misdemeanor. Additionally, it is unlawful for a minor to possess tobacco and related paraphernalia. Minors in possession of tobacco and related paraphernalia risk a citation leading to a fine or community service work.
The Scotts Valley Police Department has always promoted healthy, drug-free living over the destructiveness of drugs and alcohol. Every October, we celebrate Red Ribbon Week to promote drug-free lifestyles, and we teach Drug Abuse Resistance Education in our schools. We do these things to counter the empty voices who lure promising lives down the low road to self-medication, no ambition and shattered dreams.
Talk to your kids. Educate them about tobacco laws and the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse. We owe it to our youth to teach them about the ultimate high of personal accomplishment and healthy living. It takes more character to do hard things and achieve, but the rewards eclipse a rudderless life of drug addiction.
John Weiss has been with the Scotts Valley Police Department since 1990. He became chief in 2006.