Bongs bamboozle Justice Ministry

Ha'ertz, June 27
By Yuval Yoaz

The State Prosecutor's Office stood perplexed and at a loss during the trial of R.M., accused about three years ago of possessing devices used to commit drug offenses. R.M. was caught with a "bong," which is used for smoking drugs, but since it was a new bong and contained no residue of drugs, the prosecution had difficulty convincing the judge it was a device intended for use with drugs.

"It's just a vase," claimed the defense attorney, and the judge ruled that since there was no proof that the accused did not intend to use the device for ornamental purposes, the court had no option but to dismiss the charges.

Yesterday the Justice Ministry initiated an attempt to correct this situation. A "memorandum for an amendment to the dangerous drugs ordinances," distributed yesterday by the ministry's legislation department, is actually a proposal for a "Bong Law."

In effect, the law reduces the penalty for possession of "devices used for preparing a dangerous drug or its consumption," from 20 years in prison (when the devices are not for personal use) to five years. This is because 20 years is excessive, considering that possession of such devices is "secondary" to the real drug offenses - consumption, possession, dealing and pushing drugs.

Still, the drafters of the bill had difficulty defining a bong. In the wording of the law itself the Justice Ministry refrained from an exact definition, writing only "a smoking device called a bong."

"The bong is a smoking device used mainly for smoking dangerous drugs," state the explanatory notes to the proposal. "The term bong is well known in street jargon; it has been suggested not to define the term beyond classifying it as a smoking device, as it is a device that can assume or divest itself of its form in order to fulfill its function - the smoking of dangerous drugs. For this reason there is also no point in defining it graphically, as one detail or another of its design can easily be altered in an effort to outwit the law."

In this issue Israeli lawmakers seek to follow in the footsteps of their American counterparts, who also refrained from an exact definition in their federal criminal laws, and made do with the term "bong." Still, there is one publication that does contain a description of this device, the "Cops and Robbers Lexicon," published eight years ago, which was used by the Justice Ministry in drafting the bill.

"It is a kind of hookah, a large pipe," explains the edifying lexicon. "In the past, drug users were forced to improvise bongs from small shampoo bottles into which they inserted rubber hoses, and to conceal them from the police. Now, however, there is no need for this - stores, kiosks and snack stands openly sell nicely designed bongs. Bongs are available in all shapes and sizes, and the police do not prevent their sale."

Not everyone agrees that the planned legislation will help. "Devices for smoking drugs are defined according to what is known as the `use test,'" explains retired Judge Shlomo Shoham, who up until a few years ago gave a course in drugs and the law at Tel Aviv University. "A device is intended for using drugs if the police catch you using it for smoking drugs. Otherwise, you can claim it is just an innocent cola bottle. So are they going to forbid me from bringing cola bottles to Israel?

"Apart from that," continued Shoham, "criminal law has until now failed miserably at handling soft drugs, and bongs are used mainly for hashish and marijuana. The idea behind the new law is to make it easier for the prosecution and the police, minimizing the evidence they will have to bring against suspects.

"That is similar to if the police have difficulty catching a burglar, they try to catch him for possession of burglary tools. But a judge cannot convict a man for wandering around with a screwdriver at 2 A.M. That is contempt for the justice system. The police are making a joke of the job. Once, when I was a judge, someone caught using drugs personally would go to jail for two months. Today they don't even open a file on him."