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“THE LETTER OF THE LAW”
January 1, 2012
Volume 30 - Issue 1
30 Years of Continuous Publication
Robert Vaughn is an attorney licensed in all courts of the State of Tennessee, various federal district courts, six United States Courts of Appeals, and before the United States Supreme Court. His emphasis and practice remains in the area of drug paraphernalia. He has litigated and lobbied this issue in 35 states and Washington, D.C. since 1981. He is a member of the NORML Advisory Board. The Newsletter format, in various forms, has been in continuous monthly publication for 30 years.
The Newsletter has been in demand for over 30 years by distributors, retailers and manufacturers of contemporary pipes, tobaccos and accessories. The publication further covers issues involving marijuana, medicinal use of marijuana, and legislation in anticipation of legalization or declassification. The Newsletter also addresses new trends involving synthetic marijuana laws, bath salts laws, and new legislation involving chemical analogues. Information also includes forfeiture and issues covering search and seizures, zoning, public nuisance and community standards throughout the United States involving smoke shops, pipe shops, manufacturers and distributors to the contemporary pipe and tobacco retail industry.
If you are a smoke shop owner or contemporary pipe and tobacco store owner, a manufacturer or distributor to smoke shops or tobacco stores, or interested in knowing the latest news on state and federal drug paraphernalia laws and local paraphernalia ordinances across the United States, please contact our office for a complimentary copy of The Newsletter.
Inside this issue…
Front Page Articles:
- In the Crystal Ball for 2012
- Federal Law Review
Includes information from NEW YORK, WASH D.C. & W. VA
- State Law Review
Includes information from CO – GA – IL – IN – KY – ME – MI – MN – MS – NJ – NM – NY OH – OK – OR – PA – SC – TN – TX – VT
- In Every Issue:
About the Author
Subscription Information
"Legal on the Shelves in 2012"
In the Crystal Ball for 2012
This author has been following the issue of drug paraphernalia closely for over 30 years and has observed ten-year cycles. Some readers are very aware of the previous enforcement cycles and everyone should be braced for 2012. This new year will begin with an intense effort in virtually every state involving the issues of “fake pot” and bath salts. Ironically, the old cycle will gear up again generically involving the old issue of drug paraphernalia. Yes, it’s true; we are realistically looking at a double whammy for 2012 into 2013 and even 2014. It is projected that these enforcements will involve federal, state, and local agencies and will be as dramatic as the late 1980s to early 1990s.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK –After a months-long investigation, the DEA arrested Miguel Ashby and ten others on federal drug conspiracy charges. The group was alleged to be suppliers of vast quantities of bath salts. Ashby, an Everett, WA resident, was importing bulk quantities of powders from China under his company’s website AscensionTherapetics.com. His conduct at that time was not necessarily illegal until he repackaged the products and ran afoul of FDA regulations that prohibit shipping and receiving “mis-branded” drugs.
DURANGO, COLORADO –A Durango retailer was arrested on December 14 by the Southwest Drug Task Force, on suspicion of distribution of bath salts, a controlled substance felony. The retailer is free on a $25,000 bond. The case evolved under a confidential informant’s wired purchase of $100 worth of bath salts. Meanwhile, the medical marijuana dispensaries throughout Colorado are coming under attack. A number of the stores are within 1000 feet of schools and warning letters are going out, giving the retailer 45 days to shut down or move.
To read the rest of these articles and this month’s edition, SUBSCRIBE TODAY at robertvaughnlaw@comcast.net or call us at (615) 259-1230.
Attorney Robert T. Vaughn has been quoted in High Times, Cannabis Culture and various newspapers and articles.
- Robert Vaughn is the criminal defense attorney I think of first when some one calls me with a paraphernalia case. He has made this area his practice specialty over many years and he has mastered the field. I am also proud to note that he is an Advisory Board member at NORML. – Keith Stroup – Legal Counsel, NORML
- Robert T. Vaughn is an attorney who has spent his career fighting drug paraphernalia laws. He also publishes a newsletter titled The Letter of the Law, which has dealt with the paraphernalia industry’s unique legal challenges for more than 20 years. – Cannabis Culture Magazine (24 Sept 2005)
- Many magazines and Web sites have also started pursuing the glass pipe market, but they do so at great risk, said Robert Vaughn, a Nashville lawyer who is considered an expert in drug paraphernalia. – The Minnesota Daily (29 Sept 2005)
- Vaughn’s been actively involved in drug-paraphernalia legal issues for 25 years and has represented clients in 35 different states. – High Times Magazine (April 2006)
- Robert Vaughn, a Nashville, Tenn.-based defense attorney, has heard all the arguments for and against paraphernalia. “Anything can be drug paraphernalia, and nothing has to be” under current law, he said. “Drug paraphernalia is bounded only by the imagination for the drug user.” – Media Awareness Project (05 March 2007)
- Over the course of a career spanning nearly 30 years, Attorney Robert Vaughn has become an
expert in drug paraphernalia law. He has lobbied and assisted in writing laws in Michigan, Ohio,
Hawaii and Washington, DC. – Glass-Action Lawyer: Robert Vaughn, High Times Magazine
(March 2008)
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