Is it illegal to get a bong/water pipe shipped in the mail from another country?
If someone were to purchase a small bong/water pipe online and lives in the state of Wisconsin would that person get in trouble with customs or the post office or anything? It would ship from Amsterdam. Is this considered paraphernalia even as it is new and clean and no illegal substances have been used in it and the buyer intends to smoke legal herbs like tobacco out of it? Or is the thing itself illegal? The website says its the buyer's responsibility to check to see if you are okay to receive the shipment and offers no guidance and I couldn't find a satisfactory answer anywhere else online.
(you can view the item in question at: tiny.cc/x6ubxx you might just have to type in the URL rather than copy and paste since the site keeps annotating the link)
Hi, Understand that federal law and US Customs jurisdiction is it's own beast, so while the other attorneys point to state law issues, you need to recognize that it would first have to pass through US Customs (i.e., federal law) and this type of article has a good chance of being seized by US Customs who would then communicate with you about their seizure.
I've always said it's best to buy your drug paraphernalia domestically.
Asker
Yeah that's what I was curious about, so do they just confiscate it and then mail you a letter saying that they took it and thats it? Or do you get in trouble too?
It depends but remember, even if there is no "trouble" now there may be in the future. Once you're an importer you remain in Customs' database.
As long as nothing illegal will be smoked/consumed/ingested through the use of the item, then the item is not illegal. Keep in mind that many synthetic substances or "imitation" substances are also illegal, so be sure you know the ingredients and origins of the herbs you are going to use.
The thing itself is illegal ONLY if it is intended to be used to ingest an illegal substance. If you intend to use it to ingest tobacco, then it is legal.
This communication is for the purposes of general advice only. This communication does not form any contractual obligation on behalf of the Attorney Stephen W. Sawyer or the Law Offices of Stephen W. Sawyer.
