A new state law taking effect July 1st will not ban glass smoking pipes some say are primarily used for smoking marijuana.



Legislation proposed in April outlined the outright ban of glass smoking pipes statewide.

By June, additional language was added to the bill allowing for the sale of pipes as long as they were sold for tobacco use only.



State Representative Darryl Rouson has been an advocate for banning glass pipes for years. He did not want to comment on the changes to the legislation.



Local head shops are part of a bigger effort statewide to push for protections from future legislation they say could harm their ability to stay in business.



Leo Calzadilla owns Purple Haze, a chain of head shops in Pinellas County.



He tells us the new organization called Florida Smoke Shop Association raised more than $100,000 in its effort to fight the proposed bill.



The association now has a website and is asking the public to get involved.



"This association is not going away, in fact it is getting stronger", Calzadilla says.



Under the legislation that was signed by the Governor Rick Scott, head shops selling glass pipes can only market pipes for tobacco use only.



If a customer indicates a glass pipe will be bought and used to smoke drugs, the head shop clerk must turn the customer away.



Penalties for violating the new law include fines on a first offense, to jail time for multiple offenses.



The new law taking effect July 1st mirrors a federal law on the sale of glass pipes that has been in effect for more than 20 years.