Darryl Rouson used to be a crack addict. But his life took a turn for the worse when he quit and became a politician. On Wednesday, Rouson's "bong bill" was unanimously approved by the Florida Legislature and is awaiting the Governor's signature.

Rousen says that restricting the sale of pipes and bongs will discourage people from smoking cannabis and crack cocaine.

Under the bill, only shops where the sale of tobacco products and accessories constitute 75% of income or shops where the sale of pipes and bongs constitutes less than 25% of income will be allowed to sell a long list of smoking devices. These include pipes of any material, water pipes, carburetion tubes and devices, chamber pipes, carburetor pipes, electric pipes, air-driven pipes, chillums, bongs, and ice pipes or chillers.

So if a crack addict can't buy a pipe from a head shop, is he going to shrug his shoulders and become a state representative? Or is he going to "use glass stems, broken antennas, small liquor bottles, really anything they can get their hands on to smoke," as one commenter in the news story wrote?

I wonder what this poor fellow, who lost his motorcycle spark plugs to a crackhead, would have to say about this law?

Paraphernalia: Florida Legislature Passes Bill Banning Bong Sales

(Photo of crack pipe by TedsBlog, CC Attribution license.)