U.S. RAIDS FIRMS SELLING ITEMS USED BY POT SMOKERS - ASHCROFT BLAMES INTERNET FOR PARAPHERNALIA

Saying high times are over for those who sell pipes and bongs favored by pot smokers, federal agents raided more than 100 homes and businesses throughout the nation Monday, including a glass-pipe company owned by actor- comedian Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong fame.

The raids stemmed from the indictments of 50 people, including six in Northern California, who face federal charges of trafficking in illegal drug paraphernalia.

Chong -- a man whose name is virtually synonymous with recreational marijuana use -- was not among those indicted, and he was not arrested during Monday's raids.

But the 64-year-old actor's Chong Glass company in Los Angeles was cleared of merchandise. A separate search of Chong's Pacific Palisades home uncovered a small amount of marijuana, according to a federal law-enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Authorities called the people who were indicted some of the nation's most popular distributors -- through storefronts, web sites and wholesale outlets -- of the often elaborate, artistic contraptions marketed in head shops as ostensibly "for tobacco use."

Federal grand juries in western Pennsylvania and Des Moines, Iowa, returned most of the indictments as part of "Operation Pipe Dreams," which included the Northern California suspects, and "Operation Headhunter," which targeted head shops in southern Iowa. Drug Enforcement Administration offices in several states were part of the investigation.


'BILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY'
"With the advent of the Internet, the illegal drug paraphernalia industry has exploded," said Attorney General John Ashcroft in a statement. "Quite simply, the . . . industry has invaded the homes of families across the country without their knowledge. This illegal billion-dollar industry will no longer be ignored by law enforcement."

Family members of some of the Northern California suspects said they were angered by a 6 a.m. sweep Monday in which agents raided homes, handcuffed suspects and others, froze bank accounts and seized merchandise from shops and warehouses.

"Why after seven years in business does this happen? Why not just approach us?" said Fern Thomas, 29, a bookkeeper for 101 North Glass Inc. in Arcata, Humboldt County, which sells blown-glass pipes and other products to resellers.

Thomas's fiance, Jason Vrbas, was arrested along with co-owners Ryan Teurfs and Gabriel Watson. All three men are 29. Late Monday, the suspects were still in custody.


CLASHES ALONG HAIGHT STREET
Authorities have clashed with head shops -- best known in the Bay Area along San Francisco's Haight Street and Berkeley's Telegraph Avenue -- for decades over the sale of such items as hookahs, hand pipes and water bongs.

The debate, according to Steven Wishnia, a senior editor at High Times magazine in New York City, centers around "this weird semantic and semiotic definition applied to a piece of glass with a bowl at one end."

People who defend the sale of such pipes, he said, generally acknowledge they are meant for marijuana users. But many believe it's not a proprietor's business to predict the way a product will be used.

Chong, who made his name in shades of green with partner Cheech Marin and last year stayed in character by playing a hippie pothead on "That '70s Show," was shocked by raids on his business and his home, said his publicist Brandie Knight.

"It's awful," she said. "They're talking about war and everything else, and I can't believe they can't spend their time better. Chong Glass is artwork" -- it was the subject of a Hollywood art exhibit in November -- "and we've been very careful about saying it's for tobacco use only, and you must be 18 years or older (to buy it).

"We've done everything the right way, and the government is saying there is no right way." Asked if Chong currently smokes marijuana, Knight said, "No comment."


PENINSULA ARRESTS
On the Peninsula, agents arrested Waleed A. Zahrieh, 37, of Los Gatos, and Nessar David Zahriya, 39, of San Mateo. The pair allegedly sold illegal drug paraphernalia through businesses called Wicked Corp. and Sands of Time.

Reached Monday, Zahrieh's wife, who declined to give her name, said only that her husband sold items for tobacco use.

In Forestville, Sonoma County, agents arrested John Matthew Patrick, 38, who owns California Colorchangers, Inc. Its Web site, www.colorchangingglass.com, features an array of pipes and bongs. Its cover page states, "I agree to use the products offered herein for legal purposes only."

On Monday, authorities refused to go into detail about their investigations except to say they involved undercover work. They said businesses could no longer protect themselves by posting signs or Internet warnings indicating their products were for tobacco use only.

The suspects, if convicted, face a maximum of three years in prison, a $250, 000 fine, or both, for each count in the indictments.

E-mail Demian Bulwa at dbulwa@sfchronicle.com.



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