U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Washington, DC 20229

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

HQ H282163

April 13, 2017

OT:RR:BSTC:CCR H282163 JER

CATEGORY: Carriers

Lauren Davis, Esq. Law Office of Lauren C. Davis, LLC 217 E. 7th Avenue Denver, CO 80203

RE: 21 U.S.C. § 863; alleged Drug Paraphernalia; Stashlogix Storage Case

Dear Ms. Davis:

This is in response to your correspondence dated November 14, 2016, in which you requested a binding ruling letter in accordance with 19 C.F.R. § 177.2 regarding the admissibility of the Stashlogix storage bags/cases (and their accompanying accessories). You ask whether the Stashlogix storage case constitutes prohibited merchandise within the meaning of 21 U.S.C. § 863. Our ruling is set forth below.

The subject merchandise consists of a storage case/stash bag with multiple adjustable compartments, zip lock pouches, an external combination lock and multiple accessories. There are three models of the Stashlogix storage cases: Go-Stash, Eco-Stash and the Pro- Stash; each varying in size and storage capacity. The Stashlogix storage cases feature: a combination lock, customizable padded dividers, charging port, stash journal, re-label jar, small silicone-lined jar, 1 odor pack, humidity pack and a labeling marker. The exterior of the bags are made up of a hemp or nylon material. Accessories which accompany the Stashlogix storage cases include a small or large UV proof glass-lined jar and an odor absorbing odor pack (called the OdorPax). The UV proof glass-lined jars are described as being made of precision borosilicate glass, a plastic outer shell with thick beefy Buna gaskets and shock absorbers. They are said to be airtight, waterproof BPA free with a three ounce volume -2- capacity. The OdorPax “are odor absorbing packets that are made of bamboo charcoal, hemp outer fabric and nylon interior” which are designed to absorb permeating smells and odors.

According to the website, Stashlogix was “formed based on the principles of functionality, security and discretion.” The Stashlogix cases are said to be designed to store valuables, private items, fire-arms, tobacco products, and addictive pharmaceuticals.1 The product is described as being: “Thoughtful, Secure, Discreet – child safe bags.” The Stashlogix storage case/stash bags are widely discussed and marketed on the internet, internet discussion boards and via local communication venues within the relevant community.

Images of complete Stashlogix kits as shown on the official Stashlogix website are provided below: See website: http://www.stashlogix.com/collections/frontpage/products/pro- stash.

Image A. Stashlogix “Go-Stash” storage case Image B. Stashlogix “Pro-Stash” storage case

Image C. Image D.

1 http://www.stashlogix.com/aboutus/ourstory -3-

Image E. The Stashlogix odor absorbing OdorPax. Image F. The Stashlogix UV-proof glass-lined jars.

Images of similar commercially available UV-proof glass-lined jars and stash bags are provided below:

Image G. Other commercially available UV proof glass-lined jars from www.420science.com, an online headshop.

Ima ge H. Other commercially stash bags from www.420science.com, an online headshop. -4-

Image I. The subject Stashlogix cases as depicted on thestonermom.com website. The image depicts a marijuana pipe, lighter and jars labeled with the names of cannabis strains, from www.stonermom.com.

Image J. The Stoner Mom Review of the Stashlogix stash bag from www.stonermom.com. -5-

Image K. The Weed Blog Review of the Stashlogix combination lock design from www.theweedblog.com.

Whether the subject storage cases fall within the meaning of drug paraphernalia pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 863.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

The relevant statute, 21 U.S.C. § 863, provides, in pertinent part:

(a) In general It is unlawful for any person-

(1) to sell or offer for sale drug paraphernalia; (2) to use the mails or any other facility of interstate commerce to transport drug paraphernalia; or (3) to import or export drug paraphernalia. * * *

(d) “Drug paraphernalia” defined

The term “drug paraphernalia” means any equipment, product, or material of any kind which is primarily intended or designed for use in manufacturing, compounding, converting, concealing, producing, processing, preparing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance, possession of which is unlawful under this subchapter. It includes items primarily intended or designed for use in ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana, cocaine, hashish, hashish oil, PCP, or amphetamines into the human body, such as –

(1) metal, wooden, acrylic, glass, stone, plastic, or ceramic pipes with or without screens, permanent screens, hashish heads, or punctured metal bowls; (2) water pipes; -6-

(3) carburetion tubes and devices; (4) smoking and carburetion masks; (5) roach clips . . .; (6) miniature spoons . . .; (7) chamber pipes; (8) carburetor pipes; (9) electric pipes; (10) air-driven pipes; (11) chillums; (12) bongs; (13) ice pipes or chillers; (14) wired cigarette papers; or (15) cocaine freebase kits. Emphasis added

(e) Matters considered in determination of what constitutes drug paraphernalia. In determining whether an item constitutes drug paraphernalia, in addition to all other logically relevant factors, the following may be considered:

(1) instructions, oral or written, provided with the item concerning its use; (2) descriptive materials accompanying the item which explain or depict its use; (3) national and local advertising concerning its use; (4) the manner in which the item is displayed for sale; (5) whether the owner, or anyone in control of the item, is a legitimate supplier of like or related items to the community, such as a licensed distributor or dealer of tobacco products; (6) direct or circumstantial evidence of the ratio of sales of the item(s) to the total sales of the business enterprise; (7) the existence and scope of legitimate uses of the item in the community, and (8) expert testimony concerning its use.

The U.S. Supreme Court examined the meaning of “drug paraphernalia” pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 863 in the matter of Posters ‘N’ Things v. United States, 511 U.S. 513 (1994), and considered the phrases (1) “primarily intended for use” and (2) “designed for use” in such cases. Although the Court was interpreting the text of the former statute, 21 U.S.C. § 857, in 1990 Congress repealed and replaced that section of title 21 with the present statute, 21 U.S.C. § 863. In Posters ‘N’ Things section 863 is identified as identical with the present statute. See Crime Control Act of 1990, Pub. L. 101-647, §2401, 104 Stat. 4858. See also 511 U.S. at 516, n. 5; United States v. Search of Music Marketing, Inc., 212 F.3d 920, 925 (6th Cir. 2000).

With respect to the first phrase identified above, the Court concluded that “primarily intended for use” is to be understood objectively and refers generally to an item’s likely use. Posters ‘N’ Things, 511 U.S. 513, 521 (1994). Moreover, the Court noted that this “is a relatively particularized definition, reaching beyond the category of items that are likely to be used with drugs by virtue of their objective features.” Id. at 521 n.11. Additionally, the court stated that “items ‘primarily intended’ for use with drugs constitute drug paraphernalia, -7- indicating that it is the likely use of customers generally, not any particular customer, that can render a multiple-use item drug paraphernalia.” Id. at 521 n.11. Therefore, items having possible multiple uses may constitute drug paraphernalia for purposes of 21 U.S.C. § 863 if the likely use by customers of the seller of the items is for use with illegal drugs.2

With respect to the above-mentioned second phrase, “designed for use,” the Court referred to Village of Hoffman Estates et al v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estate, Inc., 455 U.S. 489 (1982), where the Court stated that it is also to be understood objectively and that it refers to an item’s objective characteristics. Id. at 501. “An item is ‘designed for use’…if it ‘is principally used with illegal drugs by virtue of its objective features, i.e., features designed by the manufacturer….The objective characteristics of some items establish that they are designed specifically for use with controlled substances. Such items, including bongs, cocaine freebase kits, and certain kinds of pipes, have no other use besides contrived ones (such as use of a bong as a flower base). Items that meet the ‘designed for use’ standard constitute drug paraphernalia irrespective of the knowledge or intent of one who sells or transports them.” Village of Hoffman Estates et al v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estate, Inc., 455 U.S. 489, 501 (1982).

Our determination, set forth below, is based on all of the information above, our independent research and the application of one the two aforementioned tests pronounced by the Court as to whether an article falls within the meaning of “drug paraphernalia” pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 863(d). Specifically, our determine considers whether the subject merchandise is “primarily intended for use,” in the manufacturing, compounding, converting, concealing, producing, processing, preparing, injecting, ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing into the human body a controlled substance. As previously stated, the “primarily intended for use” test considers the stated purpose of multiple-use articles while examining whether the “likely use of customers generally…can render a multiple-use item drug paraphernalia.” Posters ‘N’ Things, supra. Accordingly, our analysis will examine the article’s primary intended use relative to the factors set forth in 21 U.S.C. § 863(e); with particular focus on Factors: (2), (3), (4), and (7). As will be discussed, and as the evidence reveals, the component features and accessories of the Stashlogix stash bag demonstrate that its likely use falls squarely within the purview of the enumerated factors set forth in 21 U.S.C. § 863(e).

The descriptive materials which accompany the item depict and are indicative of the Stashlogix stash bags intended use. See 21 U.S.C. § 863(e)(2). The Stashlogix website describes in detail the accessories that accompany the storage cases which, as the website describes, insure the intended and effective use of the subject bags. The accessories that facilitate the intended use and insure the effective use of the storage cases are: 1) odor absorbing packs (“OdorPax”), 2) a combination lock and 3) a UV proof glass-lined jar.

2 In Posters ‘N’ Things, the Court stated: “Although we describe the definition of ‘primarily intended’ as ‘objective,’ we note that it is a relatively particularized definition, reaching beyond the category of items that are likely to be used with drugs by virtue of their objective features. Among the factors that are relevant to whether an item constitutes drug paraphernalia are ‘instructions, oral or written, provided with the item concerning its use,” § 857(e)(1), and ‘the manner in which the item is displayed for sale,’ §857(e)(4). Thus, while scales or razor blades as a general class may not be designed specifically for use with drugs, a subset of those items in a particular store may be ‘primarily intended’ for use with drugs by virtue of the circumstances of their display and sale.” Posters ‘N’ Things, 511 U.S. 513, 521 n.11 (1994). -8-

According to the Stashlogix website, the OdorPax “are odor absorbing packets that are made of bamboo charcoal, hemp outer fabric and nylon interior.” The Stashlogix description suggests to its consumers to “use multiple Odorpax, depending on your required level of discretion.”3 Moreover, the Stashlogix website OdorPax link describes the Odorpax as being “Cannabis Odor Absorbers.” 4 As such, it is our position that the purpose of the OdorPax is to absorb and conceal the smell of marijuana while the same is stored inside the Stashlogix stash bags.

Likewise, the UV (“Ultraviolet light”) proof glass-lined jar accessory facilitates the concealment of marijuana while contained inside the subject Stashlogix storage cases. The UV-proof glass-lined jars are used as the immediate storage container for the “private items.”5 The Stashlogix website describes the glass-lined jars as being made of “precision borosilicate glass and as being UV proof.”6 Borosilicate glass is made up of X-ray absorbing coefficients7 which has the potential of absorbing UV radiation or X-rays. Similarly, Ultraviolet light (“UV”) is a type of electromagnetic radiation, as are radio waves, infrared radiation, X-rays and gamma rays.8 UV light falls in the range of the EM (electromagnetic) spectrum between visible light and X-rays.9 Accordingly, a product which is “UV proof” is or can also be the functional equivalent of an X-ray proof article. Hence, the capacity of the Stashlogix UV proof glass-lined jars to repel or absorb UV light provides the Stashlogix jars with the capacity to avoid X-ray detection of the marijuana contents stored inside the Stashlogix glass-lined jars.

Similarly, the manner in which the subject merchandise is marketed and displayed is indicative of the product’s intended use. See 21 U.S.C. § 863(e) (2), (3) & (4). Specifically, as Image H. reflects, the subject Stashlogix storage cases are advertised and sold alongside numerous other storage cases which are used to store and conceal marijuana.10 In particular, the Stashlogix’s Go-Stash, Eco-Stash and Pro-Stash models are marketed on the 420Science.com website; a website that refers to itself as the “Most Trusted Online Headshop” and which proudly supports the National Cannabis Industry Association, the Marijuana Policy Project and the Women Grow Cultivating Cannabis Entrepreneurs.11 Similarly, the subject product’s design includes a combination lock, used to prevent children from gaining access to the marijuana contained inside.12 “The Weed Blog” article entitled “Keep Marijuana Away From Kids With Stashlogix”, dated May 27, 2015, details the manner in which the Stashlogix

3 http://www.stashlogix.com/pages/faq; see also, http://www.stashlogix.com/collections/accessories/products/odorpax 4 Id. 5 http://www.stashlogix.com/aboutus/ourstory 6 http://www.stashlogix.com/collections/accessories/products/satchmo-jar 7 The X-Ray Absorption Coefficients for Borosilicate Glass, Whitcher and Todd, July 1953, available at, http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/abs/10.1148/61.1.103 8 What is Ultraviolet Light?, Live Science, March 31, 2015; available at, http://www.livescience.com/50326- what-is-ultraviolet-light.html 9 Id. 10 Category: Soft Bags, https://www.420science.com/collections/soft-bags 11 https://www.420science.com/ 12 Features: Combination Lock, http://www.stashlogix.com/collections/frontpage/products/pro-stash; see also, “How do I set my combination lock? at, http://www.stashlogix.com/pages/faq -9- storage cases prevent children from gaining access to the stored marijuana through its combination lock.13

Next, we consider whether there exists a legitimate use of the Stashlogix bags within the community to which the articles are marketed, sold and used. See 21 U.S.C. § 863(e)(7). Standing alone, the Stashlogix storage case can be viewed as a multi-purpose storage case with no association with or to controlled substances. Yet, there is no evidence in the form of marketing or community usage that would dispel the finding that the Stashlogix cases have a legitimate use other than to store, carry and conceal marijuana. Our review of the information and descriptions set forth on the Stasjlogix website indicate that the combination of the storage case along with the odor absorbing OdorPax and the UV proof glass-lined jars – set this product apart from general multi-use storage containers. Moreover, the naming of the individual Stashlogix storage cases are indicative of “stash bags” which are primarily intended to store and conceal illicit drugs. For instance, each of the Stashlogix cases contain the word “stash” as a descriptive term in the product’s name; the Eco-Stash, the Pro-Stash, and the Go- Stash. Similarly, the Stashlogix Eco-Stash, Pro-Stash, and Go-Stash, are marketed within the community as a means of storing, carrying and concealing marijuana.14

Additionally, our independent research reveals that there is no scope or existence of any legitimate uses within the community to which the subject articles are marketed, sold and used. The community usage, as detailed in the web-articles discussed herein, solidify the nature of Stashlogix’s illegitimate use. Likewise, despite the recitations made on the Stashlogix website, the scope of any legitimate use of these articles is noticeably absent within the community. For instance, a review of the Stashlogix “stash bag” by The Stoner Mom, Mothering & Marijuana website, dated September 4, 2016, offers its critique of the subject merchandise. The article, “My Favorite Stash Bags: Stashlogix Review” finds that “…products like these Stashlogix cases are a wonderful step in the direction of social acceptance for us cannabis users…”15 Similarly, CanopyBoulder a “seed-stage business accelerator”, “dedicated to… help move the cannabis industry forward”, lists Stashlogix among its many portfolio companies.16 Additionally, the Stoner Mom, Mothering & Marijuana website offers its assessment of the Stashlogix “stash bags” noting that: “here’s the episode of the Stoner Mom Show where I review these child-resistant, odor-proof stash bags for responsible cannabis enthusiasts.” Similarly, another website, the learngreenflower.com, offers its review of the Stashlogix cases entitled, “Here’s a Cannabis Carrying Case to Meet All Your Needs.” Dated February 11, 2016, the learngreenflower.com article outlines the benefits of the Stashlogix “cannabis carrying cases” noting that it is ideal for traveling.17 Accordingly, The Stoner Mom review (via Youtube or thestonermom.com website) as well as the Learn Green Flower review,

13 “Keep Marijuana Away From Kids With Stashlogix” at, https://www.theweedblog.com/keep-marijuana-away- from-kids-with-stashlogix/ 14 See https://www.theweedblog.com/keep-marijuana-away-from-kids-with-stashlogix/; see also, http://thestonermom.com/stashlogix-review/ 15 My Favorite Stash Bags: Stashlogix Review, http://thestonermom.com/stashlogix-review/ 16 Canopy Portfolio includes Stashlogix, https://www.canopyboulder.com/about/portfolio/ 17 “Here’s a cannabis carrying case to meet all your needs”, at, https://www.learngreenflower.com/articles/83/stashlogix-carrying-case-review-2016-2 -10- attest to and support a finding that Stashlogix storage cases are primarily used to store, carry and conceal marijuana.18

Stashlogix indicates that the subject merchandise is designed to provide a “safe storage system that would prevent children from accessing private items” including tobacco products. Ruling Request Submission (Submission), at page 1. Stashlogix adds that the subject merchandise is “sold for a variety of legitimate uses, including securely storing private items, tobacco products and medications.” Submission, at page 1. The Stashlogix website describes its target market as those seeking to keep their “personal life private, safe and simple.”19 The website further describes the articles as being “Thoughtful, Secure, Discreet - child safe storage bags” which can store fire-arms and additive pharmaceuticals.20

In contrast to the depiction set forth on the Stashlogix website, the aforementioned website product reviews, descriptions and functionality of the accompanying accessories, along with the community’s actual stated use, demonstrates that there exists one consistent and primary use for the Stashlogix storage cases; namely, the storage and concealment of marijuana. Therefore, we find that the subject stash bags/storage cases are primarily intended for use in storing and concealing an illegal controlled substance as enumerated in 21 U.S.C. § 863(d). In making this determination, we note that based upon the marketing of this product and the community’s actual stated use, there is no evidence in the record which would establish that the subject storage cases serve any other meaningful use other than to store and conceal illegal controlled substances. See 21 U.S.C. § 863. Posters ‘N Things v. United States, 511 U.S. 513, 516, 521 (1994).

Accordingly, based upon the all the aforementioned evidence, internet research and the common uses within the community, we determine that the subject storage cases fall within the relevant meaning of “primarily intended for use” with illegal substances as defined by 21 U.S.C. § 863(d); i.e., equipment used to conceal a controlled substance. See 21 U.S.C. § 863 (d); see also, Posters ‘N Things v. United States, 511 U.S. 513, 516, 521 (1994). Village of Hoffman Estates et al v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estate, Inc., 455 U.S. 489, 501 (1982). Therefore, the Stashlogix stash bags are prohibited from importation into the United States.

HOLDING

The subject storage cases are considered “drug paraphernalia” within the meaning of 21 U.S.C. § 863(d), and are therefore prohibited from importation into the United States.

Sincerely,

18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlyMddgZjDk; See also, Keep Marijuana Away From Kids With Stashlogix” at, https://www.theweedblog.com/keep-marijuana-away-from-kids-with-stashlogix/ discussed infra.

19 Stashlogix, Home, http://www.stashlogix.com/ 20 Id. -11-

Lisa L. Burley Chief/Supervisory Attorney-Advisor Cargo Security, Carriers and Restricted Merchandise Branch Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings U.S. Customs and Border Protection