Surely, then, the moral of the story has to be “don’t sell bongs because you know jolly well that they could be illegal.”
then gun dealers shouldn’t sell guns because they could be used in a crime.
better be safe than upset the local law enforcement.
a shop that distributes the tools necessary for the use of drugs are not a cause of drug use but a sign of it’s prevelance. the community sees this and wants action, so the local law enforcement go after the easiest target (an immigrant shop owner), it makes headlines and placates the upset mothers. local politicians speak out against the scurge of drugs and declare their undying support for police, anything less could be seen as being ‘soft on crime.’
meanwhile the drugs are still out there and this poor guy is being pilloried as if he were pablo escobar.