Norman glass pipes case could be heard by Oklahoma Supreme Court
A closed Norman store’s battle with law enforcement over whether glass pipes are drug paraphernalia has now reached the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
A court referee, who heard arguments Wednesday on whether the justices should hear the case, is expected to issue a recommendation in September.
Members of the public said they were asked to leave the referee’s chambers. A small group of supporters of the store waited in a hallway as the closed hearing took place.
Robert Cox, owner of The Friendly Market, has been trying to get police to return hundreds of glass pipes and other store inventory valued at $15,000 seized during two raids in 2015.
Cox said he hopes to resume sales and reopen the business. He has already started looking for a location in downtown Norman.
“These items are being sold all over the state,” Cox said Wednesday. “Norman is the only place you can’t have these items for some reason. We have a legitimate right to them and we should be selling them today.”
A Cleveland County jury acquitted Cox on drugrelated charges in connection with his ownership of The Friendly Market earlier this year. The store sold glass pipes, as well as home decor and local art.
Cleveland County Special Judge Steve Stice ruled in July that items Norman police seized should be returned to Cox. The judge made no finding as to whether the items are drug paraphernalia.
District Attorney Greg Mashburn asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court to order Stice to rule on whether the pipes are legal.
In court documents, Mashburn argues lack of a court decision on whether the pipes are drug paraphernalia puts Norman police in a “precarious position of aiding and abetting a crime” if the items arereturned to Cox.
Stice’s ruling will also “affect the release of hundreds of items of drug paraphernalia back into the community,” the DA wrote.