“City to Store Owner: You May Not Sell Brillo Pads”

The city of Minneapolis attaches “voluntary conditions” to a permit for a convenience store at a location previously troubled by crime, and among them are prohibitions on the sale of “drug paraphernalia” that many of us would not have recognized as such, including small plastic bags, dice, and steel-wool pads. [Volokh]

6 Comments

  • Excellent. This is the kind of smart, nimble policework which we need more of in this country. This measure was targeted, “narrowly tailored” for this one neighborhood. Rather than ban these goods everywhere, they developed a public-private partnership to voluntarily address a problem in the area. This is one of those feel-good stories that should warm the hearts of those who advocate for competency in government administration. Truly this precinct was a “laboratory of democracy”. Kudos.

  • Anonymous, what does this actually accomplish? People in the area will still get what they want. It’ll just have to be from established stores in the area rather than new ones.

  • How much trouble could I get in for profiting from the brillo pad black market?

  • And, is the restriction on dice mentioned above, only on six-sided dice (well, there goes board games like Monopoly), dice with–for example–pips only (as opposed to digits 1-6, face cards [poker dice], etc.), or on dice such as 4-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 20-, 30-, 50-, even 100-sided dice (Dungeons and Dragons and other role-playing games)?

  • I am required to give photo ID when I buy sudafed and yet, last time I checked, there is still enough meth being brewed to keep folks busy.
    I wonder if they let him sell 32 oz pepsis?

  • […] Minneapolis bans sale of plastic bags and Brillo pads in high-crime areas. […]