On Long Island, New York, not too far east from Brooklyn and Queens, criminals are installing horrible vending machines that promise the destroy the local communities. These vending machines, which sell crack pipes, are placed illegally in public. Police have confirmed that the machines were originally designed to sell tampons but were refurbished to distribute crack pipes to the public, everyone from drug addicts to curious children.
Thankfully, police have removed three crack pipe vending machines from Long Island and saved the people from easy access to the dangerous drug paraphernalia.
Suffolk County has had a long history of drug abuse. Their police department is hard at work battle drug-related problems, but they don’t seem to ever make as much of an impact as they’d like. It is frustrating. As they fix one problem, criminals think of something new, like these refurbished tampon dispensers outfitted to sell crack pipes.
The vending machines, which sell “Sketch Pens,” are an outrage to the public. The criminals are charging two dollars per ceramic tube.
Police do not know who installed the vending machines. They could have been put in place by drug dealers. Or an unsavory entrepreneur could have spotted a gap in the market and installed them on street corners illegally without proper permits.
The vending machines pop out a ceramic “pen” that includes a filter and makes it easy for users to smoke the dangerous and addictive drug.
The Suffolk County Police Department desperately wants to get to the bottom of this crazy problem. They are investigating who could have installed these in public bathrooms.
“At first we were like, ‘Could this be a joke?’ But then we saw how intricate it was and realized it wasn’t a joke,” Michael Loguercio, a councilman for Brookhaven Town District 4, said in an interview to The New York Post.
Residents, who yearn to have the police eradicate the horrible drug problem in their community, could not believe that criminals are getting so innovative they are installed drug paraphernalia vending machines in their public restrooms.
Suffolk County suffered 337 heroin-related deaths in the short span of four years between 2009 and 2013. That was the highest death rate from drugs overdoses compared to any other county in New York state.
One resident of Suffolk County, Anthony Minichini, just wants the criminal activity to end. He first found the crack vending machine near a bus stop.
“Wow! You learn something new every day. Suffolk County on the side of the road next to bus stops a crack pipe vending machine. Really?”
The local government officials agreed. Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine said:
“People that were selling crack, obviously there was trouble from their potential users getting crack pipes, and they thought this would be an ingenious solution.”
Currently, the median price of a home in Suffolk County is $376,700, which is more than twice the median price for an existing home across the United States.
In Long Island, it is easy for drug users to buy these “sketch pens.” But in Suffolk County, they are sold in vending machines.
