Councilor wants ban on marijuana imitation
July 14, 2010 at 7:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
Todd Fedora wants Duluth to be the first Minnesota city to ban products containing a synthetic chemical that mimics the buzz-inducing effects of THC. Continue Reading
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Todd, I love you. You’ve been my favorite councilor amongst this current batch, but ” “From my standpoint, if we can stop this stuff from being sold to one kid in Duluth, it will have been worth it.†is the same argument that overprotective mothers use to get anything under the sun banned.
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Minnesota, the state where absolutely nothing is allowed. ‘Mood altering’?
Lets see…..alcohol is sold & destroys lives, same with prescription drugs, over the counter drugs can be abused. Where do we start?
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The fact that they even mention marijuana in this debate is a mockery. There is NO SUCH THING as synthetic marijuana, and these burned spices or salts or whatever they are, won’t simulate any effect other than lack of oxygen to the brain.
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Jack, it’s clear from your last post that you don’t know jack. Otherwise you would have heard about this little thing called “marinol” (Dronabinol). In terms you might more easily understand, it’s synthetic THC. It is available via a Dr’s Rx. it comes in pill form and a nasal spray , debunking the myth that dopers need to smoke “medicinal” dope to treat their ills. Isn’t it interesting how the medicinal pot pushers conveniently omit this little kernel of truth from their arguments favoring open access to their favorite mind altering substance..
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Unfortunately for your ‘anti-doper’ rant… THC isn’t the only beneficial cannabinoid contained in the Cannabis plant. Frankly, I don’t need somebody in a laboratory to mess with the amazing work God has already done himself. Seems like he got things perfect the first time around. I do agree that smoking isn’t the best method to consume Cannabis, vaporizing it is.
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This is our default solution for any problem. Ban it. If it is behavior, then that behavior just moves somewhere else, where it can’t be monitored and controlled. If it is a substance, then the ban just creates another income opportunity for the smugglers and bootleggers. Banning something is the feel-good easy way out, and solves nothing. It just creates a new class of criminal and an additional burden on law enforcement.
In the case of this product, sales of this stuff would go to zero and the health risks of ingesting an unknown and untested substance would go to zero if marijuana were decriminalized. If Mr. Fedora wants to get on the “ban” bandwagon because other states or cities have done it, then it would be equally logical for him to support decriminalization of pot because many other states have done it or are trying to do it. feh.
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I think his time and effort can be used for something of greater purpose.
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I have an idea that could end this debate………..why don’t we just legalize pot???? Tax it and regulate it – just like tobacco.
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I concur. Here’s a fun fact for those who aren’t sure about the issue:
ANNUAL Causes of Death by Drug:
Tobacco – 435,000
Alcohol - 85,000
Adverse Reactions to Prescription Drugs – 32,000
All Illicit Drug Use, Direct and Indirect - 17,000
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs Such As Aspirin – 7,600
Marijuana – 0
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Yeah, Ben. Right out of 1936.
Most likely brain damage caused by alcohol. Wine, most likely. Just another, “normal, contributing chunk of society”. Or, maybe, considering the “take responsibility for one’s actions, AKA, personal responsibility”, just another brainwashed extreme right winger.
You know, Tea Party DS.
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Not much money on it? Are you kidding me? Marijuana is the United States largest cash crop……….above corn. Yes people would still grow their own but I don’t think it would be as “high” as you think. If you had the choice of getting a pack of joints at the gas station vs growing your own – which would you choose?
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I agree, Katie.
Chris, I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but growing it vs buying it is a no-brainer. You don’t see people growing and drying their own tobacco and that would be far easier.
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I don’t know much about “synthetic marijuana” or whatever this stuff is called, but if I hear the old “oh….if it just saves one kid from XXXX, it’s worth it”. That is such bogus logic I can’t believe people would buy into it. So, former president Bush chocked on a pretzel a while back right ? So using this logic, we could declare pretzels a hazard and ban them. How many lives would we save if we banned cars ? Wow….I’d guess we’d save thousands of childrens lives per year. How about banning Big Mac’s and french fries ? How many future coronaries do you think we’d prevent ? While we’re on the bandwagon here….how about banning kids bicycles…..my guess is bicycles kill or injure many kids every year. So….”if we could save just one kid, it’s worth it” is the most bogus argument I’ve ever heard. Think people…..think !
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…or one city councilor at a time…..
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maybe we should ban stupidity. But then that would mean 90% of the readers of this thread would be banned. What in someone’s life sucks so much that they need to alter their sense with what is one of the most toxic of illicit drugs? The tree huggers won’t let a guy fart in the woods for fear of disrupting/upsetting something natural, but will fill their lungs and brains with compounds they wouldn’t ever think of allowing an industry to discharge via a smokestack. I guess I just didn’t do enough dope as a teenager(and I did more than my share) to fully appreciate the flawed logic used by dopers..
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Wow…Hugh, I’d forgotten all about the ‘downerdude’. The one guy in a thousand that didn’t understand that getting high was all about enhancing the celebration of being alive.
But, I guess if you never understood that, you never will.
“one of the most toxic of illicit drugs”? Come now, you certainly must by now know that the legal drug, alcohol, is by far more toxic!
There was one thing about your post that I completely agreed with. “maybe we should ban stupidity.”
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Yea… last time I checked, Alcohol and Opiate-based pills were the drugs human’s consumed en masse to forget about their sorry lives and all the pain of the world. I’ve honestly never met somebody who uses Cannabis responsibly that is trying to ‘escape’ life. Most responsible adults are using it to relax after a long day of work in the comfort of their own homes.
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It is pretty absurd that we have a law that forbids us from going outside and lighting a plant on fire.
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Why dont we have a right to our own bodies anymore? If somebody wants to smoke as long as they arent hurting somebody else, let them smoke
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Fine, but if you follow your argument to its logical conclusion, you must then also oppose nearly everything in Mao-bama’s healthcare and financial reform bills, as well as his soon to be tested cap and trade abomination. If the gov’t should have the power to tell you what you can and can’t do with your body, then all these programs MUST be scrapped.
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Some better information about the side effects of this product would have been helpful – something other than generlaized “reports of paranoia and siezures”. What are the statewide actual numbers – what about nationally??
Generalized scare tactics come off as nothing much more than Reefer Madness… and I suspect there is actually more to it than that.
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Oh boy, pardon my typing… and lack of proof-reading… sigh…
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I totally agree with banning this “synthetic Marijuana” or so they say it… But lets legalize the REAL marijuana and everyone wont be trying to make DANGEROUS drugs to replace the high u get from marijuana… Marijuana is one of the least evasive & dangerous drugs of all time, even less than tobacco & alcohol due to the additives people put into these other drugs. Any of these “idiots” who DO stupid things while high, obviously shouldn’t be doing it, but there are a great percentage of resposible people who don’t do stupid things & just use it to relax or feel wonderful after a hard day or even just to make a party a lil more interesting. NEVER have i heard of anyone getting into an accident or even hurting someone while high on just marijuana, unlike drinking(which happens constantly) mostly when high, u just want to chill, sleep, laugh and eat ALOT! Now tell me, what so wrong with those things?? Not a damn thing!!!
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Looks like the idiots are already doing the stupid things.
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So Hugh, with all of your interesting posts, I can tell you are someone who hates freedom. But I have to ask – have you ever had an alcoholic beverage on your back porch after a long day or week and just enjoyed the relaxation? That’s all we want in legalizing marijuana. You obviously have never been stoned before…..so instead of the scare tactics and fear mongering – I suggest you light one up. You need to chill out!
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cliff notes pls, tldr;
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People also kill people in car accidents when sober. I’m sorry about your loss, but I think the bigger problem is that this country has more automobiles than it has people. Cars kill people, marijuana doesn’t.
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It’s sad you lost a family member to a traffic accident. But I think you are confused when it comes to facts about pot. First and foremost it’s non-addictive. Second I think it’s interesting that you completely avoided my alcohol question. You can’t judge others for using a substance for pleasure and relaxation if you do the same thing. Third, like alcohol – driving while impaired would be against the law if pot were legalized. So your point doesn’t really hold a lot of water.
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Oh, yeah. The $15 stuff that you never knew what would do. I remember that stuff. One time, you’d maybe get a headache. Next time, trippin’.
By ’75, at least in MN, we were getting some pretty good stuff. Panama Red, Sticky bud, sometimes, Maui Wowee, even had some Alcupulco Gold, one time. Of course, the ‘Lumbo was always present.
Pity that I got old and subject to drug tests.
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Sure… now go have that glass of wine or 24 oz beer.
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I am thinking he smoked oregano………..
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LOVE merv’s post!!! kudos
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Sorry, J, but since the testing stuff has been in effect, I haven’t partaken since ’97 or so. Kind of miss it, too.
And, before that, I was a smoker from ’71 until about ’97. Regularily. Daily. Enjoyed the heck out of it.
When the testing went into effect, I quit. No withdrawals, (unlike wine or beer), no problems at all. Just the disappointment.
AND i NEVER KILLED OR MAIMIED ANYONE!
Can you and your alcohol industry say THAT?
Tell me.
HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LOCKED UP BECAUSE THEY WERE DRUNK AND KILLED SOMEONE?
Then, tell me, how many are locked up because they used pot and did the same?
Loser
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“Can you and your alcohol industry say THAT?”
I don’t support the Alcohol industry any more than the illicit drug trade. I believe that we as individuals have too much going for ourselves to mess it up with drugs.
“HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LOCKED UP BECAUSE THEY WERE DRUNK AND KILLED SOMEONE?”
Not Enough! and stay on one thread. I’m getting tired of chasing you.
What kind of tractor is in your avatar? Is that an old Ford? My eyesight can’t quite make it out.
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haha, hugh is such a closed minded square haha typical old white conserv
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@Hugh J, why do you have to try to debunk everybody’s thoughts just because you had a bad experience with marijuana in high school? If somebody says that the plant calms them down after a long day’s work, who are you to say “No, you’re wrong. I know what’s best for you. It’s a killer weed, and you should go to jail.” C’mon, that’s ridiculous!
Prohibition didn’t work in the 1920s and it isn’t working now. We need to find more creative solutions than just trying to ban everything. I don’t get what you “War on Drugs” people think imprisonment solves. America already holds FAR more prisoners than any other country. If we locked up all the marijuana users, about half the country would be in jail, you fool! Plus, I would say caffeine is more physically harmful than marijuana, so let’s lock them up too, huh? Then we can all be in jail! Wooo! That solves everything!
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Wow! Looks like a lot of people are in favor of drug use in Minnesota – real or synthetic!
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yea most people in minnesota support drug use every day. check out a bar, or a coffee shop or a gas station where they sell cigarettes and sugary caffeinated drinks.
same as it ever was. human beings use and abuse drugs. welcome to reality.
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Actually, I think more people are finally realizing that marijuana was mislabeled as a “drug” by paranoid conservative whites in the ’30s, and that it’s actually pretty harmless. It alters the mind no more powerfully than a cup of coffee would.
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If I had to live in Minnesota, I’d probably want to take drugs, too.
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I was going to comment on this story…. but I got high.
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