In Duluth, getting high and not hiding it
October 22, 2011 at 7:00 pm in Duluth News Tribune
A scenic park near the Last Place on Earth is a popular gathering spot for users of synthetic marijuana, who say they are doing no harm to themselves or others as they get high in plain sight.
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After reading this, I am disgusted. How these 20-somethings could do crap like this around their children. This guy wants to be a teacher? HAHAHA. Keep on dreaming, little dreamer. After his article the odds of that are slim.
Quote: He said he’s looking for work, but with a two-year-old theft conviction on his record, “a lot of people won’t hire you for dumb reasons,” he said. Close Quote
Dumb reasons? No, that hiring person is smart. Why would they hire you if you have stolen something. I wouldn’t hire you either. Again, keep on dreaming little dreamer.
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wow , just listen to these idiots, and that Carlson making up excuses for the poison he is selling to these crazy addicts, when are they going to shut him down. Is so touching too read that pregnent kid wont use the stuff, but ok to let her idiot companion use it and trusting him to take care of the kids, can this world get any crazier.
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Talk about loosers and that woman who said she will not smoke it while pregnant but will smoke cigarettes. Isn’t that special.
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Incredible!
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Cody Anderson seems to view himself as some type of martyr and legal spokesperson for synthetic marijuana and LPOE. Jim Carlson can always use more free publicity.
For his next article perhaps Brandon Stahl can go with some San Marco residents as they visit the liquor store on 1st and 1st, purchase a bottle and go find somewhere to drink it.
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Wow! Parents of the Year recipients. So many wtf moments in this article. Not sure where they read that if something is legal it is ok to do around your children. Also maybe they should take a break from getting high and read a child development book, 20 month olds are aware of a lot! I don’t know much about the EBT system but that is so sad that it is being used (by the small minority at least) for things like this. And they are bringing another child into this dysfunctional “family”
Prayers for these children that they can lead happy, healthy lives dispite having selfish, ignorant parents.
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I felt so sad and then angry after readingthis article- a teacher? an ultra sound technician? blood donors- can blood bescreened for this substance? It is scary to say the least.
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This is the most depressing story I can remember reading in this newspaper. These people are all deluded and their kids are going to be the ones suffering the consequences for years to come. Abuse of substances, abuse of government systems, abuse of public resources like Lake Place Park . . . . And no solutions in sight.
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It’s very sad that these people believe what they are doing is ok because it is purchased “legally”. The only reason synthetic drugs are legal to sell is because of loopholes in the law, not because a law made them legal to sell.
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Maybe all the people who claim they can’t find jobs in Duluth ought to get into the social services field. With so many pinheads and losers floating around and having children, the work will never end.
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Good lord I have so much to say right now I don’t even know where to start! Every single one of these people should have their children taken away. Quit when your child becomes aware of what you’re doing?! Seriously?! I’ll believe it when I see it. And to the guy that takes cash out with his EBT card and then goes and buys his daily dose: You’re welcome! It’s people like me that DO WORK and live life sober that paid for that! Grrrrrr………….
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If a store sells spray paint with the knowledge that it will be used for huffing they can lose their sales license so how can the LPOE sell this stuff knowing publicly in the DNT what people are doing with it? The owner himself said its not good to mix with alcohol!
Also now that these people are admitting they use government money to buy drugs its time for the social system to say bye bye to them! Its also time for an overhaul of the system to eliminate EBT cards and cash if not more!
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I thought City Parks are “Smoke free”??
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Women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy are more likely to have:
-Ectopic pregnancy
-Bleeding
-Placental abruption
-Placenta previa
-A stillbirth
Babies born to women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to be born:
-With a wide range of birth defects
-Prematurely
-At low birthweight
Babies born prematurely and at low birthweight are at risk of other serious health problems, including lifelong disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental retardation and learning problems), and in some cases, death.
Babies exposed to secondhand smoke:
-Are much more likely to die from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
-Are at greater risk for asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, respiratory symptoms
-May experience slower lung growth
http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/alcohol_smoking.html
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And yet marijuana, which nobody has ever overdosed on, is still mission critical to DPD and other LE agencies around this country.
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Exactly. My closing line for the article would have been something like “Maybe marijuana isn’t so bad after all…”
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You can smell marijuana. Synthetic marijuana has no distinguishing scent when burned.
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Women who smoke cigarettes during pregnancy are more likely to have:
-Ectopic pregnancy
-Bleeding
-Placental abruption
-Placenta previa
-A stillbirth
Babies born to women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to be born:
-With a wide range of birth defects
-Prematurely
-At low birthweight
Babies born prematurely and at low birthweight are at risk of other serious health problems, including lifelong disabilities (such as cerebral palsy, mental and learning problems), and in some cases, death.
http://www.marchofdimes.com/pregnancy/alcohol_smoking.html
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Really? A thumbs down for smoking related birth defects? I’d like to hear the reason for that. Unless it’s from some hard-core smoker who can’t stand to hear the facts. Are there any of those who post on here often?
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Ahhhh, so this is where the $10,000 I paid the state last year in income, sales, and property taxes is going. I just got my vehicle registration bill and it went up 300%. They must be raising prices as LPOE.
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Would you rather build the Vikings a new stadium?
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Maybe we should all do a protest sit in at social services to get them to change them system of handouts?
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Not to wander too far off the subject, but James your vehicle registration went up 300%? Either you got a new vehicle or your car went up in value 300% or you may want to check with the DMV for a typo error! LOL!
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Why are EBT cards allowed to be used at cash machines at all? You shouldn’t be able to use them anywhere except a grocery store and only on certain items at that grocery store. I know there will be some who’ll find a way around it, but at least it’ll stop a lot of them.
This is truly the most depressing article I have ever read. Don’t these people know or care what they’re doing to their kids? If you want a job, you can find one if you look hard enough. It might not be exactly what you want to be doing or pay how much you’d like to get paid, but it’s going to be a lot more satisfying than what you’re doing now. Even if you have a criminal record, there’ll be someone who’ll hire you.
The parents and especially the kids mentioned in this article need a lot of prayer.
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I so agree- what I see in a lot of people(not all)- when they can’t get a job is that they whine that they can’t find something they like to do or are qualified for. Good grief- if you need money there are all kinds of jobs out there- legit jobs- If you need a job you go out and find something until what you are qualified for or like comes along. But maybe it is easier to whine and go on government handouts. And yes, my husband and I have worked at jobs we didn’t like or were not at the payscale we were used to- but we had a house and 2 kids to raise and we worked when and where we could to keep it together until we did get where we wanted to be. It meant long hours, priority spending, free entertainment, God forbid-even bag lunches. Child endanagerment- you darn right it is- someone with some authority shoudl be doing something- I also agree- aren’t parks smoke free?
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Disgusting! Is the reason they are even enrolled in college is to use the grant/loan money for these drugs? What a life!
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Really can’t believe how pathetic people are!! Thinking it’s okay to smoke this crap around kids and in public, using there welfare money to pay for it, going to college to be around kids and setting this as an example!! PATHETIC!!
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There are so many stupid statements in the article by the users I don’t know where to begin.
One thing I see a continuing failure by the DNT to mention the FDA approval status for human consumption. These are synthetic drugs labeled as “incense” or “potpourri.”
But just to highlight, this is like a Dave Letterman Top 10 List of stupid statements.
“he doesn’t believe that his judgment is impaired when he’s high.” (his judgement is impaired prior to the high anyway, how can it get any worse?)
“my mind feels mellow. I kind of feel like a ball of goo” (Since when is a ball of goo a good thing?)
“At least I get off my ass and panhandle,” he said. “But this is getting tough. I’ve got to get a job.” (oh my god, this hits a new level of wtf)
taking online classes through Lake Superior College to one day be an elementary school teacher (I have a better chance of taking online classes and becoming a Neurosurgeon)
a lot of people won’t hire you for dumb reasons,” he said. (Like your appearance in this article).
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This article should be enough evidence for Social Services to be prompted to step in and take these kids out of these homes.
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Where’s all the people who complained on this forum when the DPD raided the LPOE? This is one of the many reasons why they raided the LPOE. Using your government dole money to get high in front of your kids. I would be willing to bet that these classy Duluth residents are the rule not the exception.
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You seem to have missed the point here Jimmy McCulloch,
Nobody is upset because they’re using synthetics. Drugs are drugs. People are upset because they are subsidizing this lifestyle and because these people are victimizing these children and all but guaranteeing that this cycle of being a dog turd on the shoe of society will continue into the future.
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Sometimes, Jimmy, there’s no feedback because there’s a perceived lack of reception on the other end. I have a few minutes to burn, so let me help you out. People aren’t mad about paying taxes. Most of us believe we should pay our fair share. What we’re mad about is someone using tax money in a way it’s not intended, that is, to help when a person’s back is to the wall, when they need a hand up. Using EBTs to pay for your high when you’re unemployed and gaming the system is bound to aggravate people. It’s like your friend who constantly hits you up for money and never pays you back. I’m guessing you have at least one friend like that. And you’re right that drugs do not bear the entire burden of blame for the ills of society. How many of your close friends who dropped out are devoting time to getting their GED or going to the Workforce Development Center for vocational testing and help in creating and marketing a resume’? There’s a certain amount of personal initiative required here. If your friends weren’t inclined to apply themselves when they had a go at the free education offered to every citizen, they kind of dropped the ball on their own. There are bigger problems here, and some of them start with a dearth of personal responsibility. Frankly, I’d wager that everyone who’s posted would like to see you and your friends succeed, but you’ve got to roll out of bed all by yourself and head out the door on your own steam…not in a cloud of synthetic smoke.
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Jimmy,
You stated that you just graduated, so I assume you do not have a lot of work experience, especially as a teacher. The educational system is not to blame for personal choices such as using drugs, which is what this article is about. I suggest that you spend time volunteering in an elementary school classroom so that you can see firsthand what it is like to try to teach basic curriculum to children who have not even learned basic social skills, or even to tie their own shoes because of lack of parenting. Many of these children come from homes of addicts whose priorities are not their children but their addiction. This is not my assumption or opinion, this is my reality as an educator. Do you honestly believe that a parent who is homeless and spending the public assistance they receive on drugs, whether legal or not is properly caring for their children? This is not an educational issue, it is a parenting issue, and if the parents are on public assistance it is also a social services issue.
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Except that the social services people don’t give a damn one way or the other what these people spend their money on. Everybody’s being paid and that’s the bottom line. They hand out EBT cards, Section 8 vouchers and every other kind of welfare like it’s Halloween candy and that’s about the point they stop caring. They know these people will be back for more and they know they’ll be popping out babies who’ll grow up to need assistance, too. Money money money.
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Do you think it was fortune that both happened to have Tuesday off work to spend the day together…
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In the picture above- how much did that guy’s hair cut cost? what about those sunglasses- and by the way- who is watching the child who is running off in the distance-If I read the article correctly- it must be their child.
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Brandon, thanks for telling this story like it is. It is truly disgusting. Those poor children should be orphaned today; for everyone’s sake.
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At least the Occupy Duluth demonstrations will give these misguided morons something to do in their spare time.
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Jimmy just answer two questions.
Is his FDA approved like other products for human consumption?
Why not? (sorry I answered this first for you but you need the help)
But I’d like to hear your challenge to my questions.
Maybe those wall street protesters should protest this business and its methods of making profits at all costs. Do they really care about the customer or just profits.
Waiting for the response cannot wait to hear the lame ass excuses.
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We have four shops like LPOE in Moorhead, MN, and there is currently a proposal before our council to establish a ban on drug paraphernalia. Curiously, two council members have strongly opposed the ban on “economic development” grounds. Putting aside the obvious flaw in that argument, this article raises an interesting point. How much of the economic development from these headshops is attributable to entitlement programs?
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I was wondering how long our resident troll would take before advocating to the dopers and continuing his assault upon law enforcement. Whatsamatta boy, you been in the hooscow for a while? Or did your mother just lock you in the basement until you agreed to clean up the mess you made?
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Who’s a good boy?! Who’s a good boy?! You are, aren’t you, little snoochy?! *pats head and scratches behind the ears*
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40 years old, unemployed, and still living in your mother’s basement. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Your father would be proud of you…………..IF you knew who he was.
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