Banning Cylindrical Objects Won't Stop People from Smoking Crack
You know those little roses that come in glass tubes? You can buy them at gas stations for a buck or two and then use them however you see fit. And, as luck would have it, some folks like to put crack in them and smoke it. It should therefore come as no surprise to find people calling for a ban on these so-called "love roses."
…Reverend Michael Latham, the leader of the local NAACP Chapter, says these "love roses" are littering our streets and damaging our community.
Rev. Michael Latham: "Take it out. Don't sell it. And, understand it's being used to for smoking crack cocaine. I think Fort Wayne has a real serious crack problem."
Latham is calling for a boycott of at least three gas stations in Fort Wayne after calling the owners to complain. [Indianasnewscenter.com]
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Inevitably, when the citizens of Ft. Wayne, Indiana endeavor to misdirect their concerns over the local drug problem, they've got a powerful ally in their congressman, drug war hall-of-shamer Mark Souder.
Mark Souder/Congressman, 3rd District: "I support a boycott. That's voluntary consumer decision."
Did Mark Souder just use the term "voluntary consumer decision"? Lucky me, I'd have bet anyone anything that we'd never hear those words leave his lips given his career-long commitment to jailing certain consumers for the voluntary decisions they make. Souder then proceeds to celebrate his sudden affinity for consumer choice by proposing a new law banning small containers:
Co-Chair of the House Drug Policy Caucus, Souder thinks Latham's plan is a good one. The Congressman hopes to go one step further in the near future with a law banning hidden drug compartments, like these.
Mark Souder/Congressman, 3rd District: "I believe when something is used solely for illegal purposes, it should be illegal."
Even if "love roses" were literally never used for anything other than smoking crack, their prohibition would still accomplish nothing absent the simultaneous prohibition of other popular crack accessories such as soda cans, cigarettes, and radio antennas. But I also don't see why these pretty little roses couldn't sometimes be used just to brighten someone's day.
Remind me to send Mark Souder a dozen "love roses" for Valentine's Day.
digg
redditLet them litter the streets with roses
Comment posted by danlinn on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 11:09amNo offense to anyone from Ft. Wayne but some small roses littering the streets would make the place seem a little more friendly in my opinion. Especially with someone like Souder creeping around the corners.
Dan Linn
Executive Director Illinois NORML
www.illinoisNORML.org
Container Madness
Comment posted by Giordano on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 1:29pmSome east coast state once tried to make 35mm film canisters illegal simply because the handy containers are used for drugs. I never followed up to discover how it worked out, whether it drove all the photographers and tourists out of the state, or what.
There’s a more recent example of film canister justice in Newport, Washington. This remarkable case involved a fifteen-year-old who, on his own, successfully appealed his film canister conviction to Superior Court.
With little or no thanks to congressional lunatics like Souder, expect a day to arrive when U.S. Homeland Security begins “protecting” us from the evils of film canister carnage .
Giordano
This is truely crazy!
Comment posted by mlang52 on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 3:50pmGiordano,
Great post, as always! The myriad of items used for "illegal" behavior is not comprehensible, by these lunatics! The fact is, there are several plumbing, electronic, and auto supplies that can easily be used for such things. But, who is to say that what a person posesses is "drug paraphanalia", or just normal supplies?! Our country is fast slipping down a slope that will make the police state a way of life! Our privacy will be endangered, more and more, by such idiots.
Horrible judge
Comment posted by Matt Potter on Thu, 01/17/2008 - 2:22pmGreat story Giordano. I was so pissed when I read this quote from the judge in that kid's case:
Judge Baker, apparently irritated at the prosecution's inability to outsmart a minor in her court, reportedly stated to Joshua, “Don't laugh when you leave this courtroom, thinking you have beat the system because you have looked these things up yourself. We are going to get you down the road.”
What a bitch! This is a great example of how absolutely moronic drug warriors tend to be, especially when talking about children. It's one thing to come down viciously on responsible adults who are posing a threat to children (or so they claim). But that was a 15 year old kid that this judge is basically saying "we're going to lock your ass up one way or another." What hypocrites...
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Matt Potter
North Carolina State University
Chair, Student Senate Campus Community Committee
President, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
What Ever It Takes
Comment posted by Anonymous on Mon, 03/10/2008 - 10:40pmI agree with your point. Teens today cannot be protected from drugs by outlawing certain containers. If someone is addicted to a drug they are going to do whatever it takes in order to get high.
If the Supreme Court were to outlaw film canisters or the tubes those roses came in, the addicts would simply find a new method for smoking their crack or hiding their pills.
There will always be a way to get around the law and avoid being caught.
On my blog, http://rockstar.learnerblogs.org, I have researched the complex world of drug use, and I've found that we cannot predict the path one will take in life. This is especially true in any case with drugs involved.
WAR 3/10/08
Baseball
Comment posted by Anonymous on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 8:53pmI'd just like to take a second to thank Rep. Mark Souder for his genius insight into baseball's steroid "problem" today during the congressional hearings.
His suggestion? MLB should monitor spikes in players' statistics to target them for additional drug testing. Obviously, if any player starts hitting more homeruns he must be on performance enhancing drugs, right? There...couldn't..possibly..be any other explanation.
Is this guy's solution to everything "drug test them!" "ban that!" ?
turn over those light bulbs
Comment posted by rita on Wed, 01/16/2008 - 4:09amTorch lighters aren't illegal yet, but if you have one when the drug cops come, they'll sure take it. And you have to show ID to buy test tubes at the hobby shop. Now, about those light bulbs . . .
LOVE ROSES
Comment posted by Anonymous on Sun, 02/03/2008 - 11:59pmI THINK THAT THE LOVE ROSES SHOULD BE BANNED, THIS COMMUNITY DON'T NEED TO ADD TO THE USE OF SMOKING CRACK COCAINE. MAYBE SOME PEOPLE DON'T FIND IT TO BE A BIG DEAL, BUT IT IS WHEN YOU LOOSE LOVED ONE'S TO A DRUG HABBIT. IF THE GAS STATIONS CAN'T STOP SELLING THEM IT JUST SHOW'S YA THAT ALL THEIR WORRIED ABOUT IS MAKING A DOLLAR, NOT OUR PEOPLE OR THE COMMUNITY.MAYBE WHEN THEY GET BOYCOTTED AND THEY LOOSE THEM DOLLARS THEN THAT'S WHEN REALITY WILL KICK IN. I SAY DO WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR COMMUNITY, DON'T LET OWNERS OR WORKERS FOOL YA BY TAKING IT OFF THE SHELF FOR AWHILE & THEN BRINGING IT BACK.
we'd just smoke out of...
Comment posted by Anonymous on Wed, 08/20/2008 - 12:43amANYTHING ELSE!!! If you made 'stems' illegal...
crack-heads, or 'base-addicts' whatever are gonna smoke their crack whether or not they have a stem.... trust me, i've seen people smoke crack out of an albuterol inhaler container, and I took a hit, and didn't get high from the rock, i got a major headache from smoking plastic / pvc...
if youd rather ur family members who are 'heads' to be brain-dead, and barely abe to communicate because of smoking deadly pvc fumes instead of using the proven harm-reductionn method of "love rose"(crack stem) and metal mesh smooshed up...
hell we even burn the copper wire-mesh to get the chemicals off it before sticking it in the stem...
so , make stems illegal, they'll just be sold for $5 or $6 instead of $1 or $1.50 and your mom / dad / sister / brother / friend will just have less money for their rock, so they'll rob you or some old lady on the street for the extra they need to get their fix...
its gonna happen either way, so let's think about helping people with a serious disease, instead of ostracizing them and leaving them feeling sad, and alone and sick...
think ppl! and wake the f()ck up 'america'!!!
this country is sick...
Comment posted by Anonymous on Wed, 08/20/2008 - 12:45amamerica where have you gone??? and where am i now?
And then theres the health issue
Comment posted by Matt Potter on Tue, 01/15/2008 - 10:55amSmoking crack can cause lips to chap and bleed, thus sharing pipes are not the healthiest thing to do when smoking crack, and from my understanding, hepatitis is a big threat to crack users. If we start banning anything and everything that could potentially be used to smoke crack we could easily find ourselves in the same position we're in with injection drugs, with a tragically high number of infections due to irrational drug war policies.
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Matt Potter
Students for Sensible Drug Policy - Board of Directors