Senate Bill Would Ban 'pot Candy'

[Alfa]

SENATE BILL WOULD BAN 'POT CANDY'
ATLANTA - Candy that's flavored like marijuana would be outlawed under a bill proposed in the state Senate.
The effort, spearheaded by Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, is one of several throughout the nation targeting increasingly popular candies marketed with drug-inspired names like Purple Haze and advertised with slogans such as "Every Lick is Like Taking a Hit."
Marketers call the treats a harmless novelty. But anti-drug advocates say they glorify drug use and encourage children to smoke pot.
"Should a 9-year-old be able to go into a store and get a bag of chips, a soda pop and some dope candy?" said Fort, who announced his bill Thursday in the parking lot of an Atlanta convenience store where he said he bought the candy the day before. "That's ridiculous."
Fort's bill, which was co-signed by several other Democrats and at least one Republican in Georgia's GOP-controlled Senate, bans the sale of any "marijuana or hemp flavored candy" in the state and calls for a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine for the second offense.
Companies that sell the candies say the lollipops, gum drops and other treats are geared toward adults and that they advise retailers to sell the candy only to people 18 and older.
They say the candies are flavored with legal hemp oil, which gives them the oily, grassy taste of marijuana.
"It has the flavor and essence, without any of the pharmacological ingredients," Tony Sosa, whose Atlanta-based Hydro Blunts company sells the candies, said in June.
Sosa was unable to be reached by telephone on Thursday.
Some hemp advocates disagree with Sosa, claiming the candy is made with oil from the cannabis plant's flowers that may be illegal.
The Web site for Corona, Calif.-based Chronic Candy acknowledges using "hemp essential oil" in its products, but maintains that the oil is legal.
Tom Durkin, a Chicago attorney who represents Chronic Candy, was unable to be reached Thursday for comment.
Neither the U.S. Food and Drug Administration nor the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has reported testing the candies.
Critics say that, regardless of its content, the candy makes using drugs seem more attractive to children who may not have tried marijuana themselves. The Chronic Candy Web site features photographs of celebrities, from rapper Snoop Dogg to actor Verne Troyer, eating the candy or wearing clothing advertising the company.
"They not only sell the candy," said community activist and former Atlanta Councilman Derrick Boazman, "they sell a drug-induced lifestyle."
Fort and Boazman were joined in the convenience store parking lot by about a half-dozen people holding signs that read "Stop Chronic Candy." The name is a reference to street slang for marijuana.
An employee inside the store, who did not give his name, said the shop stopped selling the lollipops in the past few days.

Source: Macon Telegraph (GA)

[Aaron]

How ridiculous, making a flavor illegal. Way to supress freedom of speech. I suppose if I decide to release a product using a slogan the government doesn't like it will be pounced on as well? I like that quote, "they sell a drug-induced lifestyle". Way to go Bible-belt. *Sorry if it double posts, connection is acting up*

[Nagognog2]

Next they'll outlaw the color green as green glorifies the marijuana culture.

[hazeinmybong2]

It is an interesting debate though. In middle school they taught about drugs in a class called D.A.R.E. They talked about drugs, their effects and side effects. When the cop told us about mushrooms and acid he said you eat them and laugh a lot and see colors. Needless to say it sparked my interest. It is rediculous to ban a candy flavored like pot, but it really shouldn't be available for young kids, but if it were sold in liquor stores and porn shops or something I see no problem with it.

[Nagognog2]

Oh there would be a VERY LARGE problem with selling it in liquor stores. You know those ads on TV from "The Partnership For A Drug-Free America?" Like the ones showing your "brain on drugs" as an egg being fried in a skillet? Guess who funds the PFADFA? It's the liquor industry. Same for the D.A.R.E. program - which is mandatory in many states/school districts. Now with George "Al Cappone" Bush in the White House, do you forsee reason suddenly prevailing? I see them outlawing the color green! Not to "protect the children," but to increase profits for an industry that contributed heavily towards the current regime.

[klaatu]

Originally Posted by Alfa

targeting increasingly popular candies marketed with drug-inspired names

I look forward to them banning Coke then

Klaatu

[motorhead]

Marijuana: East Bay DEA Raids Take Out Marijuana Candy Supplier 3/17/06
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/427/oakland.shtml
DEA agents raided a building in the heart of Oaksterdam, Oakland's cannabis friendly near-downtown neighborhood, as well as locations in Emeryville and Lafayette, and arrested 13 people Thursday in what they called "a sophisticated marijuana operation" involving large grows as well as the production of marijuana candy and soft drinks. The main target was Kenneth Affolter, 39, who is allegedly the main man in a company called Beyond Bomb that manufactured the candies.
Agents said they seized thousands of plants from four different grows, a large amount of currency, three weapons, and hundreds of pot-laced candies and drinks. The candies were packaged to parody well-known brands and included products called "Buddafingers," "Rasta Reece's," "Keef Kat," and "Pot Tarts." Soft drinks were packaged under names including "Bong's Root Beer" and "Toka-Cola."
Such products are widely available through (perhaps now not so) mysterious channels in various medical marijuana outlets and cannabis-friendly businesses in the Bay Area and beyond, and provide an alternative to the inhalation of marijuana smoke for people who cannot or will not tolerate it.
"This can be tragic," said DEA spokesman Javier Pena. "A young child or adult could eat one of these and drink one of the sodas. As you can tell, they mimic the brand names." And now Mr. DEA Man has taken down the candy man.