Pubdate: Mon, 27 Jun 2005
Source: Janesville Gazette (WI)
Copyright: 2005 Bliss Communications, Inc
Contact: http://www.gazetteextra.com/contactus/lettertoeditor.asp
Website: http://www.gazetteextra.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1356
Note: Excerpted from longer editorial, this is but one thumb

THUMBS UP/DOWN: JEANNE LARSEN, AMBER ALERTS ON CELL PHONES, POT-FLAVORED CANDY

Thumbs Down:

To peddlers of pot-flavored candy. Marijuana-flavored lollipops named 
Purple Haze, Acapulco Gold and Rasta are showing up on convenience store 
shelves around the country, according to the Associated Press. The candy is 
legal and made with hemp oil, a common ingredient in health food and beauty 
supplies. A state senator from Georgia suggests it's nothing but dope 
candy. We wouldn't go that far. After all, the oil imparts marijuana's 
grassy taste but not the high. Still, the senator accurately argues that 
it's nothing we need to be training our children to do. Merchants call the 
candy a harmless novelty, and stores are being advised to only sell it to 
those 18 and older. But too many shops illegally sell cigarettes to 
underage customers. No law prevents stores from selling this candy to 
minors. And if kids think the candy is hip, it's not a stretch to imagine 
that more kids will be more likely to try the real drug, and at younger 
ages. We urge area stores to strongly consider this consequence before 
stocking the candy.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom