Dallas council passes ordinance banning marijuana substitute K2

[slimvictor]

11:47 AM Wed, Aug 11, 2010 | Permalink
Steve Thompson/Reporter

http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/08/dallas-council-passes-ordinanc.html

excerpt:

The Dallas City Council this morning passed a ban the marijuana substitute K2. Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway and Mayor Tom Leppert had called for the ban, calling K2 a dangerous substance that is spreading among kids and adults in Dallas.

Several speakers spoke up against the ban before council this morning, citing individual rights.

Afterward, Caraway launched into an angry retort, saying kids in his district are buying the chemically tinged substance in droves.

"I'm not gonna sit here and stand for it at all, not when we can do something about it," Caraway said.

Council member Angela Hunt suggested following the lead of some other cities, and banning its use only for people under 21. She said there's plenty of evidence on the dangers of alcohol, so why be reactionary when it comes to K2, for which there is less evidence of harm? Why not restrict its use to adults, as is done with alcohol?

"If our goal is to protect our children, we should confine our ordinance to that point," Hunt said.

But Caraway said that wasn't good enough, because it would still find its way into kids' hands.

 

[slimvictor]

City Council's K-2 ban not well considered

http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/08/city-councils-k.html

Excerpt:

I wish actual science had been used in today's City Council debate regarding K-2 and other cannabinoid substances that head shops are currently selling as an alternative to marijuana. Mayor Pro Tem Dwayne Caraway made an impassioned plea for approval of the ban that he and Mayor Tom Leppert proposed, arguing that K-2 poses a danger to children as the latest thrill-seeking way to evade marijuana prohibitions. He likened the danger to "cheese," as if heroin and pot are equivalent in terms of what they do to abusers physically.

The only voice of sanity in this debate was that of Councilwoman Angela Hunt, who calmly asked the city attorney and police chief for statistics about hospitalizations or deaths related to the use of K-2. The answer came back: none, save for one instance in which K-2 was one of many drugs used by a guy who also ingested PCP. Then Hunt asked about calls to poison control related to K-2. Statewide, there had been 119 calls and 6 in Dallas, City Attorney Tom Perkins stated. When asked about hospitalizations, deaths and calls to poison control related to alcohol, it was obvious that they far exceed those related to K-2.

 

[Roger&Me]

This will do nothing to stop the sale of these blends in this city. They hawk them at every corner store-- if a cop comes in, they just set the box behind the counter. No biggie.

IMO, this 'ban' will never be enforced-- or even heard about by most business-owners who sell the blends. There's only 1 thing that matters in Dallas, and its those GREENBACKS-- if you can make money slanging blends at the corner store, you're not gunna stop just because some fucker on the city council thinks you should.

Most of the stores that sell these blends are owned by people who can barely speak English anyways, so how are they going to read about this new 'ordinance' in the paper?

Most of the people who buy them aren't kids anyways; the blends are sold almost exclusively in minority neighborhoods, and the people buying them are almost exclusively minority males in their late teens and early twenties.

Additionally: the Dallas city council is a fucking joke, they spend the majority of their time arguing amongst themselves about ridiculous racial issues and nonsense like that.

 

[mecaib]

But Caraway said that wasn't good enough, because it would still find its way into kids' hands.

A list of things which find their way into kids' hands:

Alcohol
Tobacco
Guns
Inhalants
Nutmeg
Cough Syrup
Datura
The Choking Game

Now let's see, if a kid suddenly finds it difficult to obtain a safer high, what will he/she go to next? Something more detrimental to his/her health, yet curiously more available.

 

[nopipesdfw]

It's still available cheaper than ever, this is just more media feel-good bullshit.

 

[slimvictor]

A list of things which find their way into kids' hands:

Alcohol
Tobacco
Guns
Inhalants
Nutmeg
Cough Syrup
Datura
The Choking Game

Now let's see, if a kid suddenly finds it difficult to obtain a safer high, what will he/she go to next? Something more detrimental to his/her health, yet curiously more available.

QFT.

However, just to play devil's advocate for a minute, if the synthetic cannabinoids in K2 actually do turn out to be as unhealthy as some people fear, once actual research is done, then this might turn out to be a good thing.