TONAWANDA INDIAN RESERVATION — Synthetic marijuana and other merchandise have been seized from four retailers on a western New York Indian reservation in raids carried out by scores of federal agents.
Officials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told local media outlets that they conducted Thursday’s raids on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation at four smoke shops owned by Native Americans. . Authorities say the raids were prompted by recent local cases of medical emergencies blamed on the pot-like substance, a chemical-coated herb mixture that can have dangerous side effects.
There were no arrests at the reservation, which straddles the Niagara, Genesee and Erie county borders .
-Democrat and Chronicle
First of all, this brief synopsis neglects to mention the fact that they also seized all of my cigarettes. And yes, I know I know I know…smoking is bad. But we all have our vices, and whoomp, there it is.
Secondly, this is bullshit, and I’ll tell you why.
Synthetic marijuana (henceforth referred to as “spice” because I don’t want to keep writing “synthetic marijuana”) is not illegal. It should be, but it isn’t. In fact, you can go pick it up at a mini-mart not too far from me. It’s kind of easy to access…I’ve seen it at the flea market, the Rez, and I assume that either Terrapin or Decades would carry it…if not, there’s a dozen other mom-and-pop head shops that do. Also, it says right on the package that it’s not for human consumption. So you know what you’re doing if you’re doing it. This is, to me, not a whole lot different than kids doing Whip-its. You shouldn’t do it, but no one stops selling whipped cream, do they?
Given, I think Spice is worse, as research has clearly shown. But it’s not illegal. It should be. I cannot stress enough that it should be.
What I think happened is that the towns surrounding the Rez had some idiot kids smoking things they shouldn’t be smoking. Complaints ensue, authorities are notified, and the DEA waltzes onto the Rez to take their shit. Which seems so fishy to me, but apparently it’s legal. If I’m mistaken and it’s not, please tell me. I love adding fuel to my fire.
Here’s what I don’t think happened. I don’t think the parents of these kids ever told them not to smoke this. I don’t think the parents of these kids even knew what it was until their kid was in the hospital. Further reason why you should, in my humble opinion, perform biweekly search and seizures of their bedrooms. (It’s easy…just pretend you’re the DEA, and they’re the Tonawanda Nation.) But that’s another story. I’m not talking about bad parenting, I’m talking about kids who can’t read warning labels.
There are two reasons why I want Spice to be illegal.
1. It’s terrible for you. It makes you hallucinate, get sick, have seizures, etc. I saw a youtube video of a kid jumping out a window while smoking it. Seriously. It’s just awful.
2. It’s ruining the good name of pot.
Yeah. I said it. And if you’ve ever smoked pot and liked it, then you know I’m right.
I have been told, by those who are in the know, that Spice is more like shrooms than pot. One person I know smoked Spice and spent the next half hour thinking some kid was outside waiting for him with a shotgun. I refuse to believe that things like that happen when you’re smoking ganja. I have never known anyone to have any side effects besides eating a sandwich and falling asleep. Marijuana has never killed anyone. Ever. (Fun fact, neither has LSD. Well, it may have killed a horse one time.) There is an estimated 75 deaths a year in which the person was high on marijuana at the time of death, but no conclusive evidence that marijuana was linked to these deaths. Health reports don’t say it’s harmless, of course, but it is listed as being less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol. And yes, medical marijuana is something of a joke in pop culture as people make up symptoms in order to get prescriptions, but it has also helped many and saved them countless hours of suffering.
Spice lands people in the hospital.
So stop calling it “synthetic marijuana,” and start calling it what it really is: “crazy chemical dust that will kill you.”
I feel terrible for the people on the Rez. I assume that was a very scary moment, and my heart goes out to them. I can’t imagine going into work one day, and then having the door bust open to show a DEA agent with a gun. Because that’s what happened…they came in armed. To a store, where hardworking employees were just trying to make it to the weekend. It’s not a Columbian drug cartel. Just some people whose shops happened to sell an item that idiot kids couldn’t read the warning label on. Apparently, for that, you need guns.
So next week, when I go get my gas and cigarettes (which will hopefully be there, as they apparently confiscated all bagged cigarettes…my “brand,” if you will,) I am going to sign whatever the hell petition they have going around. There’s always one going around. Because between the spice and the cigarettes and the traumatized natives, I don’t agree with any of it.
I really need someone to explain to me how the raid was legal. And then I need them to explain why that legality is acceptable.
... to crazy chemical dust that will kill you.
