TALLAHASSEE -- \t \t A reformed crack addict-turned-lawmaker is targeting the instrument of his affliction: the glass pipe. This session, Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, has been rallying support to pass a bill that could take bongs, water pipes and maybe hookahs off tobacco store shelves. It cleared its last Senate committee this week. ``You know how people say there's nothing like a reformed smoker or reformed addict?'' Rouson said. ``I'm dedicated to freeing communities of substance abuse, and these shops seemed like a good place to start.'' \t \t Rouson's bill mandates that tobacco stores get three-quarters of their revenue from tobacco sales. No more than 25 percent can come from drug paraphernalia. That's a standard that the owners of head shops, which specialize in bongs and drug-related goods, say they can't meet, especially after the federal government banned the popular clove cigarette last summer. Read more: Lawmaker pushes ban on drug paraphernalia - Legislature - MiamiHerald.com
And not only is it a bitchmove, but it could lead to so much worse. Imagine if hospitals could only give shots with syringes or use scalpels if 75% or more of their income is from routine checkups.
Fucking florida. Oklahoma is alot more conservative then that place, and this hasn't happened here yet. The minute our politicians catch wind of it, it will happen. edit- goddamn that's the most paranoid thing i've ever posted
I don't think it's happened yet and I can only hope it doesn't. I had most of my glass broken and I used to have to drive a fair deal to get anything worthwhile(atleast an hour). Now the closest glass might be out of state and that's just bullshit.
I dont think it will pass there going to be legalizeing pot soon anyway that does no good to get bongs off the street and make people smoke out cans and shit what does wounders for your lungs. Fuck that dude and fuck his life...
Florida is actually incredibly conservative, at least in the Panhandle. Our pot laws, for instance, are probably the harshest in the nation. Keep in mind though that this guy is a democrat. It's not the end of the world if it passes, though. I'll still be able to order paraphernalia online, which is cheaper anyway. True, it sucks to lose my FLHSs, but if it does pass (which I really doubt it will) at least I can order stuff online without feeling guilty!
Hai Guyz, let's keep voting for the party that bans all sorts of tobacco, wants to ban pipes, bongs, hookahs, etc, the party that requires a massive war on drugs to cover up their failed social policies, and the party that wants to regulate what you smoke in your own home... and even how you take a shit in your own home, down to how much water can be used to flush said shit. Those are surely the guys who are going to legalize marijuana.
I'm kind of discouraged for you OP. Even though Kentucky is a red state, tobacco and its products is like... 1/5 of what keeps us recession proof, so I'd be very surprised if a representative tried to pull some shit like that over here.
Wasn't the War on Drugs a creation of George Bush? I don't recall him being a democrat. And the ban on flavoured tobacco and cloves was actually by Moms Against Destructive Decisions (a Conservative group), Obama passed it in an effort to gain more bipartisan support. There've been pretty equal efforts on both sides for and against tobacco and ganj. Also, the bill will most likely pass. A few of you say you doubt it will, but not a single vote has been made against it yet. It's been completely unanimous until now, and no one's come out against it, so it looks as if it will remain unanimous. Now, this won't completely ban our glass. The deal is that if your shop makes at least 75% of its income from tobacco (which can probably be gotten around by increasing awareness of the legal alternatives that plenty of headshops carry), you can sell pipes and other paraphernalia with a 35% tax on it. That is INSANE tax. Lastly, I was making the point that they're the same basic idea. Instead of attacking the real issue (crack), this man is attacking the tool he chose to use for it. Florida is pretty much owned and run by pharmaceutical companies, and most of our representatives and lawmakers make money from pharmaceutical companies AND the illegal marijuana trade (I-95 from Miami to Jacksonville is one of the largest drug trafficking routes in the US), so I was trying to juxtapose the medical equivalent of what this lawmaker is claiming (that the tool is the subject of addiction).
Oh, another thing for Sir Elliot. No offense to you as a Conservative, but Jeb Bush is also pretty much solely responsible for Florida's stance on marijuana, as well as our dead economy and failed education system.
No you cant say anything about that. Dont you realize the service that the boys brother and daddy gave... Shhh...
You would wonder how many legal jobs this is going to affect.. How many manufacturers are there in Florida ? What are the longterm health related effects of these decisions ? People smoking out of all kinds of things.. Another stupid kick yourself in the balls moment..
I believe that Arizona is equal with Florida as far as restrictions and attitude toward legalisation, but FL has harsher penalties for possession and such. I think that's how it is, anyway, not 100% sure.