Huffing Spice

Proposition 19 was reported on all the local news stations, along with the story about Spice. If you didn't know, Proposition 19 was a bill to legalize the recreational use of Marijuana in California. It did not pass and recreational use is still illegal. However, the issue also served as a backdrop for smoking Spice. There is no correlation between the two activities.

While reporting activity of local police going to smoke shops to instruct shop owners to reiterate Spice is not meant to be smoked, many news reporters linked Marijuana and Spice together by calling spice, "legal marijuana." This is a misnomer, because Spice is a type of incense, not intended for consumption. Some side-effects include vomiting and other severe reactions similar to consuming poisons found in a regular household.

Realistically, smoking spice is like huffing. Several years ago parents found children huffing markers, exhaust and gasoline. Inhaling gasoline is obviously incorrect behavior, yet I don't see Congress gathering to outlaw legal sale of gasoline.

I will not address the similarities between Marijuana and Spice, because there are no similarities. It appears people are running around trying to get high. Maybe they started because of a cruel joke, wherein, someone said they smoked spice to see if another person was easily influenced. Maybe someone tried it and said it was similar.

The action of informing the public there are risks associated to smoking Spice was great. Now we know it isn't safe to inhale incense straight into your lungs. Considering how many people know they can get high from paint fumes, proves to me, teens engaged in this activity simply didn't know it is dangerous.

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