Wednesday, May 1, 2013

How Far Is Too Far?

Nelson business told to remove tobacco plants from window



Chesney was growing a crop of about 50 tobacco plants at his magazine office that he formerly ran as the Kootenay Time cafe. He said the plants were grown from seed and were being used to provide shade and privacy for people working inside.
"I'm not selling tobacco here; I don't even smoke myself," Chesney said. "I think its a little extreme that I'm being told what type of plant I can grow in my window."
The notice came from an Interior Health enforcement officer, who advised Chesney that he was welcome to grow the tobacco plants in his home garden or under grow lights in a back room, as long as they're out of sight of passersby.
He was given two days to either remove them or face a fine of $575 each day they remained on display.

Queensland Government Bans Chocolate, Saffron, Echinacea and Beer


Last week the QLD government passed the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2012.  As a result, many harmless chemicals, foodstuffs and herbal medicines were inadvertently banned including the popular cold and flu herb, Echinacea; the popular sleep tonic, Tryptophan; saffron; chocolate and even the unthinkable – alcohol.
The new laws state that if the ‘intent’ of a substance is to have similar effects to a banned or dangerous drug, the substance virtually becomes the drug.

“This mayor must be the great Houdini–he must be Houdini–because in 2001, when he took office, we were selling 42 million cartons of cigarettes in the City of New York,” the representative, David Schwartz, contended. “The great Houdini waved his magic wand and all of a sudden, in 2013 we’re selling 7 million cartons of cigarettes.”
Mr. Schwartz, needless to say, did not find that drop a credible reflection of actual declines in smoking.
“If anyone believes that smoking dropped from 42 million to 7 million,” he explained, “then there’s a bridge behind us I’d like to sell everybody.”
Instead, he blamed the drop on black market sales.
“This mayor and this council has created the largest black market we have ever seen. This black market in cigarettes rivals the drug trade. Opportunists have taken advantage of the system and they are buying untaxed cigarettes in this city and they are selling them all over the place,” Mr. Schwartz said, railing loudly against the mayor in front of a tobacco store near City Hall.
Mr. Schwartz was one of several members of a new coalition, Save Our Stores, that recently formed to vehemently oppose Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to forbid stores from publicly displaying cigarettes and tobacco products, as well as establishing a minimum price for cigarettes and prohibiting retailers from redeeming cigarette coupons. The coalition, naturally, ripped both into Mr. Bloomberg’s policies and the mayor himself, depicting him as an enemy of small businesses who swamps them endlessly in fines and regulations.
Police say the officer installed the camera to deter students from smoking. That’s according to the Captial-Gazette.
Police say the camera was put in plain sight and did not record on transmit any images.