Victory Against a Bad Law
Christian Firoz is not guilty of selling salvia. Congratulations, Christian!
I don’t personally give a hoot about salvia. I do, however, care very deeply about bad laws and other abuses of government. The law that Tom Casady’s crew tried to use to justify arresting Mr. Firoz is frighteningly vague, so much so that the coffee in your hand right now is almost certainly illegal in Nebraska. Rather than tell the Unicameral to stick their bad legislation in their ear, LPD instead chose the route of selective enforcement. How unfortunate.
The jurors on the case noted that the government offered exactly zero evidence that salvia is any sort of a threat to public safety. My research suggests the plant is a relatively harmless short-term hallucinogen that only works for some people. We’re not talking days-long trips here; we’re talking a few minutes of oddness. Sen. Russ Karpisek doesn’t want to take any chances, so he hopes to ban the latest devil weed (LB123). Sen. Karpisek is from Wilber—the very same Wilber that every year hosts a giant festival that invites revelers to partake of a mug or six of beer, the consumption of which is associated with all sorts of threats to public safety and personal well-being. I’m just sayin’.
Anyway, I doubt salvia will be available much longer in Nebraska (if it is even available now). If LB123 does happen to pass, be sure to buy Sen. Karpisek a beer if you see him at Czechfest later this year.
The Comments
Mr. T says Good point. A bit of January 27, 2009 at 10:00am
Good point. A bit of a side point about alcohol: Is it any surprise that the alcohol (and tobacco) companies play such strong roles in keeping marijuana and other “light” recreational drugs illegal? They’d like to keep a monopoly on their legal drug.
Rip says Ah, I love Lincolns ignorance. January 27, 2009 at 1:02pm
Ah, I love Lincolns ignorance.
Mr. Wilson says RE: Ah, I love Lincolns ignorance. January 27, 2009 at 1:04pm
Do enlighten us!
Eric S says RE: Ah, I love Lincolns ignorance. January 29, 2009 at 2:50pm
Ignorance is only due to lack of instruction (or stupidity whichever is the case)
So yes...please share