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We're saved! Spice is being outlawed, you know, for the kids.

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By Donald W. Meyers
The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated Sep 5, 2010 09:56PM
Provo • Utah County’s move to outlaw “spice” has been good for Karen Goddess.
Goddess, owner of the Hookah Collection in downtown Provo, said that when word got out of the county’s vote to outlaw the possession, purchase or use of the herbal potpourri to get high, her sales increased.
“More people are coming in to buy it in bulk,” Goddess said.
While Utah County’s ordinance only covers unincorporated areas — the canyons to the east and the west desert — sales at the Provo smoke shop and other Utah spice dealers eventually also may be cut off.
Ogden’s City Council is preparing to pass its own ordinance on Sept. 14, banning the chemicals that create the “legal high” in spice. The next day, the Legislature’s Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee will hear a report on spice and other substances the state is looking to outlaw, with the intention of drafting a bill to combat mind-altering substances that are now legal.
And Provo Municipal Councilwoman Sherrie Hall Everett wants the city to look into regulating spice.
Spice is a mixture of herbs treated with chemicals that simulate the effects of THC, the intoxicating agent in marijuana. While spice is labeled not for human consumption, many buy it as a legal way to get high, since it does not show up on drug tests.
Paul Boyden, executive director of the Statewide Association of Prosecutors, said the difficulty of detecting the chemicals in spice through drug tests, plus the fact that some of those chemicals are not controlled substances, can make prosecution difficult. But users can be prosecuted for public intoxication or driving under the influence if they fail field sobriety tests.
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https://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/50218960-78/spice-county-chemicals-ordinance.html.csp
 
What the hell is spice? I'm a few years removed from my partaking days, but I don't remember hearing about this. Is it a relatively new thing?
 
Has any crime been committed, or someone hurt or killed as a result of "spice"? Or is this a case of something that looks like something else that someone perceives as bad?
 
I think the reason for worry about it is that its side effects are unknown. The ingredients are chemically treated plants designed to feel like cannabis. Do you want to be inhaling something that is chemically treated to make you feel high? Chances are, smoking actual weed is much healthier and safer.
 
Archie Moses said:
Why wouldn't society want another narcotic causing more problems?
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The thing is, society doesn't do drugs (or narcotics), individuals do. And society really doesn't have a legitimate say in what an individual does to him/her self. People are not obligated to be valuable to society and there are many legal ways in which an individual can make his or herself worthless to society. So, in short, it doesn't matter what "society" wants, as individual choice is primary. The limit to this individual choice is when the individual takes an action that directly harms another person, not some inferred harm caused by that person being worthless, and especially not based on some notion that the individual owes some degree of value to society.
 
Gameface said:
The thing is, society doesn't do drugs (or narcotics), individuals do. And society really doesn't have a legitimate say in what an individual does to him/her self. People are not obligated to be valuable to society and there are many legal ways in which an individual can make his or herself worthless to society. So, in short, it doesn't matter what "society" wants, as individual choice is primary. The limit to this individual choice is when the individual takes an action that directly harms another person, not some inferred harm caused by that person being worthless, and especially not based on some notion that the individual owes some degree of value to society.
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You do realize that individuals make up society, don't you? Anyways, what you said makes for an interesting debate, but I can barely see right now cause I just had eye surgery. Maybe I'll respond when I get my contact band aids out tomorrow.
 
Archie Moses said:
You do realize that individuals make up society, don't you? Anyways, what you said makes for an interesting debate, but I can barely see right now cause I just had eye surgery. Maybe I'll respond when I get my contact band aids out tomorrow.
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Of course I do. So did people join together in societies for the good of the individuals or for the good of society? Do individuals no longer participate in society voluntarily, instead they are now bound to that society no matter how unjust or irrational? Are individuals still bound to society if it is harmful to them individually, in other words, have individuals become slaves to society? My answer to that is that no, individuals are not slaves to society, society exists for the benefit of the individuals and individuals should be free to act as they please unless they are doing direct harm to other individuals.
 
Archie Moses said:
Why wouldn't society want another narcotic causing more problems?
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This is an excellent point! Makes me think we should eliminate anything that causes problems. We could start with gasoline, animals as pets, ice cream, talk radio, high heels, skiing, electricity, rock music, rap music, bread knives, matches, drano and, of course, money.

Arch, you are a visionary.
 
Bronco70 said:
This is an excellent point! Makes me think we should eliminate anything that causes problems. We could start with gasoline, animals as pets, ice cream, talk radio, high heels, skiing, electricity, rock music, rap music, bread knives, matches, drano and, of course, money.

Arch, you are a visionary.
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None of those comparisons are even remotely analogous to drugs/narcotics.
 
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