If you've got young kids, you probably have some experience with fake tattoos. Mia just got some at a fish hatchery we visited while we were on vacation. These tattoos were around when I was a kid, but I never got one because when I was in jr. high (almost 25 years ago), they were banned from school. In fact, the school sent letters home warning of the threat posed by these little novelties. The danger: the tattoos could actually be a hit of acid. Seriously.
In light of the recent moves to restrict the purchase of cold and allergy medications containing pseudoephedrine, I would like to point out that while 20 years ago the drug scare de jour was banned from my school, today The Missouri Department of Conservation prints them up and hands them out to 4 year olds.
I realize that Meth is a very bad news. I live in Missouri after all, where 2,788 meth labs were busted in 2004 alone. But at some point it becomes a case of banning steak knives to stop stabbings. I fear we are nearing that point. Frankly, I would give up my cold medicine in a heart beat if I thought it would stop people from destroying their lives with drugs. But it won't. There was a story on the local news last week about kids choking each other to get the high that allegedly comes from stopping the flow of oxygen to the brain. I don't appreciate giving up rights, or even be inconvenienced, over these inhabitants of the shallow end of the gene pool who will skate around these regulations without missing a beat. As with the tattoos, in a few years we'll be wondering what all the fuss was about since now everyone's sniffing (insert household product here).
Update: Here's an article on the chokers.
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