Stupid Laws, Drugs Edition

City may ban little baggies

March 5, 2008

BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Chicago Sun-Times

Tiny plastic bags used to sell small quantities of heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana and other drugs would be banned in Chicago, under a crackdown advanced Tuesday by a City Council committee.

Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) persuaded the Health Committee to ban possession of "self-sealing plastic bags under two inches in either height or width," after picking up 15 of the bags on a recent Sunday afternoon stroll through a West Side park.

Lt. Kevin Navarro, commanding officer of the Chicago Police Department's Narcotics and Gang Unit, said the ordinance will be an "important tool" to go after grocery stores, health food stores and other businesses. The bags are used by the thousand to sell small quantities of drugs at $10 or $20 a bag. (read the rest of the story)

McFly!

With respect to Lt Navarro, who likely spends a lot of time with druggies, and Alderman Fioretti, who likely spends a lot of time trying to convince people he's doing a something to help them, this is amazingly silly and a poor use of time and energy.

Let's list a bunch of other perfectly innocuous items which could be outlawed due to their ties to drug use:

glass tubing
matches
steel wool
disposable lighters
hollow car antennae
aluminum foil
aluminum beverage cans
coffee
condoms
balloons
rock salt
rubbing alcohol
drain cleaner
acetone
brake fluid
rat poison
metal spoons

Banning tiny plastic bags to stop drug dealing is like banning alcoholic beverages to stop venereal disease.

Photo:
www.fantasticstamper.com which I sincerely doubt is catering to the drug trade.