The latest buzz

Hi, folks! Sorry for the unintended hiatus -- I'm just now recovered from the Grandmother of All Sinus Infections.

Heard the latest "buzz" in the war on drugs? Some municipalities are trying to ban "hemp-flavored" candy and other confections that supposedly mimic the flavor of marijuana but, in fact, do not contain marijuana or THC because that would be, you know, illegal.

I've seen plenty of hemp-containing products marketed with that instantly recognizable pot leaf silhouette, products by mainstream companies such as The Body Shop and California Tan. T-shirt manufacturer Crazy Shirts has a hemp-dyed T-shirt imprinted with designs suggesting that you run contraband on the weekends. The appeal to the real or wannabe ganga-smoking crowd certainly is nothing new.

Do I think it's appropriate to market candy that suggests alcohol or drug use to children? No, but it's not like these candymakers are buying airtime during The Higglytown Heroes. Last I checked, adults eat candy, too, and so long as there is truth in packaging and parents are -- you know -- doing their job and monitoring what their kids eat, I don't see the problem.

But making lollipops criminal -- good flippin' grief.