St. Charles County moves fast on fake pot banShop owners split on uproar over K2
By Raymond CastileTuesday, March 9, 2010 6:35 AM CST
Monday afternoon in Joe Aiello’s smoking lounge, gray-haired men in dress shirts puffed cigars as they reclined in leather chairs, watching a flat-screen television. it was not the image usually associated with K2, or “fake pot.”"This is not a head shop,” said Aiello, owner of the Tinder Box-St. Charles tobacco store, located on Mid Rivers Mall Drive in St. Peters.Tobacconist Aiello calls his shop a “true, traditional cigar store.” He carries cigars, briar pipes, wine, tobacco and K2.But perhaps not for long.Monday night, the St. Charles County Council was scheduled to discuss a proposed K2 ban. The bill, if passed, would ban in unincorporated areas the sale and possession of K2 and other products containing synthetic marijuana. Punishment would include up to one year in jail and a $1,000 maximum fine.
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K2 is an herbal potpourri mixture combined with a synthetic cannabinoid, a compound that mimics the psychotropic effects of tetrahydrocannabinols, or THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. other companies produce similar products, including DaScents, Blayze, Texas Gold, Genie and Zohai.In a statement released Monday afternoon, St. Charles County Council spokesman John Sonderegger said a provision in the bill might call for a countywide ban that would outlaw the products in incorporated areas, such as municipalities.The bill was scheduled for a first reading Monday. Ordinarily, it would require a second reading at the next meeting on March 29 before passage. But Sonderegger said the bill could be moved to emergency status and passed into law Monday night.Aiello said he had “no doubt” the council would ban K2.”It has so much similarity to pot,” Aiello said. “If they are going to make marijuana illegal, this should probably be illegal, too.”Aiello said he ordered one shipment of K2 in early February after reading news reports about how it brought in business at other smoke shops.”I was looking for a way to supplement my income during the winter months, when tobacco sales are slow,” Aiello said. “I was hesitant to carry it, concerned about my reputation and about the product.”Hesitant to even display it, Aiello waited until last week to place K2 on the shelf alongside the shisha, or hookah tobacco.Aiello said he does not sell K2 to anyone under 18. His clientele is mostly age 35-60, he said.”This is not a kid’s atmosphere,” he said. “Most cigar smokers are older gentlemen.”The K2 has not sold well, he said.”I just want to blow out of the remaining inventory, then I’m done,” Aiello said. “I don’t need it.”A countywide ban could have a greater impact on Linda Weber’s business. She owns The Vise, a smoke shop located behind a shopping plaza on Centre Pointe Drive in St. Peters. Weber said her business has probably doubled thanks to K2 media publicity.Weber said she planned to attend the County Council meeting Monday. She said she thought the council was “jumping the gun” by proposing a ban without any hard data proving K2 was harmful.Anecdotal feedback from her customers varies widely, Weber said.”Some come back and say, ‘I don’t get it. I don’t understand what all the hoopla is about,’” Weber said. “Other people come back and say, ‘It rocked my world.’ Everyone is different. But I have not heard anyone who has had a bad reaction.”Anthony Scalzo, director of toxicology at St. Louis University School of Medicine, was scheduled to talk to the council about K2 Monday night. County officials said K2 users have reported effects that included “feelings of excruciating pain.” Officials said synthetic marijuana could be up to 100 times more potent than the active ingredient in real marijuana.”One hundred times more potent? Pah-leeze,” Weber said. “That is not true, in my opinion. no freakin’ way. That is propaganda.”Gary Grafeman, owner of Retro Active in St. Peters, called the county proposal “a waste of time and taxpayers’ money.”"They will find something else to sell, something to replace it,” Grafeman said. “Will this be endless? Pretty soon we will outlaw grass seeds.”Grafeman’s store sells Blayze II, a product similar to K2. He said the product is popular, so a ban would hurt his business.”Things like this always seem to be a bigger deal in St. Charles County than anywhere else in the country,” he said. “Here, they make a mountain out of a molehill.”
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St. Charles County moves fast on fake pot ban
Hey! I just went to a hookah lounge for my first time the other day and it was awesome! I know it is flavored tobacco but thats about it. Can you please tell me in detail exactly what it is and how it works? What the water is for, the coals, all that stuff. is it bad for you? It is equally or less bad for you than cigarettes? Like what is the equivalent of cigarettes that you smoke when you smoke a hookah? Thanks for your help!
How many people honostly go to a hookah bar counting people that you know. Meaning think of all the people you know how many they are that go to hookah bars and how often.
Fancy meeting you here.
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