ORLANDO, Fla. — There’s a new lollipop in town and its flavor is controversial to say the least. It’s called ‘Chronic Candy’ and it’s made to taste like marijuana. Critics of the product say it’s one more way to make illegal drugs seem cool.
The little lollipops really are made to taste like marijuana, but there is no THC in them, which is the active ingredient in pot that gets you high.
“It’s not good at all, it’s sweet,” said Florence Marr after tasting the candy. “It tastes like crap.”
As I imagine it would taste. Why do you think it’s baked into brownies?
Of course, I don’t at all support kids using marijuana or any mind-altering substance. (That’s not just illegal drugs either; I think our children are way too medicated with prescription drugs as well…) Little brains need to grow and little minds need to learn how to experience and deal with real life on real terms. You should fully be able to grasp and deal with reality before you go about altering it.
That said… it’s a taste, not a drug. But there’s precedent; you used to be able to find candy cigarettes but not anymore. Were they made illegal, or did the makers just bow to pressure? And then there’s beer and tobacco companies that used cartoons to market their products… but this guy’s only marketing lollipops. He’s not using lollipops to sell drugs, he’s using drugs to sell lollipops.
“Actually, to be honest with you, you’ll hear it first. I’m gonna make a billion dollars out of this,” said Tony Van Pelt, the creator of Chronic Candy. “This is a business, controversial, but a legitimate product, hard work behind it.”
Van Pelt’s already begun to find his clientele. “Snoop Dogg got the chronic candy and the Chronic blue beenie.”
It might be sleazy, but should we go about criminalizing the taste of a lollipop or the name it is given? Geez, I used to love the candy cigarettes, but I never took up tobacco. I thought the Budweiser frogs were funny, but I’m not a drinker.
As an aside, my local 7-Eleven is now carrying “Rap Snacks”, which are potato chips featuring the likeness of popular rappers. They also feature helpful sayings like “stay in school” or “start a business”. But one flavor says “Get Crunk!” everybody knows that means “crazy drunk”, right? Should we be banning that flavor of chips, or at least forcing them to change that tagline?
The ad campaign for the pot-flavored pops is almost more shocking than the candy itself, using pictures of marijuana and slogans that make parents cringe, such as “tell a friend, not a cop,” and “every lick is like taking a hit.”
“Every lick is like taking a hit, that’s nice. And then of course, the packaging is called nickel bag. I mean, that’s uncalled for,” said parent Wade Marr.
Oh, relax. Some kids will get them because they’re rebellious. Mostly college kids, at that. They’ll find out they taste awful. They’ll keep one as a novelty. Big deal. If a lollipop is going to get your kids hooked on drugs, you’re a lousy parent.
“I think the most dangerous part of this message is by connecting marijuana or pot with candy. It makes it seem so safe. I mean, what could be more harmless than a lollypop?” questioned [Jody] Scott [of the Center for Drug Free Living].
Uh, considering how many people’s health are at risk for obesity, compared to the 0 deaths ever recorded from marijuana, I’d say the pot.
(By the way, Jody, just how “drug free” a life are you living? I assume you don’t smoke, drink alcohol or coffee, take cold remedies, antibiotics, pain killers, anti-inflammatories, nasal sprays, etc…)
