Bud bunny: DEA agent warns Utah lawmakers about fearless pothead rabbits, citing science :nod:
Constantly stoned rabbits could be a serious consequence for Utah if the use of medical marijuana is legalized in the state, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent warned. Matt Fairbanks told a Utah Senate panel that the creatures may develop a taste for the plant if it is grown on a mass scale, reports the Washington Post.
The bunnies and other animals would lose their fear of humans and some of their natural instincts, the DEA agent added. "I deal in facts. I deal in science," the special agent, who's a member of the state's "marijuana eradication team," told the panel.
He claimed that he'd seen "entire mountainsides subjected to pesticides, harmful chemicals, deforestation and erosion" due to large-scale illegal weed cultivation. And at some of those prohibited sites, he claimed that rabbits had "cultivated a taste for the marijuana. One of them refused to leave us, and we took all the marijuana around him, but his natural instincts to run were somehow gone," he added.
Fairbanks, however, did not cite how marijuana cash crops would be any more destructive than corn and wheat, which have similar consequences in the area, reports The Guardian. Nor did he present scientifically proven evidence, despite his claims that "I come to represent the actual science."
He was ultimately unsuccessful in his bid to ban bud from being legally grown in the state for people who have severe medical conditions. Jeremy Roberts, president of Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions, dubbed Fairbanks' speech as "a little bit of hyperbole," seeing as the bill requires the drug to be grown indoors.
The panel approved the bill, which will still prohibit marijuana smoking, and sent it to the full state Senate, where it will be debated this week, reports ABC News.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dea-agent-warns-utah-lawmakers-fearless-stoned-rabbits-article-1.2135339
Constantly stoned rabbits could be a serious consequence for Utah if the use of medical marijuana is legalized in the state, a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent warned. Matt Fairbanks told a Utah Senate panel that the creatures may develop a taste for the plant if it is grown on a mass scale, reports the Washington Post.
The bunnies and other animals would lose their fear of humans and some of their natural instincts, the DEA agent added. "I deal in facts. I deal in science," the special agent, who's a member of the state's "marijuana eradication team," told the panel.
He claimed that he'd seen "entire mountainsides subjected to pesticides, harmful chemicals, deforestation and erosion" due to large-scale illegal weed cultivation. And at some of those prohibited sites, he claimed that rabbits had "cultivated a taste for the marijuana. One of them refused to leave us, and we took all the marijuana around him, but his natural instincts to run were somehow gone," he added.
Fairbanks, however, did not cite how marijuana cash crops would be any more destructive than corn and wheat, which have similar consequences in the area, reports The Guardian. Nor did he present scientifically proven evidence, despite his claims that "I come to represent the actual science."
He was ultimately unsuccessful in his bid to ban bud from being legally grown in the state for people who have severe medical conditions. Jeremy Roberts, president of Medical Cannabis Payment Solutions, dubbed Fairbanks' speech as "a little bit of hyperbole," seeing as the bill requires the drug to be grown indoors.
The panel approved the bill, which will still prohibit marijuana smoking, and sent it to the full state Senate, where it will be debated this week, reports ABC News.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dea-agent-warns-utah-lawmakers-fearless-stoned-rabbits-article-1.2135339
