Cheech & Chong Confectioners, Ltd.

How many licks does it take...

Marijuana-flavored lollipops with names such as Purple Haze, Acapulco Gold and Rasta are showing up on the shelves of convenience stores around the country, angering anti-drug advocates.

"It's nothing but dope candy, and that's nothing we need to be training our children to do," said Georgia state Sen. Vincent Fort, who has persuaded some convenience stores to stop selling the treats.

The confections are legal, because they are made with hemp oil, a common ingredient in health food, beauty supplies and other household products. The oil imparts a marijuana's grassy taste but not the high. [...]

"There are more than 70 million people in the United States who smoke marijuana. We're catering to the audience of people who are in that smoking culture," said Rick Watkins, marketing director for Corona, Calif.-based Chronic Candy, which uses the slogan "Every lick is like taking a hit." An Atlanta company called Hydro Blunts markets a similar product under the name Kronic Kandy, which is made in the Netherlands.

Being, uhhh, somewhat acquainted with said grassy taste, I don't really think kids will be lining up for these any more than they would line up for rutabaga roll-ups. Hemp oil has precisely zero psychoactive properties (though it can still produce positive drug tests), so the big foofaraw is only about marijuana imagery in stores that usually sell alcohol, tobacco, and pornography alongside the gas, Slim Jims, and crappy coffee. Please, moralists, if you absolutely must get your panties in a wad (and clearly you're not happy otherwise), go find something worth the effort. You could at least focus on the dope that actually kills people.