The Horror! Kids Can Buy Products With Marijuana Leaves on Them at the Mall

An anti-drug group went to New Hampshire malls to show how easy it is for kids to buy products with marijuana references. Is that really something that should concern us?

Ever see a group try and do something "good of society" that ends up looking like a complete waste of time? Here is a prime example of that situation.

An anti-drug group called Youth-to-Youth had New Hampshire police officers and students go on a shopping spree to see how much marijuana-related merchandise they could buy.

Spolier Alert: They were able to buy pot-branded clothing, accessories, phone cases and other goodies at four out of the five stores they visited.

The news article said that the kids, some as young as 10-years-old, were able to purchase all of this without adult supervision. One thing that is missing from this story is a big ol' "who cares" from people like me.

See, we all love to feel the twinge of injustice about stories like these. We say to ourselves "man oh man it is so wrong that kids can wear a hat with a marijuana leaf or wipe themselves with pot-branded toilet paper." Then we close the browser tab, make a sandwich and try and figure out which Kardashian gained the most weight this week.

You know why this story is so forgettable? The reason is because we all know that it means nothing. Absolutely nothing will change as a result of this "investigation," and even if stores cracked down on underage sales of marijuana products it would still do absolutely nothing.

Listen closely. Kids are always going to want to latch themselves onto whatever rebellious trend is in fashion. Right now that just so happens to be a profession of love for that sticky icky green. It doesn't mean they want to smoke it, but they think it makes them look "edgy" to their little friends.

Is buying a hoodie with a marijuana leaf going to magically make a bong appear in a 11-year-old's mouth? I don't think so. Is that "I Love Pot" logo on the back of a cell phone case going to cook pot brownies, throw them on a plate and magically throw them down a tween's throat? If it did I'm sure a lot of marijuana-lovers would be buying them en masse.

If your kid wants to wear marijuana leaves on his/her clothes so bad, then maybe it can be a catalyst for parents toactually have serious conversations with them about the effects of drugs.

Yet, pot leaves on products is not the problem. In fact, marijuana itself is such a minute problem compared to everything else a kid can get involved in. New Hampshire has one of the biggest heroin problems in the country and reports of overdoses increase every week.

There have been 65 deaths in Manchester alongside 540 overdose calls, according to The Union Leader. This is the problem we need to focus on, not these "feel-good" stunts that focus our attention away from the drugs that will actually harm our kids.

Focusing on marijuana when we have people dying on the streets is basically "law enforcement busywork." It looks nice enough on paper, but nothing is actually being done that matters.

Personally, I don't want kids to drink or smoke until they are ready to handle the responsibilities that come with using these substances. However, if they want to look like an idiot by wearing a pot leaf Snapback then that is a conversation they should have with their parents.

One more thing. The anti-drug group "handed the retailers letters expressing their concerns" after the kids bought the marijuana-branded products. I'm sure that didn't just end up in the trash next to a Diet Coke bottle and an Auntie Anne's pretzel.

(The views expressed on this page belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of WOKQ of Townsquare media.)