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Eraserhead
Lost Soul



Registered: 05/26/06
Posts: 1,363
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Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked?
#7697876 - 11/30/07 08:11 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Posted on Fri, Nov. 30, 2007
Jill Porter | Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked?
Philadelphia Daily News FAMILY COURT Judge Lori Dumas Brooks wanted to make sure she wasn't overreacting.
So she held the small blue packet of powdered substance in her palm and showed it around at work yesterday.
Everyone asked the same thing:
What was she doing with crack cocaine?
"I thought she confiscated it in the courtroom," said Administrative Judge Kevin Dougherty.
No one could believe what the tiny pouch actually was: a new breath mint made by - get this - Hershey's.
Ice Breakers Pacs, which hit the stores this month, are dissolvable pouches in blue or orange that look uncannily like tiny heat-sealed bags of cocaine, crack, heroin or any other powdered drug.
The Pacs, filled with powdered mint and sweetener, are meant to dissolve on the tongue like breath strips.
They're even packaged in a plastic slide-top case similar to the magnetic key cases drug dealers use to hide their wares under cars.
"I could not believe it," Judge Dumas Brooks said yesterday.
"Who in the world thought of that, and how did it get approved?"
The pouches are so realistic, they even fooled Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector William Blackburn.
"Being in narcotics the majority of my career, I thought it was the real stuff," said Blackburn.
"It's a disgrace to see a company selling a product like this and basically glorifying the drug trade. The best word to describe it is despicable."
The best word to describe Hershey's is . . . clueless.
"It's not intended to simulate anything," corporate spokesman Kirk Seville told me yesterday, refusing to acknowledge the similarities between the candy and street drugs.
"We have a longstanding commitment to consumer safety, product quality and responsible packaging," he said, adding that the Pacs are "clearly labeled."
"The dissolvable pouch is what makes the product innovative and unique. The overwhelming feedback from consumers is they love the product."
Maybe Hershey's should have had Linda Wagner in one of its focus groups.
Wagner is a 10-year veteran of the Police Department who switched to narcotics three years ago for personal reasons: Her teenage daughter died of a heroin overdose in 2001.
When Blackburn showed her the mint packets yesterday, Wagner was near tears.
"I was shocked," she said.
"Hershey's is totally irresponsible for marketing this product."
When Officer Regina Missouri saw them, she immediately conjured up the potentially deadly scenarios the look-alike pouches could create.
What if children use them and subsequently stumble upon and ingest a real bag of drugs, thinking they're mints, she said?
What if a drug dealer mixed some in with real street drugs and sold them to an unsuspecting buyer - who retaliated with a spray of bullets?
What if a teenager took them to school? Even though each pouch has a small Ice Breakers logo on it, how would a street-naive teacher differentiate it from drug packets, which are also sometimes labeled by their distributors?
"This is unheard of; it's an insult," said Missouri, a grandmother of three young children.
She brought the packets to the attention of her commanding officer in the Employee Assistance Program, Capt. Thomas Collier, who brought it to Blackburn's attention.
Officer Tracy Brooks, Missouri's colleague in the EAP, brought some home to show his wife, Judge Dumas Brooks.
And the judge imagined another scenario: the undermining of drug busts made on visual observation of money changing hands for colored packets of powder.
"This potentially could give them a legal out," said Dumas Brooks.
"It's terrible. It's terrible."
My jaw dropped, too, when I saw the Pacs. And everyone I showed them to thought they were street drugs.
Is Hershey's trying a new edgy and urban marketing tactic? Are the candy-makers brain-dead from too much chocolate?
It's hard to imagine a company so isolated that it doesn't recognize the similarities between its "newest refreshment innovation" and the powdered junk that's for sale on the streets.
Company founder Milton Hershey - who devoted his fortune to saving children - must be rolling in his grave.
Clearly the company needs to take this product off the shelves.
"I think some strong community groups, groups with parents that have lost a loved one should unite together and petition this company and demand that this product be taken off the market," Chief Inspector Blackburn said.
Officer Wagner plans to do her part.
"I'm going to contact Hershey and hopefully I'm going to get a meeting," she said.
"I'm going to bring my daughter's picture, and let them see what drugs can do."
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Cowgold
Bullshit


Registered: 04/04/05
Posts: 12,486
Loc: .
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7697917 - 11/30/07 08:25 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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This is retarded.
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Eraserhead
Lost Soul



Registered: 05/26/06
Posts: 1,363
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Last seen: 14 years, 3 months
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Cowgold]
#7697947 - 11/30/07 08:29 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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I'm starting to enjoy reading Philly news. Great for a morning laugh.
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7698061 - 11/30/07 09:17 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Wagner is a 10-year veteran of the Police Department who switched to narcotics three years ago for personal reasons: Her teenage daughter died of a heroin overdose in 2001.
When Blackburn showed her the mint packets yesterday, Wagner was near tears.
"I was shocked," she said.
---
What the fuck?
Glad we have such emotionally stable people on the police force. If there not beating civilians they're crying over... mints?
btw. I'm sure the widely varying purity of street heroin isn't to blame for her son's overdose... Prohibition wins again!
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Eraserhead
Lost Soul



Registered: 05/26/06
Posts: 1,363
Loc: Earth
Last seen: 14 years, 3 months
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: johnm214]
#7698224 - 11/30/07 10:05 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
johnm214 said: btw. I'm sure the widely varying purity of street heroin isn't to blame for her son's overdose... Prohibition wins again!
Lol, her daughter had a sexchange after death?
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7698231 - 11/30/07 10:07 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Eraserhead said:
Quote:
johnm214 said: btw. I'm sure the widely varying purity of street heroin isn't to blame for her son's overdose... Prohibition wins again!
Lol, her daughter had a sexchange after death?
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Eraserhead
Lost Soul



Registered: 05/26/06
Posts: 1,363
Loc: Earth
Last seen: 14 years, 3 months
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: johnm214]
#7698245 - 11/30/07 10:12 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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LMFAO, sorry, I had to dude
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nepalnt21
12tnlapen



Registered: 09/14/06
Posts: 114
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7698383 - 11/30/07 11:05 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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its a shame to share the planet with idiots like those
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pokermush
Waterboardingmyself toprotect America!


Registered: 09/17/06
Posts: 475
Loc: Utah
Last seen: 15 years, 9 months
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: nepalnt21]
#7698623 - 11/30/07 11:58 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Pay attention people:Quote:
And the judge imagined another scenario: the undermining of drug busts made on visual observation of money changing hands for colored packets of powder.
"This potentially could give them a legal out," said Dumas Brooks.
Hmmmm.... candy produced to look like drugs undermines enforcement of bad laws. Gee... there's a really really useful bit of information in there somewhere.
Where can I get an eighth of candy that looks like bud? I'd buy some and hang it from my rear-view mirror.
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psycho_bin_farma
Hobbyist




Registered: 04/20/07
Posts: 171
Last seen: 13 years, 2 months
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7698634 - 11/30/07 12:02 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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I think that image with the article is misleading.
they don't look too similar to crack in green baggies in my opinion.
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johnm214



Registered: 05/31/07
Posts: 17,582
Loc: Americas
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oh my god, THAT is the "drug look alike"?
lol
Yeah, I'll buy that on a corner.
If these cops can't tell the difference, they are retarded.
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Gastronomicus
3-0-G



Registered: 03/31/05
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: johnm214]
#7699788 - 11/30/07 04:30 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
johnm214 said: they are retarded.
ding ding ding, we have a winner
-------------------- Make my Funk the P Funk, I wants to get Funked up
LAGM2024
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GGreatOne234
Stranger
Registered: 12/23/99
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7700009 - 11/30/07 05:19 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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I bet that first picture from their article is actually crack and not even the hersheys breath mints. I mean, look at the picture up closer, those are fucking rocks, then look at the other guys picture of the actual candy, which is clearly nothing quite so similar. Stupid fucking pigs.
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0xYg3n
topdawg



Registered: 04/29/04
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: GGreatOne234]
#7700320 - 11/30/07 06:33 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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I think that we're all missing the important thing here... Those melt away bags probably contain all sorts of unnatural ingredients, they could cause cancer!
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Eraserhead
Lost Soul



Registered: 05/26/06
Posts: 1,363
Loc: Earth
Last seen: 14 years, 3 months
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Quote:
psycho_bin_farma said:

I think that image with the article is misleading.
they don't look too similar to crack in green baggies in my opinion.
Yeah, I posted the 2nd picture attached to the article that was crack. I figured if the article was going to be full of missleading information, I should post the missleading picture. Makes sence to me
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ZeroBoyWD
Zombie



Registered: 11/21/07
Posts: 460
Last seen: 2 years, 5 months
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7701391 - 11/30/07 11:45 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Yeah if my dealer handed me that there would be problems. "This is it?" "Yeah man new baggies" ".......Its completely full" "Yeah man" "......and heat sealed" "Yeah so?" "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO OPEN THIS WITHOUT COKE FLYING EVERYWHERE!"
Also I'm confused... Did they think a teacher taking the mints would be bad? They didn't let me have candy in class when I was in school. Fucking kids today have it so good. Little ingrates.
You know I recall one time after my friend was cooking up crack there was some powder left out on the counter. Now if I asked if it were coke I wouldn't get to use it. However I was to high to think of tasting it first. The aftermath was that I decided to write a very stern letter to Arm&Hammer about how irresponsible it is to make baking soda look like coke. Should have blamed them for crack too....
-------------------- I'm done trying to be "right." I want the exchange of ideas to be the currency of my economy. If you have something I can use, great. I'll try it out. If you think my methods are shit, great. Don't use it. We all want yields.
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monstermitch
Growing in Bags Doesn't Work


Registered: 02/10/06
Posts: 3,911
Loc: Arizona Bay
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7701639 - 12/01/07 01:45 AM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Eraserhead said: Yeah, I posted the 2nd picture attached to the article that was crack. I figured if the article was going to be full of missleading information, I should post the missleading picture. Makes sence to me
perfect. they look nothing alike at all to those who know what they're looking at. this is simply overkill. Ron Paul come save us! Everybody buy supporter accounts!
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Gastronomicus
3-0-G



Registered: 03/31/05
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7703393 - 12/01/07 04:26 PM (16 years, 2 months ago) |
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Quote:
Even though each pouch has a small Ice Breakers logo on it, how would a street-naive teacher differentiate it from drug packets, which are also sometimes labeled by their distributors?
I can see it now:
Teacher: "Student! what are you doing with crack cocaine in my class?!" Student: "They're just mints, see, it even says Icebreaker on them." Teacher: "THEY ARE TEH CRACKS!!! You can't fool me, you're expelled"
-------------------- Make my Funk the P Funk, I wants to get Funked up
LAGM2024
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Azen
Legalize ALL!



Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 309
Loc: Seattle, Wa
Last seen: 10 years, 4 months
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Eraserhead]
#7706100 - 12/02/07 10:56 AM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Back in high school, the city police came to our school and gave this huge speech about how it's best to rat out your friends if they are into drugs. They gave each student a quarter in a dime baggie to call about a friend's drug use. We laughed for days that they gave us a quarter bag.
Azen
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Koala Koolio
TTAGGGTTAGGGTTAGGGTTAGGG

Registered: 01/07/04
Posts: 7,752
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Re: Mint or drug: Is Hershey's cracked? [Re: Azen]
#7707987 - 12/02/07 07:02 PM (16 years, 1 month ago) |
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Wow.
Yeah, I figured the first picture was obviously crack. The bags are totally different in shape/consistancy, etc. It would be obviously a crack lookalike, which would make absolutely no sense.
I refuse to read an article that doesn't have breathtaking interviews of overly emotional people with dead relatives. Otherwise you run the risk of a biased article.
Besides, pixie sticks have been mimicking Super-Cool for years.
-------------------- You're not like the others. You like the same things I do. Wax paper, boiled football leather... dog breath. We're not hitch-hiking anymore, we're riding!
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