jikDEA Agent Says Legalizing Medical Marijuana In Utah Will Lead To Stoned Rabbitsde

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There are many arguments for and against using marijuana legally in this country, whether for medical use or for fun, but one drug enforcement official’s reason for his stance against legalizing it in Utah is surely one nobody’s about to forget: He says wild bunnies will get high off the stuff.

The state is currently mulling a bill that would allow people with certain medical conditions to be treated with edible forms of marijuana, reports the Washington Post.

During a Utah Senate panel on the topic last week, an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration weighed in with his testimony, saying that if the bill passes, the state’s bunnies may “cultivate a taste” for the plant. Once they’re baked, they won’t be afraid of humans and will just sit around in their parents’ basements eating dandelion greens.

DEA Special Agent Matt Fairbanks spoke about the environmental costs associated with growing a bunch of pot on public land, mentioning all the pesticides, chemicals and possibilities for deforestation and erosion.

“The ramifications to the flora, the animal life, the contaminated water, are still unknown,” he said, adding that at some marijuana grow sites, he saw “rabbits that 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.”

On the one hand, points out the Post, illegally farming anything can hurt the environment. But on the other hand, if it was legal to grow marijuana, the state would be able to regulate how it’s cultivated on farms and in gardens instead of tucked away in the mountains.

The specter of stoned rabbits roaming lethargically through the mountain passes wasn’t enough to convince the panel against the bill, as it approved it and sent it to the full Senate. It’ll be debated this week.

Now while we all think about the stoned bunnies, let’s remember to never feed Fido or Mr. Furrykins McCatterson pot.

DEA warns of stoned rabbits if Utah passes medical marijuana [Washington Post]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist