Hennepin County (MN) is getting a little strict
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Aren't you glad you live in Dakota County?
The only reason they didn't ban smoking on Hennepin county roads is that they don't have a large enough police force to enforce it.
The only reason they didn't ban smoking on Hennepin county roads is that they don't have a large enough police force to enforce it.
So, two people could be at a bus stop. One sitting in their car smoking and the other standing on the sidewalk, talking to the person in the car. The one standing on the sidewalk could be arrested/ticketed/fined? That is crazy. Granted, I don't want to be subjected to clouds of smoke anymore, but less than a month ago, I was one of them.
I'm having problems understanding how a government can dictate what you do in your own private property (car).
Looks like residents of Hennepin County need to think about voting in some different commissioners. But I feel sorry for those who commute in from outlying counties. You don't get to vote.
Was there any kind of public hearing on this before they passed it?
Looks like residents of Hennepin County need to think about voting in some different commissioners. But I feel sorry for those who commute in from outlying counties. You don't get to vote.
Was there any kind of public hearing on this before they passed it?
I have to believe that as soon as some smoking lawyers have to deal with this at the county courthouse, there will be some challenges to the law. At least there is some provision for psychiatric patients - we are all crazy to live here.
There is one thing I have been noticing lately, every place that has banned smoking on their premises and removed the ashcans are having their parking lots covered in cigarette butts. Really noticed it at the hospital over the past couple of days while hubby and I have been going there to stay with his mom while she begins her recovery from a stroke on Tuesday morning. Everywhere you look, you see cigarette butts tossed on the ground in the parking lots and along the edges of the sidewalks.
Well, you have people in charge who convinced themselves that their fantasy is reality. "All I have to do is prohibit smoking, and it will be like waving a magic wand. All the smokers will lose their desire to smoke and quit."
When you think about human nature, the litter problem was entirely predictable. People don't like to be forced to do things, or forced to not do things. If they can't rebel directly, they will employ passive-aggressive techniques to express their displeasure.
Around here, the signs around the hospitals that used to say "Smoke-free Zone" have been changed to "tobacco-free Zone." Cleaner air isn't enough for them. They want to make sure that even former smokers suffer.
Having worked in retail in the past, I'll tell you I'd rather sweep up 10,000 cigarette butts than deal with one mountain dew bottle someone used as a chew spit bottle, slopped over the sides (or spilled!) and left for me to clean up.
That said, I would be specific with a sign that said something to the effect that you better not leave your chew bottle behind, that's just gross!
Damn right, and I can assure you that not only would I be throwing my cigarette butts on the ground, but while doing so in my head I'd be cussing out the .......s that forced me out to the parking lot in the first place.
Now normally I am very much against littering, and I will high beam someone if I see them throw a cigarette .... out the window of their car while driving. But I've always considered parking lots to be different because someone cleans them. So throwing a cigarette .... in a parking lot is basically helping keep someone employed, and the money would often be coming out of the pockets of those who made the rules in the first place.
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Around here on hospital property you can't even smoke in your own car in the parking lots. Glad I don't smoke anymore! 
While I have not smoked analogs for over a decade, I still enjoyed cigars in the evenings until I found this vapor as a alternative. Of course I will still defend the right of person to smoke outdoors as it poses far less risk to others than many other things, including car exhaust. The fact some people don't like the smell, or the influence it may have on minors is no reason to infringe on the smokers right to smoke.
Here in Minnesota Ramsey County and others have imposed bans on smoking in public parks. They could not find credible evidence of outdoor second hand smoke being a health threat, so they sited the negative influence adult smoking has on the children who use the parks. Based on that logic, I would imagine eating french fries or picking ones nose will be banned under penalty of law next.
The rights of individuals to decide for themselves what risks they want to take in life are being taken away at a record pace, all in the name of the children and/or the public good. The criteria for banning individual freedoms no longer includes harm to others, which should be the gold standard for banning any personal activity.
My son attends Bemidji State University and they are trying to impose a outdoor smoking ban, which will also include the parking lot where we are paying to "rent" a space. My son, with a little help from Dad, has taken up the cause. The campus is located on the shores of Lake Bemidji and the school provides fire wood for a public area that includes a large brick fire pit. Students enjoy large camp fires most evenings. Included in a group of student’s efforts to fight the outdoor tobacco ban, the anti-tobacco committee was provided with the statistical data regarding the emissions from this fire each evening. Needless to say, they did not know how to respond since the harmful emissions equal many times the emissions from outdoor smokers disseminated across the campus.
As most people here already know, this is not about harm to others anymore.
Here in Minnesota Ramsey County and others have imposed bans on smoking in public parks. They could not find credible evidence of outdoor second hand smoke being a health threat, so they sited the negative influence adult smoking has on the children who use the parks. Based on that logic, I would imagine eating french fries or picking ones nose will be banned under penalty of law next.
The rights of individuals to decide for themselves what risks they want to take in life are being taken away at a record pace, all in the name of the children and/or the public good. The criteria for banning individual freedoms no longer includes harm to others, which should be the gold standard for banning any personal activity.
My son attends Bemidji State University and they are trying to impose a outdoor smoking ban, which will also include the parking lot where we are paying to "rent" a space. My son, with a little help from Dad, has taken up the cause. The campus is located on the shores of Lake Bemidji and the school provides fire wood for a public area that includes a large brick fire pit. Students enjoy large camp fires most evenings. Included in a group of student’s efforts to fight the outdoor tobacco ban, the anti-tobacco committee was provided with the statistical data regarding the emissions from this fire each evening. Needless to say, they did not know how to respond since the harmful emissions equal many times the emissions from outdoor smokers disseminated across the campus.
As most people here already know, this is not about harm to others anymore.
Nic vape in buffalo, mn sells some and I swear there is a diy shop in Eden Prairie
Hennepin county might have this crazy law, but it won't be enforced. Even if it were enforced, the penalties would be minor, and the time taken out of your life minimal. Dakota county's legal system is absolutely horrible, I feel bad for anyone who gets dragged through the coals there. Total nightmare, versus Hennepin county where they would have just been like "stay out of trouble for a year", you get f'd in the .... And they take their time. Done with court? Cool, sit in a room for 4 hours, so you can get papers to go sit in some other room for 2 hours. Judge's orders say one thing, probation just decides their own rules and timetables. Plus the court and everything is way out in the boonies.
In person e-juice, you can buy e-juice at some of the headshops around here, it's expensive though (like $12 for a little bottle, no more than 5ml at the most).
I'd be interested to hear about any other places in town with juice. One Stop DIY Shop needs a storefront!
In person e-juice, you can buy e-juice at some of the headshops around here, it's expensive though (like $12 for a little bottle, no more than 5ml at the most).
I'd be interested to hear about any other places in town with juice. One Stop DIY Shop needs a storefront!
Brings back memories. Yup, the Dakota County Court House is definitely out in the boonies. I served on a jury for a drunk driving case. Wasn't there a Perkins Pancake House near the court house?
You probably are aware of this blog, but if not, it has a lot of ammunition for your son.
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