PFlynn
New Member
Colorado - Attention: You are now free to float about the cabin. Well, not yet, but maybe someday - that is, if Mason Tvert has anything to say about.
Tvert, a crusader for legalizing marijuana, has called for pot-smoking lounges in the nation's airports. His reason for doing goes beyond his cannabis liberation mission: He wants to help make flying safer.
"There's been this growing trend of alcohol-related air rage," he said Tuesday, alluding to episodes of drunken passengers creating in-flight disturbances.
Just last week, Christina E. Szele, 35, a New York woman, was accused of drunkenly disrupting a JetBlue flight, punching a flight attendant and screaming curses and racial slurs after she was prevented from smoking. A cigarette, that is.
Szele's outbursts wouldn't have happened if she'd been inhaling instead of imbibing, said Tvert, whose two pro-pot ballot measures have won voter approval in Denver.
"The studies I've seen say that alcohol . . . contributes to violent and aggressive behavior," he said. "The simple thing is to let people make the safer choice to use marijuana, which doesn't contribute to violent behavior."
Leaving that issue aside for the moment, there is still the sticky problem that marijuana is illegal - federally speaking, anyway. Chances are slim that Denver International Airport passengers will be high on the ground before they're high in the sky.
"I can safely say we have no plans to open any marijuana lounges at DIA," airport spokesman Jeff Green said. "We're not paying attention to this."
While he is aware that many folks are dubious about doobies in the airport, Tvert insisted, "This idea is completely serious."
"The people at DIA are laughing now," he said. "Will they be laughing when a fight breaks out on an airplane and leads to a serious incident?
As proof he isn't blowing smoke, Tvert points to airport smoking lounges - despite the fact that smoking is banned in most public places.
"The last time I checked, cigarettes aren't illegal," said Green, equal parts weary and skeptical.
Then again, he probably hasn't heard one of the ancillary benefits of Tvert's idea.
"You've got struggling airlines, right?" he said. "From what I understand, marijuana tends to lead to the munchies."
So, "If more passengers smoked marijuana before they flew and had the munchies, airlines could, you know, charge for snacks instead of for baggage."
Airline profits and free baggage for passengers? Sounds like an idea with joint benefits.
News Hawk: Pflynn - 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2008 Denver Publishing Co.
Contact: letters@rockymountainnews.com
Website: Tvert pushes pot smoking at DIA : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News
Tvert, a crusader for legalizing marijuana, has called for pot-smoking lounges in the nation's airports. His reason for doing goes beyond his cannabis liberation mission: He wants to help make flying safer.
"There's been this growing trend of alcohol-related air rage," he said Tuesday, alluding to episodes of drunken passengers creating in-flight disturbances.
Just last week, Christina E. Szele, 35, a New York woman, was accused of drunkenly disrupting a JetBlue flight, punching a flight attendant and screaming curses and racial slurs after she was prevented from smoking. A cigarette, that is.
Szele's outbursts wouldn't have happened if she'd been inhaling instead of imbibing, said Tvert, whose two pro-pot ballot measures have won voter approval in Denver.
"The studies I've seen say that alcohol . . . contributes to violent and aggressive behavior," he said. "The simple thing is to let people make the safer choice to use marijuana, which doesn't contribute to violent behavior."
Leaving that issue aside for the moment, there is still the sticky problem that marijuana is illegal - federally speaking, anyway. Chances are slim that Denver International Airport passengers will be high on the ground before they're high in the sky.
"I can safely say we have no plans to open any marijuana lounges at DIA," airport spokesman Jeff Green said. "We're not paying attention to this."
While he is aware that many folks are dubious about doobies in the airport, Tvert insisted, "This idea is completely serious."
"The people at DIA are laughing now," he said. "Will they be laughing when a fight breaks out on an airplane and leads to a serious incident?
As proof he isn't blowing smoke, Tvert points to airport smoking lounges - despite the fact that smoking is banned in most public places.
"The last time I checked, cigarettes aren't illegal," said Green, equal parts weary and skeptical.
Then again, he probably hasn't heard one of the ancillary benefits of Tvert's idea.
"You've got struggling airlines, right?" he said. "From what I understand, marijuana tends to lead to the munchies."
So, "If more passengers smoked marijuana before they flew and had the munchies, airlines could, you know, charge for snacks instead of for baggage."
Airline profits and free baggage for passengers? Sounds like an idea with joint benefits.
News Hawk: Pflynn - 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2008 Denver Publishing Co.
Contact: letters@rockymountainnews.com
Website: Tvert pushes pot smoking at DIA : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News
