Lip Balm Drug Connection
Lip Balm Anonymous Presents the Industry of Addiction
The Lip Balm Drug Connection
Many people thought we were joking when we brought up the connection between Blistex Most Beautiful Lips winners and subsequent drug problems and deaths. We thought it strange that some lip balms, usually the most addictive like Carmex, tended to come in containers typically referred to as "pots". We also noticed that one of the pages at Bonne Bell's Web site has the document title Smack (we're not kidding). For a while we thought we were just being paranoid about a lip balm drug connection. Now we have proof!High Country Hemp Company
High Country Hemp Company is actually a tradestyle name for Straight from the Hip Press, Inc. Since 1989, the company has been publishing counter-culture books and other publications which deal with the growing of marijuana or psychedelic mushrooms. They also sell "cigarette papers" and stickers, T-shirts, or patches with marijuana leafs on them. Due to their "involvement in the hemp re-legalization movement and a belief that hemp products do not need to be so expensive" lead to the creation of the High County Hemp Company. Here's some of the names of their "hemp oil" products: "Bud's Original", "Mary Jane's Hemp N' Calendula" and "Uncle Herb's Homegrown Remedy." Who are these people trying to fool? They use slang drug terms in all of these products. It's obvious they are marketing addictive hemp products!
We thought we were dreaming when we saw this stuff sold at a flea-market in Kentucky. Now I'm sure the company would "officially" say that that there were no narcotic or addictive properties in their lip balm. On the other hand, look how the product is packaged and sold. There are marijuana leaves right on the label! And notice how they don't sell this product at the local Wal-Mart. Yep, these folks distribute by going underground to the unregulated flea-market, often ignored by local authorities.
Hemp Balm
Another of these illicit balms comes from Eugene, Oregon, home to many counter-culture types. Hemp Balm comes to us from The Merry Hempsters. Look how blatantly they are trying to get teens to use this stuff. There's peer pressure in their motto: "hip trip for lips". They also appeal to addicts of all types with the sun logo that looks like it was taken from an old Grateful Dead poster.
We know that crack and heroin are a large problem, but can't the Drug Enforcement Agency or even the Food and Drug Administration send a few agents out to shut these companies down? After all, the marijuana from 25 years ago was much less potent than the pot of today. Who knows what we'll be putting on our lips next century if somebody doesn't act soon!
"The First One's Free!"
Drug dealers have been using this sales technique for centuries. Give away the first "hit" for free, get your customer addicted, and they will keep coming back for more. Many of the lip balm companies are aware of this effective technique and use it to hook new users.Lip Balm Anonymous has definitive evidence that the following balm companies use the "The First One's Free!" technique:
- Chap Stick
- Vaseline Lip Therapy
- Viractin
- Fat Lips Balm (though they claim it is not addictive)
- Ice Drops
Last updated on November 23, 1997
