NAHITA supports the fact that the U.S. Government's constitutional role is to PROTECT our individual rights and freedoms, not take them away.

However, there is an epidemic in popular American consensus where objects are blamed for consequences, instead of an individual's actions that leads to the consequence. With the massive amount of media claims against the herbal incense industry, one may be inclined to support prohibitive policies against freedom of choice.

However, if we continue to support politicians who work outside of their constitutional scope of duties to expand government control of our lives, under the guise of "keeping us safe" through regulation and prohibition, there is no end to government control of our lives. To illustrate this, take a look at the following selected facts and see what may be next on the ban list.

• 386,000 people are seen in emergency rooms every year because of this.
• Approximately 800,000 victims receive some form of medical attention annually because of this; half of these are children.
• In 2010 alone, this was accountable for 34 documented U.S. fatalities.
• The cause of "this" is present in thirty-nine percent of U.S. households.
• This is accountable for losses exceeding $1 billion dollars per year

Should we implore congress to ban the cause of this harm?

In this case, we are talking about dog bites. Based on data collected in the USA between 2001 and 2003, the CDC concluded that there are 4.7 million overall dog bite victims per year, despite government pet regulations.

How about this one -

• 65% of U.S. citizens 18 years or older use this.
• Not including adults, In 2008, there were approximately 190,000 emergency rooms visits by persons under age 21 for injuries and other conditions linked to this.
• There are approximately 79,000 deaths attributable to this each year in the United States.
• Side effects of this include blackouts, depression, anxiety, tremors, sexual impotence, excessive sweating, nausea, insomnia and fatigue, blindness, malnutrition, long-term brain damage, liver and gastrointestinal problems, and higher risk of diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
• Children and young adults aged 12 to 20 years consume 11% of all of this in the United States.

Should we advocate for congress to ban the cause of this harm?

In this case, we are talking about alcohol, which, despite past prohibition measures and heavy government regulations, is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States.

Incidentally, Alcohol, through taxation, has allowed the Federal government to profit an ESTIMATED TOTAL for 2011: 25 Billion Dollars just for Alcohol Sales in 2011 Alone (not including taxes paid to each individual state OR for production materials, employee taxes, etc.)

While Pet or Vehicle ownership isn't for everyone, owning a dog or drinking a beverage should certainly not be a crime despite their unintended consequences. While there have been medical visit statistics reported by some states alleged to involve herbal incense products, In 2009 alone, there were nearly 4.6 million drug-related Emergency Room visits nationwide, mostly from FDA Government-approved substances.

Sources: National Center for Health Statistics, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau