Potpourri Just Like Drugs To Some Extend

Potpourri seized from a Pascagoula convenience store in September was deemed to be illegal Friday, according to tests performed by the state crime laboratory.

The product was billed as the new Spice, a chemically laced incense that mirrored the effects of smoking marijuana but was banned by a new state law.

Lt. Curtis Spiers, commander of the Narcotics Task Force of Jackson County, said BJ's Market on Market Street in Pascagoula was raided Sept. 20.

Drug agents collected numerous packages of Nola Diamond potpourri, crack pipes, handheld and digital scales, and flavored tobacco leaves used to roll marijuana or incense, Spiers said.

At least one cashier was booked for possession of drug paraphernalia following the September raid and Spiers said Friday that clerk and the storeowner would each face charges on sale and possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance.

"We'd like for them to turn themselves in," Spiers said, as he was busy obtaining a warrant for their arrest.

Gov. Haley Barbour on Sept. 4 signed a law that targeted smokable incense products that were being sold in many coastal convenience stories.

Handle your herbs and flowers carefully to avoid bruising them. Once the have been bruised you will have lost any value in them for their essential oils.

The best time to collect leaves, roots, flowers and seeds is in the early morning after the dew has evaporated.

Choose plants that are clean, free of any pests or diseases. Choose flowers that are newly opened.

Always collect 4 times the amount you will need for the final potpourri mix as flowers, leaves etc will shrink when dried.

Drying Methods

The drying process usually takes up to 2 weeks in general. There are two processes for drying flowers and herbs. Keep in a warm dark place that has good air circulation.

Air Drying: Using a window screen works quite well. It allows air circulation around the plant material. Place the flowers and or herbs on a single layer. Do not pack them tightly together or on top of each other or they will decompose. Takes about one week to be completely dried out.

Hanging: Fasten together several small bunches, tie the stems off with elastics or string. Hang them upside down to dry out.

Storing The Potpourri

Store your "New" potpourri in airtight containers or plastic bags. Store in a cool dark place until needed.

And then promptly goes on to blame women for not sorting their lives out. I do not debate the fact that my generation of women drives itself hard – God knows this is true, as I sit up at 1.33am rushing this post to get back to YET another case competition during my MBA which is littered with numerous examples of me taking on way more than I need to. What I do take offense to is that we get no credit for it, and are instead punished for it. Has the author considered the fact that there could be larger forces at play here, possibly even the same ones which have kept women out of boardrooms and executive management since time immemorial? It’s hardly like women were placed equally with men and then the Millennial women came along and spoilt it all!

Honestly, some days, I wonder if I should myself all this angst and turn housewife and watch daytime TV. But I’m too much of a Millennial woman and Type A for that. I’m seeing this fight through, and making my best attempt at breaking that ceiling – wish me luck! The ceiling is yet to be fully defined, but I’ll get there…