Girl Scout sold cookies outside Medical Marijuana Dispensary

[Pselb 36]

Walmart sells tobacco, alcohol and drugs yet no one complains when both the Girl Scout AND Boy Scouts sell outside the front entrance.  Like our computer science teacher said, "It's all fuzzy logic".  The traditional example to explain this: scoop up a handful of sand.  You have a handful of sand.  Take away one grain of sand, do you still have a handful of sand?  Take another off.  At what point does it become - "not a handful of sand"?  Personal morality is all Fuzzy Logic.  Everyone has a different position on the continuum.  There might even be those that oppose to selling outside of Walmart, you never know.  We go through the same thing with our sport /band fundraisers.  That's why we have booster clubs and the school admin doesn't get involved.

 

[Hawkwin 299]

20 minutes ago, Back Pack said:

They shouldn’t be outside of liquor stores either. 

I don't necessarily disagree, but where do you draw the line? All of my local grocery stores sell liquor and cigs. Do we prohibit scouts from fundraising in front of (or inside of) such businesses?

We also fundraise at sporting events where alcohol is served (and where pot is consumed), do we avoid those locations as well?

I would not likely have made the same choice as this father and daughter but I also have difficulty passing judgment on them when I consider the fact that the store is legal in that state. It doesn't seem right for me to impose my morals on then from a state thousands of miles away - just like I don't think it would be right for me to impose my morals on what is right or wrong to do in another country where their government and citizens have already decided to legalize.

Edited February 9, 2018 by Hawkwin
minor typo

[Tampa Turtle 1011]

I think the whole point of the thread is for people to give opinions as to what they would do in that situation. A lot of the comments fall in the line of "if that was my kid" or "if I ran the girl scouts" sort of thing. If we are not gonna comment on that well the Forums will be a lot shorter.

Some of this discussion is values based. I had a similar situation at our High School. The Turtles are, in spite of our other commitments, big volunteers of our high school band. Band needs money and the boosters (attempted) to sponsor an all-you-can-drink beer tent along Tampa's big pirate parade/drunk-fest. Now this is the same parade where every year the school district pushes out messages, flyers, and school meetings on students not to do underage drinking at said event. Mr and Mrs Turtle stood up at the booster meeting and said weren't we sending a mixed message--sure it is legal but isn't that just winking at the kids in a few years binge drinking will be OK? Even the supporters said, well yes, but THE MONEY we could be leaving at the table and if we don't do it someone else will. We lost that vote by a wide margin. (they didn't get the permit so in the end it was a moot point)

So....to bring in back to the thread....even IF selling the cookies is legal and even smart as a business move and the child is safe and the sales are legal it seems in conflict with the wholesome, progressively wholesome, but wholesome image of the Girl Scouts who also seem to encourage education on the dangers of substance abuse both legal and illegal. I'd LOVE to hear their regional or national GSUSA weigh in on it.

But maybe that is not an issue in GSUSA, I do Boy Scouts not Girl Scouts. I am just trying to be consistent and not a hypocrite which frankly is hard enough as it is.  

[Back Pack 431]

34 minutes ago, Hawkwin said:

I don't necessarily disagree, but where do you draw the line? All of my local grocery stores sell liquor and cigs. Do we prohibit scouts from fundraising in front of (or inside of) such businesses?

We also fundraise at sporting events where alcohol is served (and where pot is consumed), do we avoid those locations as well?

I would not likely have made the same choice as this father and daughter but I also have difficulty passing judgment on them when I consider the fact that the store is legal in that state. It doesn't seem right for me to impose my morals on then from a state thousands of miles away - just like I don't think it would be right for me to impose my morals on what is right or wrong to do in another country where their government and citizens have already decided to legalize.

For me it’s pretty obvious that a weed or liquor or tobacco store would be wrong because scouts are supposed to refrain from such things. A scout is clean in mind and body. But a drug or grocery store would be okay because those are places that sell other things. Selling outside a bar would also be wrong but outside a restaurant would be okay. 

[Tampa Turtle 1011]

Take up a position  on the other side of the supermarket entrance across from the Girl Scouts selling cookies with a sign: "Boy Scouts of America are now pro-choice: Girls now welcome!"

[Pselb 36]

  So is a Bar & Grill okay?  Bowling alleys have bars.  And a lot of "bars" also sell pizza, popcorn, and snacks.  Some even sell burgers.  Can you see where the Fuzzy Logic comes into play?  At what point does the scale tip?  And more importantly, who is the fulcrum?

[Col. Flagg 909]

23 minutes ago, Tampa Turtle said:

Take up a position  on the other side of the supermarket entrance across from the Girl Scouts selling cookies with a sign: "Boy Scouts of America are now pro-choice: Girls now welcome!"

...or outside the medicinal marijuana shop if you are in those states. 

[Col. Flagg 909]

2 minutes ago, Pselb said:

  So is a Bar & Grill okay?  Bowling alleys have bars.  And a lot of "bars" also sell pizza, popcorn, and snacks.  Some even sell burgers.  Can you see where the Fuzzy Logic comes into play?  At what point does the scale tip?  And more importantly, who is the fulcrum?

There's a big difference between a bar, a liquor store and a medicinal pot store and these other locations. Clearly the former are in poor taste and judgement.

If the bowling alley is like a Strikz, then why not. If it is more seedy then obviously not.

[Pselb 36]

Oh, now "seediness" is added to the mix?  Who determines that?  Again, who's in charge of the fulcrum?  All I know is the exact spot I pick will be the basis for personal harassment from both sides of the issue.  No thanks.

Oh, one other observation.  The Girl Scout and her parents obviously are at a different point on the morality scale than others.  Does that make her right or wrong.  I can ask you and I can ask her parents.  I'm thinking I'm going to get two entirely different answers.

Edited February 9, 2018 by Pselb

[RememberSchiff 3663]

Ok then, let's be respectful.

@NJCubScouter , @Sentinel947, @LeCastor

Edited February 9, 2018 by RememberSchiff

[skeptic 992]

Admittedly, I did not go back to earlier pages, but to me, this is just amusing.  I immediately thought about the effect of pot on many, that is the munchies.

[RememberSchiff 3663]

I am still waiting for the "official" Girl Scout position. Here's what I have found so far

A spokeswoman for Girl Scouts San Diego told The San Diego Union-Tribune on Tuesday that the regional council of the national organization is not investigating the matter, but would discuss it with the girl and her family if they ever find out who she is because there are very particular rules about when and where Girl Scouts can sell their popular cookies each year — and “consequences” for repeated infractions.

“It’s not a cut and dried situation when we don’t know who the girl is and we don’t know what the situation is,” said Maryl Doyle, director of communications for Girl Scouts San Diego.

Doyle told The Union-Tribune on Monday that Girl Scouts are prohibited from setting up booths outside commercial establishments without explicit permission from business owners on an approved list. Doyle said that Urbn Leaf “is not on the approved booth site list.”

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-no-disciplinary-action-against-san-diego-girl-scout-who-sold-cookies-outside-marijuana-dispensary-20180206-htmlstory.html

“This is kind of a community issue,” said Mike Lopes, a spokesman for the Girl Scouts of the USA. “For the most part, it’s not any different than selling in front of any other kind of shop. It just happens to be a marijuana dispensary.”

...

The San Diego scout isn’t the first girl to anticipate munchies outside a marijuana distributor. In 2014, a 13-year-old sold 117 boxes in two hours outside a medical marijuana clinic in San Francisco.

The Girl Scouts of Colorado said in 2014 that it did not allow scouts to sell cookies in front of marijuana shops, liquor stores or bars. But it has since abandoned that policy, AnneMarie Harper, a spokeswoman for the Colorado organization, said in an interview on Wednesday.

“Back then it was a blanket: ‘No, you may not,’” she said. “Now, it’s more of: ‘Come to us, tell us where you want to be and what you want to do,’ making sure we’re checking off all of the safety guidelines.”

...

Some girls have sold near breweries, she said, but she wasn’t aware of anyone trying to stake out a spot near legal marijuana sellers.

“We really want girls to be cookie entrepreneurs, to find new and creative ways to reach customers,” she said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/08/us/girl-scouts-marijuana.html

Edited February 9, 2018 by RememberSchiff

[Col. Flagg 909]

14 minutes ago, RememberSchiff said:

Ok then, let's be respectful.

@NJCubScouter , @Sentinel947, @LeCastor

What was so disrespectful in my response? Really?

[Pselb 36]

I thought it was my response!  Kind of hard to tell.  I didn't see any disrespect in your comments, nor do I think I showed any in mine.  We've both stayed on topic and the only difference between our posts is yours seems to be focused on the subjectivity of the issue and I trying to be more objective about it tries to focus on how difficult that subjective fluidity is among different personal moral standards.  Personally I would be slightly concerned about what the girl did (maybe one eyebrow up), but my fulcrum tipping point is more in the middle where it isn't an issue to me either way.    I can understand others leaning one way or the other for a variety of different reasons.  It would appear that from Remember Schiff's post, the Girl Scouts themselves are playing around with the fulcrum as we speak and have done so for 3-4 years.  I guess we both have to wait until the dust settles and see what the Girl Scouts come up with as their final solution.   If the Girl Scouts say it's not okay to be doing it for PR reasons, then I'll sleep easier tonight.  If they say it is okay, then I'll sleep just as easier tonight.  After all, it's not my call.  If I happened to be walking down the street and the gals were selling in front of any legal business, I'd buy a box of Thin Mints.  If the gals were selling out of a van on a dark street in a questionable neighborhood, I'd still buy a box of Thin Mints (as long as the box hadn't been tampered with  ).  

[RememberSchiff 3663]

Local option?