From Staff Reports

A second protest by local residents against the sale of the drug Bizarro was held April 13 near the Up ‘N’ Smoke store at 34 New  Leicester Highway near Patton Avenue in Asheville.

In addition, protest organizers announced that state Rep. Tim Moffitt, R-Arden, has introduced a bill in the legislature to strengthen laws against imitator drugs such as Bizarro.

“Concerned citizens appreciate this effort!” protest organizers Chad Nesbitt and Carl Mumpower noted.

“Bizarro is a synthetic marijuana that does great harm.  It is a quasi-legal substance that merits more legal and social attention,” they said.

The first Asheville Bizarro protest was held March 9, outside the Up ‘N’ Smoke location at Innsbrook Mall on Tunnel Road.

At the April 13 protest, Mumpower told the Daily Planet that he considered it a success because more than two dozen people showed up to protest. Meanwhile, the Up ‘N’ Smoke shop  was locked up during the protest with a sign inside the front door stating, ungrammatically, “Gone to lunch be back later have a great day.”

In an email message prior to the April 13 protest, Nesbitt and Mumpower stated, “Bizarro is not tolerated in Madison or Henderson County. Why is it OK in Buncombe County? While our officials deliberate, agitate, investigate, and commiserate ... places like Up ‘N Smoke are benefiting from a stream of young, misguided, and foolish Bizarro users taking the bait. Many of these are, in turn, breaking down in one form or another and falling into our social service, medical, and judicial systems. “