Karen Dobner becomes of of the “Faces of 2011”

Faces of 2011: Grieving Aurora mom leads war on fake pot

By Denise Linke For The Beacon-News December 28, 2011 1:24PM

http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/9581389-417/after-death-of-son-auroran-karen-dobner-leads-war-on-fake-pot.html

Karen Dobner, mother of Max Dobner who was killed when his car crossed Route 31 at Mooseheart road and hit a home, speaks out against the product her son and smoked prior to his accident. Dobner has created the To the Maximus Foundation in her sons honor and announces the creation of its executive board at Mooseheart school on Tuesday, August 9, 2011 . | Brian Powers~ Sun-Times Media

Aurora resident Karen Dobner has become a media regular in the past six months. NBC flew her to New York to appear on The Today Show. She’s given many TV and radio interviews on Chicago-area news stations. Reporters from around the world ask her for quotes.

She hates every minute of it.

Karen Dobner Radio Interview

Karen talks about her crusade against synthetic marijuana and The The Maximus Foundation in this interview with WGN Radio:

Click Image to Listen to Interview with Karen Dobner

How the Bad Guys Get Our Kids Addicted

If I were young, and I’d never heard all the stories about how dangerous synthetic marijuana is, there’s a safe bet that Iwould come to the impression that synthetic marijuana is safer than real marijuana.  Real marijuana is illegal, and fake pot is legal in some places—and only recently illegal in others.  It’s only after maturity and wisdom do we realize that things are not always that simple.

Can you imagine being a teenager today?  There are people that prey on the naivety of teens. They target their marketing right to the innocent nature of our kids.  They advertise in magazines that are sold only to young people.  They use Youtube and Facebook.  Before you know it, the bad guys have managed to convince our kids that what they are selling is the best invention since sliced bread.  “A safe alternative to (real) marijuana; and it’s legal too!”  It’s a glass of wine for the teenager, perfectly legal and presumably safe.  I know I would have fallen for this propaganda.

People like to say that the kids are just dumb for smoking “potpourri” and anyone that would smoke “potpourri” deserves what he gets, when the truth is that the people who are critical are the dumb ones.  It’s not potpourri, it’s what kids think is the safe, legal alternative to marijuana. They think of it as an equivalent to a glass of wine, not PCP or LSD.  Only the adults believe the label “potpourri.”  What they don’t realize is that they are proving how naive people are, and they are proving my point: most of us would have done the same thing when we were young.  This is why a MAJORITY of kids have smoked fake pot!