Ground bay leaf - why not?

I bought a 59 cent package of laurel molido or ground bay leaf in the Mexican spice section of a market.

This seems like such a good idea. No fishing those bay leaves out of dishes. The conversion is 1/8 to 1/4 tsp. ground bay leaf = 1 whole bay leaf.

Seems to be mainly used for rubs or in Indian recipes. The ground version allows for bay leaf in dishes where the whole wouldn't work. It gives warmth to a salad when sprinkled on tomatoes. The Chow ingrediant page suggests adding a pinch to a bloody mary.
http://www.chow.com/ingredients/77

There were a few odd recipes out there like the one for cicadas. A less unusual recipe

Zeppole
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/a...

Does anyone use ground rather than whole leaves. Any different uses or do you just substitute in any recipe that calls for bay leaves?

The only down side seems to be to use sparingly because too much can be bitter.