So now Colorado has legalized pot for recreational use and the world hasn’t come to an end, what is next? Does this action end the war on drugs? Is the entire state going to pot? Will other states follow suit?
Where does Colorado stand since marijuana possession is against federal law? Will the feds swoop in and go after folks even though Colorado has legalized pot? It doesn’t sound like the rules are strict.
What benefits do the states get?
Entire segment on marijuana legalization..click here.
I think legalizing is a terrible idea. Because, simply, no good comes out of it. Just more stoned youing people who won’t build careers. Just less coherent members of society. Just further into a nation of haves and have-nots, except now the have-nots will be developing fully legal narcotic addictions.
I’ve always been a bit puritanical about drug use and abuse. I think it’s sad when people can’t cope with life and reality. I don’t think this is something to be celebrated – growing up in the 70’s, it was celebrated.
I understand the libertarian argument that it’s none of my business. I don’t accept it; society does and should put rulkes down for common good. (Does anyone disagree with a prohibition on child pornography? Do I have a right to put signs with racial slurs out on my lawn?)
Looks like we’re going to go state-by-state on this. So we can see how it affects some states’ populations over time. Meanwhile, count on me as a guaranteed “no” vote in Virginia for legalization. The world’s a better place with pot, crack, heroin, and meth illegal.
I have no problem with it. Legalize it, decriminalize it and tax the crap out of it. Pot being illegal has not reduced its access – anyone can get pot today if you know where to go – or reduced violence – it has only increased the violence and criminal activity (not just pot possession). We imprison more people on drug offenses than any other country – at what cost? What is the difference between pot and alcohol – not much.
I agree with Pat, legalize it and tax it. Weed isn’t crack or meth, heck, it might even be less destructive than alcohol. I’ve never heard of a violent pot head. Maybe domestic violence cases would decrease, who knows.
The only down side I can see in Colorado is that the people who use medical marijuana are pissed. Because of demand they are now paying 2 or 3 times what they were paying for their ‘medicine’.
How much has it gone up for the medical folks?
I know they had a hell of a fight over how much to tax it. I believe that went to referendum.
My only problem would be that now Colorado is known as the pot mecca of the USA. I wouldn’t want to attract a whole bunch of young people.
CO supposedly will gross about $571 million dollars from the taxes.
Medical maryjane is legal in 20 states and DC.
@Rick Bentley
Rick, you are unpredictable.
Do you really want people in jail who use weed?
I know plenty of fairly productive people who smoke an occasional joint. I would rather have legal marijuana use than the other drugs you mentioned. In the first place, pot is natural. Meth, crack and heroin are all synthetics or derivatives.
I have never used the later three drugs nor would I have…for any reason. I don’t buy into the gateway theory. Plenty of people have smoked pot who didn’t get hooked or naturally evolve into other street drugs. I worry more about pain killers than pot.
And no, I don’t still use and haven’t for years. In fact, if it became legal in Virginia tomorrow, I couldn’t partake. My addiction is to nicotine but I know that if I ever take a puff…its right back to cigarettes. Which did me more physical harm, pot or legal cigarettes? Cigarettes by far. I have no ill effects from the occasional toke from my youth. Cigarettes, now that’s another story, as I reach for my inhaler.
LMAO and LOL, oh no, I am addicted to texting, I can’t even comment on the blog without using texting language!!!! HELP me Bill O’Reilly 😉
The reality is that alcohol, in excess, will do, and does, as much damage as pot in excess. I am not a pot smoker, but I do like to have an occasional glass of red wine or if I’m out, a sour apple martini.
I am going to venture an opinion here that alcohol does far more damage to far more people than pot does.
Number of relatives who have died from alcohol related diseases? a couple. Number of relatives who have died from a pot addiction or even use? zero.
“Do you really want people in jail who use weed?”
Yes. Along with guys who collected child porn but didn’t touch children; alongside the innumerable crack dealers of the world. I want to keep it a banned substance. (With a tagline, “If you don’t like that, then move to Colorado”.).
That s tough love for sure. I see nothing wrong with recreational use in moderation. I see mj as having nothing in common with crack.
According to what I’ve learned from reality TV (i.e. Dr. Drew), habitual use of today’s pot is highly addictive. Moreso than alchohol and to some people moreso than cocaine, crack, or heroin.
That’s okay, right? It’s okay to have a big chunk of slackers grow up as sales clerks, making enough money to stay high and not much else? We’re going to end up with generations of people who make just enough money for their Obamacare premiums and their daily dose of pot.
Maybe Dr. Drew was hyping it. But there’s some element of dependence.
From wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_dependence
Among individuals who have ever used cannabis, 9% develop dependence,[4] and 10-20% of those who use cannabis daily develop dependence.[2] Cannabis use is associated with comorbid mental health problems, such as mood and anxiety disorders, and discontinuing cannabis use is difficult for some users
If we are going to legalize marijuana, are we then going to release all this folks who have been imprisoned for selling marijuana?
Moon–Your title for this stream: “Colorado legalizes marijuana–world hasn’t ended” may have left out one word: “yet”.
While I hate to admit it I agree with Rick’s posting at #1. Although marijuana has been around for a long time, I don’t think we REALLY know what the affect of long term, daily use is. But at prices like $400 an ounce, price may be a self-limiting factor.
Does anyone know what the affect of drug use is in the Netherlands where many more harmful drugs are available? Granted it is a tiny place, but what is happening to a population that has had reasonably unfettered access to drugs much more harmful than marijuana? Are there a bunch of sluggards drifting around, high all the time or what ?
By the time we come to agree that this drug is having a harmful effect on society – as happened with cocaine gradually during the 1980’s – a lot of lives will have been affected for the worse.
I just don’t see an upside here. The same arguments can and will be used for crack, for meth, for opiates. And for who knows what else down the line. Don’t deal with your problems – just get high. I don’t doubt that we could someday see hypersexual sleazy ad campagns selling pot to kids the way they sell beer now – as a quick way to have a sense of identity. Filling the void of life.
America’s underclass youth are moving towards the vision expressed at the end of Philip Dick’s “A Scanner Darkly” – burned out wrecks doing menial labor growing the very plants that they became addicted to, for a ruling class that sells them the drugs.
How do you feel about wine, beer and hard liquor?
I am only defending pot…not the synthetics and the opiate derivatives.
On the Netherlands – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_Netherlands
Supposedly what they are trying to do over there is not to encourage drug use, but to minimize the harm it causes.
The approach of allowing drug use to flourish but only within a small geographic area, to segregate it, was well-dramatized in season 3 of “The Wire” – when a rogue police commander decides to experiment with the technique. He allows free drug trading and consumption within a small block or two; upon mishearing a reference to the experiment as resembling Amsterdam, the dealers start referring to the area as “Hamsterdam”. The resultant small-scale, segregated hell on earth was well illustrated.
here’s some of that – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9tuxxkgFME
Feels like more dumbing down. I don’t have an issue with it but I wouldn’t call it an improvement to society.
I don’t either. Jury still out here.
The only people I’ve known well enough to say that they were slackers and heavy marijuana users were people already suffering from depression or bipolar disorder. So in those cases it’s hard to say which came first. Marijuana use may have been an attempt to self medicate or the lethargy may have been exacerbated by the drug use. The other users I’ve known have been able to function well and the couple who went on to harder drugs were prone to depression and always thought they functioned better without their prescribed medications.
I’m willing to see how Colorado fares over the next few years. Another factor to consider is how good or bad the job market is for younger folks. Are they taking jobs beneath their capabilities because those are the only jobs available in a relatively tight job market? The market rather than marijuana may be the problem.
@George S. Harris
That was my question.
Everyone in the state jail on marijuana charges should be pardoned.
Someone down in southwest Virginia got 60 years for possession of a small amount of cocaine before there were sentencing guidelines.
How absurd. That is a life sentence.
Little girl in Colorado found a “cookie” on the lawn in her yard. As tiny tots will do, she picked it up and ate it. Began to act listless and sick. To the hospital for treatment. Marijuana brownie. One more thing for Mom and Pop to worry about.
Laudanum (Tincture of Opium) was once considered safe, an extract of coca leaves was in Coca Cola from 1886 until 1923. People finally wised up. The inventor of Coca Cola and his don both died of a morphine overdose–perhaps ” refreshing” Coca Cola was the gateway drug. I suspect it will very difficult to put this genie back in the bottle or bag.
We’ve had around 100 years of experience with pot use, and it clearly isn’t as bad as alcohol as far as health and vehicle use. 3 strike laws along with pot laws have ruined many lives and cost many millions in the ax dollars.
If you’ve ever seen a a crack addict compared to a pot head, there’s no doubt about what’s worse.
I’m not clear what happened to inmates when they repealed prohibition. Guess it would be similar except there are more sentencing regulations now. M
Were actual drinkers jailed? Boardwalk Empire hasn’t said. Snicker.
While many folks, like me, have thought for years that marijuana should probably be legalized, it’s really interesting to me that it seems to be actually happening now. I wonder what actually turned the tide with people. Was it the unfair prison sentences? The acknowledgement that pot itself is relatively harmless in comparison to other drugs? The realization that all the millions of dollars spent on the “drug war” hadn’t made a dent in usage? Or something larger, a healthy skepticism of government in general that led folks to question the propaganda on pot?
Or are we just heading ever closer to a total collapse of society?
Greed. States want the money from taxing it. Additionally, medical evidence pretty much has debunked the horror stories about what pot does to you. Probably cigarettes cause more harm in the long run. It also costs a lot to prosecute marijuana user cases. Jail time is also expensive.
It’s finally sound to decriminalize it. Now is the cottage industry end of it a good idea? I guess the jury is out.
@ Moon-“Additionally, medical evidence pretty much has debunked the horror stories about what pot does to you.” Please provide citations for this claim. Or is it just “smoke and mirrors”?
What is it that pot does to anyone physically or emotionally? Where is the physical addiction?
All the myths that people my age were told simply weren’t true.
There is obviously medicinal value to marijuana, hence medical marijuana.
I don’t care enough to provide citations. Sorry. I can’t smoke anything because I am a cigarette addict. One puff and I might as well go out and buy a carton and spoke them all in one night. I have no dog in the fight.