Vegas! Weed? Wheee...

[ShortInSeattle]

My hunch is that after the initial enthusiasm, things will settle down in Vegas as they have here in Washington. We have a pot store down the street; they keep their area tidy and quiet and don't seem to attract any ruffians, which is more than I can say for the bars and nightclubs. There is less drug dealing on the streets than there used to be. Occasionally we catch a whiff of something skunky downtown, but it's not pervasive.

I'm glad our police and jails aren't wasting time or money on non violent drug users. The tax revenue is a boon. I consider our state's experiment to be a success, economically and socially, and I hope more states consider decriminalization. I say this as someone who has zero interest in the stuff.

My hope is that as the black market dries up, and sales are tightly regulated, it will become more difficult for teens to get their hands on it. I haven't seen any stats on that yet.

SIS

 

[brewer12345]

My hunch is that after the initial enthusiasm, things will settle down in Vegas as they have here in Washington. We have a pot store down the street; they keep their area tidy and quiet and don't seem to attract any ruffians, which is more than I can say for the bars and nightclubs. There is less drug dealing on the streets than there used to be. Occasionally we catch a whiff of something skunky downtown, but it's not pervasive.

I'm glad our police and jails aren't wasting time or money on non violent drug users. The tax revenue is a boon. I consider our state's experiment to be a success, economically and socially, and I hope more states consider decriminalization. I say this as someone who has zero interest in the stuff.

My hope is that as the black market dries up, and sales are tightly regulated, it will become more difficult for teens to get their hands on it. I haven't seen any stats on that yet.

SIS

Locally in Colorado each town and county can choose whether to allow recreational sales. My town and a few neighboring ones have continued to say no, which suits me just fine. Then again, these places probably had significantly less illegal sales before legalization and it just means that if you are bound and determined to buy the stuff you just have to drive 20 minutes.

There seem to be two negatives associated with the drug trade that come with decriminalization. One, it appears that some criminal syndicates believe that enforcement in Colorado is less stringent and have started using it as a base for grows and distribution to states where it is still illegal. This was the case before, but it is somewhat surprising to me. I still live in some trepidation of stumbling across a grow while out in the woods. Two, it remains to be seen whether the increasing legalization of weed will simply push the traffickers to deal in much nastier substances (heroin, meth, etc.) to a greater extent.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

get more lazy and unproductive. QUOTE]

make this statement and expect to be taken as educated and informed?

Can't accuse Paul McCartney of being lazy and unproductive.

 

[JPatrick]

. Two, it remains to be seen whether the increasing legalization of weed will simply push the traffickers to deal in much nastier substances (heroin, meth, etc.) to a greater extent.

Brewers statement begs the question---With so many people here in favor of the Nevada decision, I wonder if this group believes that MJ indeed serves as a "gateway drug" leading to the use of far less "user friendly" drugs by some.

 

[brewer12345]

Brewers statement begs the question---With so many people here in favor of the Nevada decision, I wonder if this group believes that MJ indeed serves as a "gateway drug" leading to the use of far less "user friendly" drugs by some.

Doesn't seem to be the case here in CO. I never bought the gateway drug thing. If you are a hopeless junkie you will migrate to the worst choices eventually and the seeming "gateway" of weed was just a phase until the junky went after the endgame substance(s).

 

[MRG]

Brewers statement begs the question---With so many people here in favor of the Nevada decision, I wonder if this group believes that MJ indeed serves as a "gateway drug" leading to the use of far less "user friendly" drugs by some.

Actually the opposite. Before legalization people were forced into the black market. Once you are there many things are available. Today people can go totally legal and bypass the black market.

You have to realize too there's a huge difference in the audience cannibis vs. hard drugs. Ever been around meth heads or heroin users in the office? Probably not at least not for long. If you worked in a typical office several of your(yes, people you know) coworkers regularly consumed cannibis.

 

[ER Eddie]

Such a fuss over marijuana, a comparatively safe and even, in some circumstances, beneficial substance.

People ought to be much more concerned about prescribed and unprescribed opiates, which are now the leading cause of death for people under 50.* I won't even get into the death and destruction caused by alcohol and tobacco.

As for the "lazy and unproductive" thing, it does happen. But I figure, if you're not allowed to be lazy and unproductive in retirement, when are you allowed?



* https://www.nytimes.com/interactive...aths-are-rising-faster-than-ever.html?mcubz=1

 

[ER Eddie]

Can't accuse Paul McCartney of being lazy and unproductive.

You can't write songs about being a walrus and living in a yellow submarine without a little help.

 

[Root]

Actually the opposite. Before legalization people were forced into the black market. Once you are there many things are available. Today people can go totally legal and bypass the black market.

You have to realize too there's a huge difference in the audience cannibis vs. hard drugs. Ever been around meth heads or heroin users in the office? Probably not at least not for long. If you worked in a typical office several of your(yes, people you know) coworkers regularly consumed cannibis.

True. A past dealer would always ask me if I ever wanted anything else, but I never tried anything else. He had anything you wanted. Cannabis does the trick for me. My current dealer can get me shrooms if I want. Again, I don’t care.

The gateway theory is bogus. Imagine if people said milk was a gateway to vodka. Laughable for sure.

 

[candrew]

You can't write songs about being a walrus and living in a yellow submarine without a little help.

Not to mention strawberry fields and Lucy in the sky with diamonds.

 

[candrew]

Since its a federal law still , I find this somewhat equal to a thread on how to cheat on your federal income tax return. Or here is another way (like tobacco, booze) that our children and grandchildren can get more lazy and unproductive. I am however ready to defend my position if anyone wants to banter with me.

Although not a cannabis partaker myself, I along with many others take a civil libertarian view of marijuana use. One can easily argue that it's not only pot abuse that contributes to laziness/unproductiveness. The same can be said of alcohol abuse, junk foods, video games and television to name but a few.

Moderation is the key.

Regardless of legality, society pays the price for all forms of drug abuse, including alcohol. For decades now, studies have confirmed that it is far more cost effective for society at large to treat, rather than incarcerate, drug addicts. De-criminalizing the use of cannabis by the federal government and subsequently taxing it would go a long way toward alleviating those costs.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Can't accuse Paul McCartney of being lazy and unproductive.

Pretty picture, SHAME YOU FAILED to quote the whole sentence "Or here is another way (like tobacco, booze) that our children and grandchildren can get more lazy and unproductive"

 

[MichaelB]