What We're Smoking (MJ legalization FAQs)

[MRG]

Hope your father is still around and living another 24 hours sober. As for your nephew, there is a lot a person can learn in jail. My buddy found religion and made a great turnaround. It's not easy and hope your nephew makes a great recovery/turnaround.

+1
My wife's nephew is heading back. Kid's mentally ill when he turned 18 he quit taking his medication and turned to meth. He's some form of bipolar and self medicated with the illegal crap as the legal drugs made him sick.

He did something stupid to get sent to prison at 18. After his release he peed dirty and spent 7 years in state prison as a result. He got a trade in prison and a job when he got out. Unfortunately he found meth easy to access and recently was found in possession.

He'll probably get 20+ years in state prison with taxpayers paying. If he gets out he will have the same mental illness that started his lifelong incarceration.

There's many thousands just like him incarcerated today. It's sad to me that we don't treat the root cause instead of punishing the mentally ill. YMMV.

 

[Qs Laptop]

How is decriminalization going to stop those addicts that steal in order to support their habit?

 

[Koolau]

+1
My wife's nephew is heading back. Kid's mentally ill when he turned 18 he quit taking his medication and turned to meth. He's some form of bipolar and self medicated with the illegal crap as the legal drugs made him sick.

He did something stupid to get sent to prison at 18. After his release he peed dirty and spent 7 years in state prison as a result. He got a trade in prison and a job when he got out. Unfortunately he found meth easy to access and recently was found in possession.

He'll probably get 20+ years in state prison with taxpayers paying. If he gets out he will have the same mental illness that started his lifelong incarceration.

There's many thousands just like him incarcerated today. It's sad to me that we don't treat the root cause instead of punishing the mentally ill. YMMV.

I'm sure you know this situation better than I do. Having said that, I've not heard (of late, anyway) of anyone sent to "prison" for simple possession for personal use. I'm sure it has happened, but usually, personal use gets knocked down to fine/community service type deal. No personal experience, but I see the paper all the time and never see anyone doing hard time for USING anything but YMMV.

 

[stepford]

How is decriminalization going to stop those addicts that steal in order to support their habit?

I don't think anyone is advocating decriminalizing violent crime. Robbery will remain punishable regardless of whether drugs were the motivation. That said, would you feel safer around a drug user who has gone through rehab without prison or one who has gotten out after a few years of grad school for felons?

 

[Vacation4us]

Hope your father is still around and living another 24 hours sober. As for your nephew, there is a lot a person can learn in jail. My buddy found religion and made a great turnaround. It's not easy and hope your nephew makes a great recovery/turnaround.

My father died at 58 with a week shy of 10 years sober! He actually was a great man. The only other funeral I have seen as packed as my fathers are presidents and famous people. You either loved him or hated him and I adored him and miss him every day 20 years later.

He is a huge reason I wanted to ER and travel the world. His life was short but he helped many, travelled the world and was well loved by his family and friends.

When I whined about his cancer and talked about the raw deal he got he would say “there is someone out there worse off than him” my retort was who could possibly be worse off dad? His response was there was someone out there dying alone.

He was an excellent friend of Bill’s

 

[RobbieB]

Pounds? Yowza. Either you were a very well to do youngster or this was an early demonstration of the entrepreneurial spirit that eventually allowed you to RE.

Back then pounds were going for $180 to 300. My parents put me through school (tuition & room & board) but I had to buy the books and the fun with my own dough earned by summer jobs. Yeah and not to mention I sold the stuff at a 10% markup so I got a couple ounces free. People just loved me because I had the lowest prices out there.

But hey, that stuff was not the 20% THC, manicured seedless buds of today, it was full of seeds and stems sometimes whole branches with woody stems a foot long.

 

[Vacation4us]

My nephew unfortunately lacks a conscience. I love him but he has brought great pain to my brother.

He was jailed during Covid in California where the governor let 76000 prisoners out of jail to avoid Covid deaths. I didn’t ask my brother what he did this time as it is a point of real shame for him. Per my DD he was a drug mule of some sort. I don’t need to know more.

Thank god his younger brother is nothing like him. He graduated from a private school close to DC with a degree in cyber security and is now home and has his first post degree job.

 

[Qs Laptop]

I don't think anyone is advocating decriminalizing violent crime. Robbery will remain punishable regardless of whether drugs were the motivation.

One of the selling points of decriminalization is that it's supposed to reduce violent crime. But if drugs (like weed) are legally obtainable, or there is no consequence for possessing cocaine or meth, then I would assume usage would go up. And if usage increases, the need for money to fund your habit increases. Basically, I'm saying that decriminalization will not reduce theft which is used to support one's habit, and ironically, might increase theft and muggings. I will also add that I'm generally in favor of decriminalization.

That said, would you feel safer around a drug user who has gone through rehab without prison or one who has gotten out after a few years of grad school for felons?

A hypothetical non sequitur. Not answering.

 

[finnski1]

Back then pounds were going for $180 to 300. My parents put me through school (tuition & room & board) but I had to buy the books and the fun with my own dough earned by summer jobs. Yeah and not to mention I sold the stuff at a 10% markup so I got a couple ounces free. People just loved me because I had the lowest prices out there.

But hey, that stuff was not the 20% THC, manicured seedless buds of today, it was full of seeds and stems sometimes whole branches with woody stems a foot long.

There was a lot of junk in the mid 70's when I was in high school as well. But heck we didn't know that at the time

 

[Gumby]

The Connecticut General Assembly has passed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana in our state. Governor Lamont is expected to sign it into law this coming week. I read through the bill and it seems needlessly complicated with provisions about who can grow their own and how they can grow it, and who can grow it commercially and how, and who can have a licensed pot shop in what areas, but I expect they'll work out the kinks as they go.

Doesn't really matter to me though. I have managed to make it to age 62 without ever smoking pot or doing any other drugs, and I'm not starting now.

 

[68bucks]

If you look I believe you will see the for profit prison industry has lobbied heavily over the years for more and stricter drug laws. What better clients to have than a bunch of non-violent pot smokers? Easy money right from the tax payer.

 

[MRG]

I'm sure you know this situation better than I do. Having said that, I've not heard (of late, anyway) of anyone sent to "prison" for simple possession for personal use. I'm sure it has happened, but usually, personal use gets knocked down to fine/community service type deal. No personal experience, but I see the paper all the time and never see anyone doing hard time for USING anything but YMMV.

The attorneys said 15 years minimum.

 

[Hyper]

My state MJ is still illegal. Tried it many, many yrs ago 3 times I believe and all it gave me was a headache that I remember. BUT, as I age the ibuprofen is losing it's strength and I am an extreme light weight as I can't stand stronger pain killers even with major surgeries. After an extremely physical life, if MJ does help with more severe aches and pains, I'd be for giving it a try if it were made legal. I only go to md if it's absolutely 100% necessary, rarely ever get sick and fairly high pain tolerance. I can't imagine what it will feel like if I make it into my 70's, 80's!

 

[Walt34]

If you look I believe you will see the for profit prison industry has lobbied heavily over the years for more and stricter drug laws. What better clients to have than a bunch of non-violent pot smokers? Easy money right from the tax payer.

I have to wonder though if the for-profit prison industry really has all that much influence over drug laws, or any laws for that matter.

I do find though that the older I get the more I lean toward legalization of ALL drugs, thereby taking away from the cartels their huge profits that give them their influence in many places.

 

[RetireeRobert]

Never tried MJ, either as a youth in the sixties or sometime later.

No desire to pollute my body with buzz or hallucination inducing chemicals. Seems stupid to me. Could never understand why anyone would use the stuff.

 

[Koolau]

The attorneys said 15 years minimum.

Again, I wasn't there so I'll take your word for it. But I still believe there was something else involved. Perhaps an unwillingness to "trade up" as they say. Personally, I think we should declare "victory" in the War On Drugs and move on to something else. YMMV

 

[Gumby]

...Personally, I think we should declare "victory" in the War On Drugs and move on to something else....

Will there be a parade? I think all victories deserve a parade.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Again, I wasn't there so I'll take your word for it. But I still believe there was something else involved.

Maybe because he's been caught three times?

 

[Koolau]

Will there be a parade? I think all victories deserve a parade.

Heh, heh, bring your own weed, er, champaign.

 

[Koolau]

Maybe because he's been caught three times?

Yeah, I suppose that could have something to do with it. Having said that, whether it's once or 15 times, how bad is altering your own reality? Call it stupid or ignorant or a character flaw. But is it really bad enough to "throw away the key?" I guess this is truly a YMMV situation.

 

[GreenEggs]

Back when I was smokin' large, (high school & college) I didn't buy dimes, nickels or "lids", I bought pounds. Some for me and some for my friends.

But then you needed to smoke 2 joints to catch a buzz. Now it's 2 hits -

I had a buddy that used bathroom scales for sizing portions. He said it was "close enough".


As long as it erred in my favor I didn't complain.

 

[ponyboy]

Never tried MJ, either as a youth in the sixties or sometime later.

No desire to pollute my body with buzz or hallucination inducing chemicals. Seems stupid to me. Could never understand why anyone would use the stuff.

Did you type that while sipping on your daily dose of liquid drugs known as alcohol?

 

[MichaelB]

Did you type that while sipping on your daily dose of liquid drugs known as alcohol?

Please don’t troll the thread. It's difficult enough to discuss without the sarcasm.

 

[RetireeRobert]

Did you type that while sipping on your daily dose of liquid drugs known as alcohol?

As a matter of fact, I don't drink either.

 

[ponyboy]

As a matter of fact, I don't drink either.

Kudos to you then. You screwed up my entire argument . Its rare when someone is against cannabis and also doesnt drink. Those non drinking folk are hard to find.