Six Months After Legalizing Marijuana, Two Big Things Have Happened in Colorado

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Oh noesss a gateway drug. I know plenty of people that never quit smoking after high school. Some are now doctors, pilots, managers, laborers etc

Others?

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

Actually did psychedelics 1st. Reefer much later.
Age of Aquarius and all.

When I was 16 and just starting to get into mischief, we could easily get pot, LSD, and amphetamines. Many times we'd have rather had beer, but couldn't find someone older to buy it for us. Then, recently, I saw on Ken Burns "Prohibition" that after prohibition was repealed and alcohol sales were again legal, it was actually harder to minors to get alcohol after the black market dried up.

I wonder if it might be harder for minors to get pot in Colorado now.

 

[LockStocksAndBarrel]

If you want to go the gateway route, we could say that mother's milk leads to everything.

Carlin said so.

 

[Principal Skinr]

Oh noesss a gateway drug. I know plenty of people that never quit smoking after high school. Some are now doctors, pilots, managers, laborers etc

Pilots? Commercial? If so, are you really sure about that one?

 

[zippy23]

has the problem of trafficking to other states that it is still legal been talked about at all?

 

[Birds Away]

What about the Doritos shortage? Nobody seems to care about the collateral damage? Think of the children.

 

[indiucky]

No "gnashing of teeth or rending of garments"..(I love when people get all Old Testament in their hyperbole) but apparently there has been an increase of rending of metal and and chrome...But hey...Freedom is not free is it???

More Colorado drivers in fatal crashes positive for pot, study says - Boulder Daily Camera


With that being said I do agree with Franklin that "Those that sacrifice safety for liberty deserve neither" but to be so obtuse as to act like there was going to be no negative effects is a little disinegenous...

I believe in five to ten years it will be legal nationwide and that it will take another five to ten years for folks to figure out that with their new found freedom comes a little responsibility. I.E. to pick the time and place to partake and to stay off the road if you opt to partake....IMHO ofcourse.....

 

[rw496]

Does anyone without an agenda really think there is any correlation between the murder rate and the legalization of marijuana? With this great government tax windfall have they decided to lower property taxes, income tax, sales? Nope. A politicians wet dream, an inebriated, vocal minority willing to pay out the ass for their basic rights.

 

[thecoltsman2006]

I know I am coming into this conversation late but, I want to know when Indiana is going to approve medical pot. My son has severe seizures and the oil extract is said to do wonders for kids like this.

 

[mrjarrell]

I know I am coming into this conversation late but, I want to know when Indiana is going to approve medical pot. My son has severe seizures and the oil extract is said to do wonders for kids like this.

Sorry to hear about your son. There's not going to be any medical marijuana in Indiana for a very long time. Republicans just won't allow it. Not sure what the rules are going to be next door in Illinois, though. Maybe a doctor over there can help you out when they finally get their whole system up and running. You'd be breaking the law by possessing the oils here, but bad laws should be broken. It's just a matter of weighing the costs and risks. I know what I'd do if it were one of my kids.

 

[Hookeye]

Plenty of stoners behind the wheel...........

And now we know why they wanted a 14 MPH speed limit in Aspen.

Sis lives out there, says it's pretty bad (will be moving).

 

[Fargo]

Weed is a gateway drug for many people but not all. Some people smoke weed on the weekends or very seldom but still do. Those type of users are not at much risk of it becoming a gateway drug. It seems to me that the new step in or on the gateway ladder in heroin. There are many, many heroin addicts and heroin use is growing by the day. Anyone that has been around the addict scene much would say without a doubt it is bad stuff. I have never talked to a heroin (or any other drug) addict that didn't smoke weed first. I am sure there are some but I would guess it would be quite rare.

I think Indiana is doing it right. Keep it illegal and lower the penalties.

I have a hard time seeing heroin as a gateway drug. For most, it tends to be an endpoint, particularly when used intravenously. The gateway to heroin is usually prescription pain pills IME.

 

[mrjarrell]

So, it's been over 18 months now that pot has been legal in Colorado. What's happening? Well, they're on track for a billion in sales this year and had $700 million last year. That's a boon for any economy. And the state has not been made poorer for it, either.

[video=youtube_share;wnbRoEZPdrM]http://youtu.be/wnbRoEZPdrM[/video]

 

[AA&E]

I don't believe it was the train wreck nor the windfall either side claimed it would be. That said, maybe it's time for everyone to just mind their own damn business unless something is personally affecting them. We've become a nanny state where everyone wants to influence how others live, and this influence comes from both sides of the political aisle and mindsets. You can't proclaim virtues of freedom while heralding a policy of imprisonment for crimes where a victim doesn't exist.

 

[CBR1000rr]

If that were true we'd have millions of heroin addicts. And yet, we don't.

Actually, we do. If it isn't I the "millions" yet, it sure is close. I'm not disagreeing with the rest of your statement but I believe your incorrect here. As for the gateway to heroin, I believe it is prescription pain killers opening the door. Legal drug dealing at its finest.

 

[Grease]

As a direct result of " the law " not prosecuting those with weed related offenses .

BUT , as everybody and their brother knows , weed is a gateway drug and soon violent crime will be on the rise as those folks who chose to partake in that devil drug simply won't be able to get high anymore and have to move on to the harder drugs allowing their lives to spiral out of control .

Those folks will wake up some day in some back alley or in a van down by the river wondering what happened to their lives as the po po is arresting them for living a chaotic , murder and crime filled existence .

Just wait and see , it'll happen .

This or when they can't hold a job for being stoned or having fried their brain too much to form cognitive thoughts, how do they afford their weed?

6 months is not a good yardstick to measure by, give it at least a year though I do not imagine their will be much of a change then. I'd say look at it in 3 and then 5 years to get a solid read on the situation.

Of course proponents of legal weed will skew and hand pick the facts they want while ignoring medical and criminal facts they don't like.

 

[findingZzero]

Weed makes you lazy and fat.....Don't worry, Wall-E will carry yer load....
Besides, it 10x more expense than the crap I used to buy.......

 

[Grease]

Weed makes you lazy and fat.....Don't worry, Wall-E will carry yer load....
Besides, it 10x more expense than the crap I used to buy.......

A helluva lot more potent too!

one thing I try to explain to people that try to equate weed to alcohol is, that with alcohol, there is a scientific measurement on how long alcohol remains in your system and how long the effects last, with weed, not so much.

also, concerning DUI's, alcohol influence is easily determined through FST's and breathilizers, weed needs special training to be determined. Yes, an officer can charge with DUI for weed but, if he isn't trained properly, it is much harder to prove in court, I guess saying, "dude, bummer" a lot may not help the defendants case! Haha

 

[2ADMNLOVER]

This or when they can't hold a job for being stoned or having fried their brain too much to form cognitive thoughts, how do they afford their weed? 6 months is not a good yardstick to measure by, give it at least a year though I do not imagine their will be much of a change then. I'd say look at it in 3 and then 5 years to get a solid read on the situation. Of course proponents of legal weed will skew and hand pick the facts they want while ignoring medical and criminal facts they don't like.

Sarcasm, I often don't use purple and that whole post was a jab at the TEOTWAWKI crowd . It's been over a year and the sky hasn't fallen .

 

[zippy23]

Child exposure has exploded. Hospital admissions have exploded relating to weed. The cartels are still in business. The surrounding states are seeing a ridiculous increase in tracking. Thats just the short list. I'm not opposed or for it. i simply dont care. But to claim that nothing really that bad has happened is flat out wrong. If you wanna put stuff in your body, go for it, as long as it doest affect someone else. THATS THE CATCH. Prohibition doesnt work sure, but you know what does? Serious punishment.