Marijuana sales commence in Colorado for recreational use

[moe.ron]

DENVER — At 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day, in an industrial area a few miles from downtown Denver, a former Marine named Sean Azzariti walked into a giant store and bought a bag of weed. Legally. To smoke just for fun, if he’s so inclined.

Azzariti’s transaction — 3.5 grams of Bubba Kush for $40 and 50 mg of Truffles for an additional $9.28 — was the first in the state’s grand experiment in legalizing marijuana for recreational use.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...a3b_story.html

Marijuana cha cha cha

[BAckbOwlsgIrl]

OMFG!!!

You have no idea what it is like here.
We are not all pot-heads.
Because of medical marijuana, adolescent marijuana addiction has doubled. This will only make it worse.

Every time I travel, I am afraid that my luggage is going to searched extra because I am from Colorado. No that green cocktail weenie shaped thing REALLY is a super absorbancy tampon.

For the record, I voted FOR medical marijuana. I really believe that if people are sick, they should get whatever it is they need to feel better. However, all you need in Colorado is a hangnail and...voila...you have a marijuana perscription! It has been totally overblown here. I have had tourists, in particular the deep south, ask if we all do marijuana here. NO WE DO NOT!!!

People came all the way from Ohio and Virginia to buy marijuana yesterday and today.

There are more dispensaries than Starbucks here.
And yes, there dispensaries literally next to Starbucks. I can think of one with in 50 feet of a Starbucks in Frisco.
Some cities have voted against recreational marijuana. Colorado Springs is one. Denver has voted for recreational marijuana. Denver also will not allow marijuana to be smoked in public.

Although the state does not endorse marijuana tourism, it is in the works. There are bus tours around Denver. I am hearing of ski resorts incorporating it. If they come for the pot, they will stay and ski.

I supposed that only thing that is good is that it is taxed at 29% in Denver. That money will be used for schools.

For the record, I am not a conservative, religious fanatic, fuddy-duddy. I really hate the smell of marijuana.

I really believe that this measure passed because of all the 20-30 somthings voting. I have friends that voted yes. We shall see how thing turns out.

After all of this, I am seriously thinking of moving out of Colorado. I love my state. So often it is too conservative. However, this is on the end. I just want to live, ski and not worry about nasty ass marijuana. I get a high from hitting fresh powder on a crisp, sunny morning.

End of rant....

[Tulip86]

From a person that has been living in the Netherlands for a while now:
people will get used to it and it will settle down.

The legalization here has made people smoke less weed. It's mostly tourists that buy it because it's illegal to buy where they live.
Taking weed out of the criminal circuit has made it easier for the government to monitor drug use and drug trafficking.

Laws were passed here that they can't sell near schools, and you have to show ID and proof that you live in the Netherlands.

I'm guessing Colorado will experience much of the same: locals will get over the hype and won't smoke more than they did before, because it was easy to get anyway. And it will mostly be people from other states buying in a while.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by BAckbOwlsgIrl

Because of medical marijuana, adolescent marijuana addiction has doubled.

However, all you need in Colorado is a hangnail and...voila...you have a marijuana perscription! It has been totally overblown here.

Of course, adolescent consumption and reliance has doubled. "Everyone" is claiming to have a medical condition now. And now every annoying kid with any kind of tendency to be easily distracted is being diagnosed with ADD or ADHD as opposed to just being a kid. This nonsense would have been stopped at the onset if it was overwhelmingly low income whites, Blacks, and nonwhite Hispanics who were at the forefront of this. People who say this is only about decriminalizing marijuana are on the same bullshit as the people who deny the real foundations of the gun control debate and abortion debate.

As for when this will settle down, who knows. We shall see. We aren't the Netherlands. Just like using Europe and Australia as evidence for gun control doesn't work. There are factors that must be controlled for and I wouldn't say we share all the same common denominators with the Netherlands.

As an aside, marijuana has similarities with alcohol and prohibition but it isn't the exact same thing. But if marijuana is legalized across the US I foresee it being an even bigger pain in the ass than guns and alcohol in terms of government regulation and taxing, maintaining and restricting access, "pure" versus "tainted" marijuana, profit for companies that can legally distribute, what low-level drug dealers will do to find new profit, driving under the influence, etc.

[DubaiSis]

While I'm quite the libertarian when it comes to these types of laws, I think when laws are broken in conjunction with drug and alcohol use, the punishment should be increased. Take drugs, ANY drugs if you want, but you don't get to shoot people, beat your wife, drive under the influence, etc. Bake your life away in your basement, not my problem. Armed robbery so you can afford to bake your life away in your basement, not so much.

Hopefully law enforcement in Colorado is on extra alert to keep trouble at a minimum. But I agree that 1-the hype will fade and 2-tourism in Colorado will increase, at least in the short term. Want to go on a weed-tourism vacation? Call me! But remember, a smoke free hotel doesn't just mean tobacco.

/eta and to clarify, call me because I'm a travel agent, not because I want to go along. I am not a smoker of ANYTHING, except possibly burning food on the stove. But that's a whole different subject...

[honeychile]

I am all for medicinal marijuana, and for decriminalizing it in general. If smoking it could have let my mother enjoy reading for the last years of her life, it would have been wonderful. I also don't think that someone who is busted for under x amount of marijuana should serve time with true criminals (rapists, murderers, thieves, etc).

But this worries me for one reason: I get the easiest contact high of anyone I know. It's really embarrassing, but it's one of the reason I avoid going to certain concerts.

Having a Libertarian streak, I can't help but wonder if this will cause more laws concerning the use of marijuana than ever.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by honeychile

Having a Libertarian streak, I can't help but wonder if this will cause more laws concerning the use of marijuana than ever.

Of course it will. Increased access requires increased restrictions. On CNN someone states the DUI policy indicates that one puff of marijuana can result in a DUI. On CNN, someone recommended people not drive for a little while after that one puff. Perhaps the same applies to a contact high.

As for "true criminals", criminality is always based on definitions and labels. None of these behaviors are inherently criminal without the law. There has also been debate regarding which laws are based on the powerful and which laws are based on a consensus of the population. Marijuana is not the only drug and crime that needs challenging as far as some people are concerned. That includes other crimes such as sexual assault and rape as far as some people are concerned.

/double post

[maconmagnolia]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I also don't think that someone who is busted for under x amount of marijuana should serve time with true criminals (rapists, murderers, thieves, etc).

THIS!!

Slight lane swerve, but there is not NEARLY enough distinction between violent and non-violent offenders in this country.

End rant/swerve.

[StealthMode]

Originally Posted by BAckbOwlsgIrl

No that green cocktail weenie shaped thing REALLY is a super absorbancy tampon.

I have very little to say about marijuana and thus nothing to add to this thread...except to say I laughed at this so hard I lost my breath. Thank you for that.

[flirt5721]

The laws on weed are way too harsh. A murderer gets less time. The drug is less dangerous than most perscription drugs out there. I have see the benefits of medical weed and recreational use. To me the war on weed is the same as Prohabition was on alcohol. Pointness and expensive. I have personally had family killed in the Mexican drug war in the past 5 years and have actually seen the harm that laws on drugs have on this country. Many people that are not near the Mexico boarder don't realize how bad things are because of the laws that are supposed to protect this country, they just make them worse.

Legalizing weed and taxing it would help save money to all tax payers and offer a different way to raise money. People have a very bad view on weed because they don't understand it. The federal classification on it is completely wrong and has no scientific backing as to why ts classified the same as coke or crack other than the government wants to try to get rid of it.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by flirt5721

People have a very bad view on weed because they don't understand it.

As with every topic, people on both sides of the issue claim they know THE FACTS and claim people on the other side of the issue don't understand.

The truth is there are people on both sides of the issue who understand and who don't understand. There is weak "data" supporting both sides of the issue. There are dramatized and exaggerated "facts" on both sides of the issue.

With that in mind, (since the decriminalization proponents are having their "hooray" moment) the average person who is pro-decriminalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use doesn't know shit. They haven't learned much beyond their personal experience and opinion. If (big if) they read anything on the topic, they choose sources that support their strong opinion. They receive support for their strong opinion because they are surrounded by people who share the sentiment. That's the same as the average criminalization proponent. Point being, I'm just tired of the voices for marijuana being presented as well-informed saviors when it is usually not that deep.

This fabricated and exaggerated voice is a result of socioeconomic and racial divisions. Those voices would've been silenced years ago if it wasn't majority white people being allowed to preach about this. Notice the decriminalization for reducing sentencing particularly for young Black men is only voiced when it is convenient for the larger cause; whereas there are legal and criminal justice experts who have struggled to get this subject at the forefront for years, many of whom are ignored until they find a white expert to give the battle more credence. So,yeah, this is about much more than marijuana.

[AOII Angel]

I agree with Tulip86. Since Colorado is one of only two places in the US where recreational use of maijuana is legal, people will go a little crazy at first then things will level off and calm down. It may even be a little painful at first, but the alternative is criminalization of a substance that is no more harmful than alcohol and causes a huge strain on our budgets, prison systems and communities when people are sent to jail for buying small quantities. Making it legal also removes the incentive for the Mexican cartels to deal in pot. They'll find something else, I'm sure.

[AGDee]

It will calm down and other states will follow eventually. In the meantime, a friend posted this article on Facebook, thinking it was a real article, not realizing the daily currant is like the onion.

http://dailycurrant.com/2014/01/02/m...-legalization/

[DubaiSis]

There was an extensive documentary on TV a couple months ago that covered a lot of the issues, and I think they did it fairly. As an example, I have heard MANY times that marijuana is not addictive. This show said it is addictive in fewer than 10% (I think that's the number - I'm old and it was a while ago that I saw the show) of users. So there IS a possibility of addiction. However, for those people like my ex-husband, truly if it's not one thing it will be another. Alcohol, weed, video games, gambling, those people will find their vice.

I don't get the appeal of hanging around, doing nothing, getting baked, but for the majority of people (as stated by the 10% addiction rate) will use it as entertainment along the ideas of drinking and video game playing and that's it.

Anyway, if you want to learn more about the broader issue, I'd see if you can find it on Netflix or something. It was on CNN and was kind of a big deal because it was the one where Sanjay Gupta reversed his position.

[AGDee]

My frustration is with the medical marijuana situation. Studies out of other countries show that marijuana puts Crohn's patients into remission faster and for a longer time period than any prescription medication available today. It is also cheaper than the drug I'm on now. I could get my medical marijuana card as a Crohn's patient. But then I have to either grow my own or find a dispensary. They won't make it into a true pharmaceutical. I can also still be fired for using it, even with a prescription.

It needs to get straightened out.