Marijuana Legalization and Regulation

[AcGold]

My thoughts:

keeping it illegal only increases crime, heard straight from the mouth of a BC officer. They know that it being illegal creates an industry, inflates the price of the bud and in effect drives more criminals to the potential profit. The criminals in BC don't want it legalized.

It's a plant that has potential for an awful lot of good and equally has the potential to ruin lives, I've smoked enough in my day to see it turn people with potential into unmotivated leeches and am weary to not do it too much as it will inevitably influence one's thought patterns negatively, the worst part being it's hard to even tell it's happening. It helps just as many people as it harms, that being said it being illegal does nobody but criminals any good by inflating the price and creating a potential income that otherwise should not exist. For every single grow op busted another will pop up by the inherent nature of the fact that when one is busted it keeps the price high.

[rubecube]

Legalize all drugs. People don't not do meth because it's illegal.

[AcGold]

that is true, but making synthetic drugs that are physically addictive in the chemical sense legal is a bad idea imo. Truly addictive drugs have taken over entire countries (e.g. China)

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by AcGold

that is true, but making synthetic drugs that are physically addictive in the chemical sense legal is a bad idea imo. Truly addictive drugs have taken over entire countries (e.g. China)

Are these drugs legal in China? If you make synthetic drugs legal, you can control the purity of the drugs, thus reducing the risks of accidental overdoses, etc. Making them legal also increases the likelihood that someone who is addicted will seek treatment.

[CampbellsTransgressions]

I'm in favour of legalization but decriminalization would be a nice compromise for the time being. At least it would keep perfectly functional people from jail. That includes the dealers because a lot of the time they're just someone buying in bulk and splitting with their friends. Harper's new mandatory minimums are a joke.

I don't care for pre-employment drug testing for marijuana. Thankfully it's illegal in Canada except for safety sensitive positions but even then I question how effective it is. Most people can stop smoking for a month or two just to get a job and then start right back up. All these tests really do is inconvenience those of us that prefer a J instead of a beer. I suppose on the other hand it's a pretty easy way to filter out people with poor self-control that can't stop smoking for a month. Maybe those people are the ones that are more likely to smoke on the job.

[troutman]

I think I'd rather eat M then smoke it.

http://www.theweedblog.com/how-is-sm...ing-marijuana/



Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmgpvPiER7o

[Pacem]

Originally Posted by AcGold

My thoughts:

keeping it illegal only increases crime, heard straight from the mouth of a BC officer. They know that it being illegal creates an industry, inflates the price of the bud and in effect drives more criminals to the potential profit. The criminals in BC don't want it legalized.

It's a plant that has potential for an awful lot of good and equally has the potential to ruin lives, I've smoked enough in my day to see it turn people with potential into unmotivated leeches and am weary to not do it too much as it will inevitably influence one's thought patterns negatively, the worst part being it's hard to even tell it's happening. It helps just as many people as it harms, that being said it being illegal does nobody but criminals any good by inflating the price and creating a potential income that otherwise should not exist. For every single grow op busted another will pop up by the inherent nature of the fact that when one is busted it keeps the price high.

Meh that is not true. In the twenty years i've been smoking in BC, the street prices haven't gone up at all. I pay less for weed then I did 20 years ago for my own personal usage. At the supplier level, the price has plummeted. Pounds sell for significantly less then they used to sell for.

Criminals used medicinal marijuana grow licenses to cheat the system and that has contributed to the significant drop in prices at the supplier level. There was an article in the paper about a grower and how he preferred the old days as he would get significantly more money. He still sells to the same people he always did (criminals), all the license did was protect him from prosecution and allowed him to do things more legit with less profit. With so many grow licenses out there, there is a way more supply then demand. I can't find the link to the article.

Marijuana at licensed dispensaries is already more expensive then what I personally pay. Once the government gets their hands on taxing and regulating marijuana you will see price increase most definitely. And that of course, will create a black market and you will see criminals profit from it because you know the government will #### it up.

As for the tests for driving while impaired by marijuana. I hope they can accurately figure that out and change it to a drinking and driving situation. As it stands right now, there is no way for a driver to dispute a driving while high charge. If a cop believes you are high, you get the same 24 hour suspension and RDP penalties just like blowing a warning level at a roadside test. So, I hope they figure that #### out. I have a crappy driving record for those types of things and I no longer drive under those conditions, but knowing a cop can just out right and say i'm high and cause me to lose my license for up to a year and I have no recourse to change that really gets me antsy.

[btimbit]

I don't smoke it, but I really don't care if it's legalized. As long as it's regulated like alcohol and cigarettes. Not in public places, while driving, etc.

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Might want to check your HR policy book, but for the vast majority of companies it is absolutely not acceptable to have a beer at lunch.

I've had to let people go for this in the past unfortunately. Not sure when or how it suddenly became acceptable.

[habernac]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

It's acceptable practice to have a beer with lunch, why not a doob?

I've worked for 4 different oil and gas companies, none of them condone having a beer at lunch.

The war on drugs is a huge waste of time. Regulate it, sell it, tax it and put the criminals out of business.

[CaramonLS]

I'd also be very curious to see what programs / rules will be in place to prevent the people who have previously grown illegally to suddenly become a legitimized business.

[killer_carlson]

Have they developed a way to test for MJ levels in impaired driving cases?

[nik-]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Have they developed a way to test for MJ levels in impaired driving cases?

Yeah, if you're driving 32 on in a 50 zone.

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

Have they developed a way to test for MJ levels in impaired driving cases?

There are police officers that are trained to detect the physiological symptoms of drugs and are designated as drug recognition experts. They would have to testify in court with regards to what they observed from a "high" driver.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Zulu29

There are police officers that are trained to detect the physiological symptoms of drugs and are designated as drug recognition experts. They would have to testify in court with regards to what they observed from a "high" driver.

What I have a hard time finding is that at least with booze they have a breathalizer or BAC tests with pot you dont have that other than a UA but that will only tell if you used the substance and not if you're high at that moment

[Azure]

It is interesting reading how legalization is effecting Colorado. Apparently tourism is on the rise since the legalization, with the majority of the visitors coming from states that are the most against legalization of marijuana.

Pretty funny.

[calculoso]

As soon as the laws are changed, I bet that the smoking pad at work will all of a sudden have a different smell. People already think that it doesn't affect them at all... "just makes them more relaxed"

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by calculoso

As soon as the laws are changed, I bet that the smoking pad at work will all of a sudden have a different smell. People already think that it doesn't affect them at all... "just makes them more relaxed"

Those people will likely find themselves unemployed pretty quickly.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by calculoso

As soon as the laws are changed, I bet that the smoking pad at work will all of a sudden have a different smell. People already think that it doesn't affect them at all... "just makes them more relaxed"

Then they'll lose their jobs I'm sure.

One of the things I hope is regulated with this is usage in public. Similar to open liquor laws.

[Swarly]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Then they'll lose their jobs I'm sure.

One of the things I hope is regulated with this is usage in public. Similar to open liquor laws.

so put that bong in a brown bag and you'll be fine

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Zulu29

There are police officers that are trained to detect the physiological symptoms of drugs and are designated as drug recognition experts. They would have to testify in court with regards to what they observed from a "high" driver.

I was probably one of the first ever charged for dry drunk in the late 60s. The officer got on the stand and said my pupils were dilated and pinpointed. My lawyer and I started laughing and the judge said "Maybe they were going back and forth, case dismissed".

Still not a good idea to drive under the influence of grass.