Marijuana Legalization and Regulation

[polak]

Originally Posted by terminator

Never met a true pot-head who wasn't super paranoid and lazy.

Whats a true pot head?

I know people who smoke every day and are completely fine, productive people moving up in their careers and are active and are completely normal people.

I think it's a generational thing. Simply more people smoking weed now so it's not just that select "stoner" group.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by terminator

Never met a true pot-head who wasn't super paranoid and lazy.

I bet most people who use marijuana wouldn't be considered "pot heads" though. It's not like you either use it a lot or not at all. There are a lot of people who maybe use it once a week or a couple of times a month.

Most people I know that smoke pot, never touch it on weekdays.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by FireFly

IIRC, troutman posted a Rolling Stone article on legalization in Colorado and the cost of a JOINT is about $15.

ONE JOINT.

Legalization makes it more expensive. I thought perhaps you could buy a pack of maybe 5 doobs for the price of a pack of cigarettes but $15 a joint is unreal.

In Amsterdam it was 15-20 euro for a pack of 5 good sized ones. Depending on the size, $15 is probably close to par with street prices.

In relevance to this and FlamesAddiction's post regarding the prohibition actually pushing overuse, I have to agree. I smoke quite regularly and been trying to cut back significantly, but the way it's sold makes it very difficult. If you want to get a decent price, you have to buy at least a 1/4 ($60-70), and as with most products, the more you buy the cheaper it is per unit. Most dealers won't sell you just a joint or two, especially if you've never bought off them before and many don't sell less than 1/4 at a time. This means you have a big bag hanging around all the time for easy access.

Now, if I was able to go to the corner store every Friday and grab a few joints for the weekend, I would likely smoke a lot less than I currently do just because that's all I really want. But it's easy to justify a session after work because I have this big bag just sitting there, drying out and ready to go. Imagine if you could only buy alcohol from a select few people in the city and they only sold it to you a case at a time and getting a 6 or 12 pack would be impossible/relatively crazy expensive compared to buying the standard amount. Not to mention all the stress of having to find that guy, meet them wherever they want to meet, associate with a criminal, do a shady deal, etc... just so I can enjoy a smoke in the comfort of my own house, which harms no one but myself.

I see the concerns of people on the other side, but don't see them as any different than concerns about alcohol or prescription drugs. And I think we will see more open dialogue between parents/schools and kids in regards to mary jane almost purely because parents wont be ashamed/hesitant to discuss it for a few reasons: a) legality isn't an issue, so you don't assume your kid to be breaking the law by talking with them which cuts a lot of the tension of the issue. b) parents can feel better about sharing their own experience with the drug and expressing their views about the potential negative effects. c) schools will be more ready to actually explain the drug and it's intended uses/potential problems.

I remember getting a good spiel in DARE about the minute details of the problems with cigarettes and alcohol, what exactly was in them and how they harmed/affected your body/mind. But when it came to the illicit drugs, it was pretty much "these are the bad things don't do or touch them". When if they explained (without bias to what is positive or negative) what the effects of the drugs are, we wouldn't necessarily need to find out for ourselves, we could make informed decisions about whether or not we want to try it.

For example: I smoke herb regularly, but a cigarette has never touched my lips. DARE left no stone unturned on cigarettes and all the negatives made me never want to touch the stuff. But I was never given a break down about all the positives/negatives of herb was just told it would fry your brain. Well, maybe that's an incentive? Maybe a high school kids wants to see what a "fried brain" feels like. When if the actual effects were discussed, maybe some kids would never do it because they wouldn't want to feel that way. Cocaine was the same thing. Don't do it, it's bad and you'll end up like these guys (pictures of dead addicts). Well news flash** A teenager is generally intelligent enough to figure out that not all people who use (certain) drugs have their lives ruined by it, so maybe they're one of the lucky ones. A friend who told me all cocaine did was make him want more cocaine made me never want to try it, and I stand by that today. No teacher or parent told me such a thing, I had to find out from a friend with experience. Why are we making people come across these things with little to no knowledge of them? Eradicating them will not work, so explain it thoroughly and the difference between recreational natural things like herb and shrooms vs heroin and meth and everything inbetween.

Back to Amsterdam, when I was there my GF and I decided to try shrooms. She had a couple times, I never had. I felt a lot safer about buying them ina seal package with labelled effects and different grades from "laugh your ass off" to "you're gonna see some crazy s***" that I do about ingesting stuff from a random ziploc from a random guy in a parking lot.

tl;dr

Legalize, educate and regulate and the whole practice will be a lot safer, because you certainly arent stopping people from doing it regardless.

[polak]

Yeah I usually find myself saying "after I finish this, I'm not buying any more until <the next trip someone>" but by the time you finish a 1/4, it's time for that trip.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by terminator

Never met a true pot-head who wasn't super paranoid and lazy.

I've known the type. I also knew a guy who trained for and competed in triathlons while getting baked daily. Another daily user who was a provincial-level competitive cyclist. And another who is the most outgoing and friendly person you'll ever meet. It's tough to generalize.

[FLAMESRULE]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Isn't it subjective what is addictive/destructive and what isn't?

I could never see myself sitting infront of a VLT shoving in loonies, but hell they seem to get people's attention.

Not at all. There are numerous studies that show alcohol is immensely more destructive than nearly every other drug, especially weed. The family abuse, drunk driving, murders, etc all happen with far greater frequency with alcohol.

[polak]

LSD, MDMA and Weed are the safest popular drugs out there. There's many studies that support this.

I was shocked to learn that, barring any underlying medical conditions, LSD doesn't have any negative effect on the body or brain.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by FLAMESRULE

Not at all. There are numerous studies that show alcohol is immensely more destructive than nearly every other drug, especially weed. The family abuse, drunk driving, murders, etc all happen with far greater frequency with alcohol.

I guess I was being more generic. Different people are addicted to different things, for different reasons.

I won't argue booze, cuz I have been there and it ain't good.

[nik-]

Alcohol: The Gateway Drug.

[Daradon]

Wouldn't legal weed be consistently a bit stronger though? A certain level of quality control. Don't get me wrong, you can get crazy strong stuff as it is now. But it can be a bit of a crap shoot. Sometimes it's 'da bomb' sometimes it's kinda crappy.

I guess it depends on who you know too. Like any drug. But for casual users who don't have a guy, quality varies for sure.

Legalized, you know what your going to get, and it's never going to be crap.

[polak]

I have never smoked weed and not got high. I've had stuff that has knocked me on my ass but I've never had something I'd consider "bad".

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Wouldn't legal weed be consistently a bit stronger though? A certain level of quality control. Don't get me wrong, you can get crazy strong stuff as it is now. But it can be a bit of a crap shoot. Sometimes it's 'da bomb' sometimes it's kinda crappy.

I guess it depends on who you know too. Like any drug. But for casual users who don't have a guy, quality varies for sure.

Legalized, you know what your going to get, and it's never going to be crap.

I am not sold that it would be stronger.

I think it would be more consistent.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by polak

I have never smoked weed and not got high. I've had stuff that has knocked me on my ass but I've never had something I'd consider "bad".

Malt liquor will get you drunk.

I wouldn't drink it, though.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

I am not sold that it would be stronger.

I think it would be more consistent.

Well yeah, that's what I meant. You'd consistently get strong stuff. So whatever the price ends up evening out at, at least, on the average, you may get better value, cause you won't get crap weed anymore.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Malt liquor will get you drunk.

I wouldn't drink it, though.

C'mom now, shirley you have been mauled by the Big Bear......everyone should have been mauled at least once...

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

C'mom now, shirley you have been mauled by the Big Bear......everyone should have been mauled at least once...

Heheh, the only time I ever drank malt liquor was for a 'white trash' themed party. But I have to admit, the party was a lot of fun, and I drank a ton of that stuff!

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Well yeah, that's what I meant. You'd consistently get strong stuff. So whatever the price ends up evening out at, at least, on the average, you may get better value, cause you won't get crap weed anymore.

I disagree, most weed is hydroponically grown these days. It drastically decreases quality for me. Soil grown without chemicals is almost an entirely different thing. Darker green, burns white and is smoother.

I'd prefer dark and leafy green over white and trichomed to the max. It doesn't even look like a plant a lot of the time when it's hydroponically grown, just looks like crystally goo. Stronger doesn't always mean better value, everclear is strong and not too expensive either. I'd rather drink a fine wine or a nice german beer.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

C'mom now, shirley you have been mauled by the Big Bear......everyone should have been mauled at least once...

shhhhh

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Wouldn't legal weed be consistently a bit stronger though? A certain level of quality control. Don't get me wrong, you can get crazy strong stuff as it is now. But it can be a bit of a crap shoot. Sometimes it's 'da bomb' sometimes it's kinda crappy.

I guess it depends on who you know too. Like any drug. But for casual users who don't have a guy, quality varies for sure.

Legalized, you know what your going to get, and it's never going to be crap.

I imagine, much like booze, there would be your Everclear or absinthe that could obliterate you in s heartbeat. Similarly, you'd also get your Bacardi Breezer strains of legal weed.

The market would figure it out.

[polak]

I have a buddy who bought legal weed in washington and they do have different strains. They basically ask you what you're in the mood for and they suggest a type. I'm assuming that's what will happen here.

Do you want be active and energetic or lazy and relaxed...etc.