Legalizing Marijuana

[SuenosAmor]

Weed for all! (18+, of course)

[Chuckball]

Canada will legalize pot on July 1,2018. The delay is to allow provinces to enact rules regarding distribution and rules regarding driving under the influence. Pricing is to reflect the going rate on the black market. The idea is to reap the tax profit that would otherwise further the criminal element. Unlike Colorado, banks also federally regulated in Canada would be able to deal with proceeds. Of course the legalization has opposition. But let's face it. Legalization is not introducing a drug that is already prevalent. It is just eliminating the risk of getting a criminal record for current users while reaping tax revenue and freeing up police for better use of their time. I can' t see legalization as encouraging anyone not using now to take up the practice once legal.

[TruthBTold]

What are they basing their conclusions on? For instance, does marijuana smoking cause the same damage to the lungs as tobacco does. What is that based on? How about to the brain? My doctors actually have suggested that I be administered marijuana for seizures and sleep. I would not smoke it but does it matter. Something tells me that there have not been enough medical studies done for insurance companies to raise insurance rates or deny it altogether. Or at least I have not seen them.

[samhexum]

does marijuana smoking cause the same damage to the lungs as tobacco does.

 

I'm a long-time pothead, & my lungs are less than fully functional, though thankfully more functional than I figured they'd be at this point. I see my pulmonologist every 4 months & use Advair twice daily.

 

I've had insomnia all my life, but I'm sure the pot doesn't help. Being up 18+ hours a day also leads to more opportunities to eat... also not helped by the pot.

[TruthBTold]

I'm a long-time pothead, & my lungs are less than fully functional, though thankfully more functional than I figured they'd be at this point. I see my pulmonologist every 4 months & use Advair twice daily.

I've had insomnia all my life, but I'm sure the pot doesn't help. Being up 18+ hours a day also leads to more opportunities to eat... also not helped by the pot.

 

It is absolutely none of my business, but did you also smoke tobacco at some point in your life. And, while very, very interesting, studies generally encompass a certain number of people so that a conclusion can be obtained. I hope that your lung problems are helped by the treatment that your pulmonologists prescribed for you.

[samhexum]

did you also smoke tobacco at some point in your life...I hope that your lung problems are helped by the treatment that your pulmonologists prescribed for you.

 

Never, other than a pack or two during periods of trying to quit pot (I smoke joints & missed the feeling of a joint in my hand.) I'm sure the Advair helps, but not nearly as much as quitting would.

[LaffingBear]

My pot-smoking years are long behind me. I doubt I'd indulge, even if presented with the legal opportunity.

 

I suspect many advocates haven't considered all aspects. Driving stoned, for example. Theres a detection progression for alcohol from breathalyzer to blood test. Is there a non invasive test for pot?

 

Employers have rights and responsibilites if employees show up hungover... what if they're wrecked from partying? Nipping from a bottle kept hidden in your desk is considered wrong nowadays - would a few coworkers sharing a joint during break be equally wrong?

 

Legalization, regulation, and taxation probably makes sense. Even if marijuana smoke is as harmful as tobacco, or if one accepts an argument that effects of nicotine and addiction are traded for whatever altering properties of marijuana..... its absurd that we permit booze and cigarettes but not pot. No reasonable person could make a science-based argument that weed is worse.

 

Somewhere buried in my attic is a box of paraphernalia. Bongs, pipes, smoking tubes and toys, rolling machines, even a hookah. Maybe they'll become some kind of cool vintage collectible, and I'll be on the new PBS series ANTIQUE HEAD SHOPPE

[samhexum]

My pot-smoking years are long behind me. I doubt I'd indulge, even if presented with the legal opportunity.

Ironically, a medical marijuana dispensary opened half a mile from me, & they deliver.

 

Driving stoned, for example. Theres a detection progression for alcohol from breathalyzer to blood test. Is there a non invasive test for pot?

God, I hope not!

 

Employers have rights and responsibilites if employees show up hungover... what if they're wrecked from partying? Nipping from a bottle kept hidden in your desk is considered wrong nowadays - would a few coworkers sharing a joint during break be equally wrong?

It definitely should be.

 

 

Legalization, regulation, and taxation probably makes sense. Even if marijuana smoke is as harmful as tobacco, or if one accepts an argument that effects of nicotine and addiction are traded for whatever altering properties of marijuana..... its absurd that we permit booze and cigarettes but not pot. No reasonable person could make a science-based argument that weed is worse.

And which politicians do you think are the reasonable persons who'll vote for these logical things on a national level?

 

Somewhere buried in my attic is a box of paraphernalia. Bongs, pipes, smoking tubes and toys, rolling machines, even a hookah. Maybe they'll become some kind of cool vintage collectible, and I'll be on the new PBS series ANTIQUE HEAD SHOPPE

I still have my old 45s, but my turntable doesn't work. If you have one, we should get together.:rolleyes:

[+ Avalon]

So long as they are held responsible for any crime they commit like car wrecks etc.. No excuses that they were under the influence and thus were not responsible.

[samhexum]

So long as they are held responsible for any crime they commit like car wrecks etc.. No excuses that they were under the influence and thus were not responsible.

 

Agreed, though (while you ARE affected) every person I've known who smoked regularly said they drove more slowly when high, because they were more mellow & less likely to be racing to get somewhere 5 minutes ago.

[+ bashful]

Anybody in the transportation area comes immediately to mind thus airline pilots, train engineers, bus drivers, or semi-truck, for example, should be fired if traces of drugs are found in their systems.

 

Random testing of persons working in safety sensitive positions in the transportation industry has been going on for decades, many times resulting in termination per DOT rules.

 

I would also probably add to that group doctors, nurses, teacher, and police officers.

 

Not a bad idea, if not already being done.

Edited November 7, 2017 by bashful

[Rudynate]

I smoked a lot when I was young. Didn't touch it all for years and years. Started again as a means of coping with chronic pain. For a few years, I got high a few times a month. Recently, I've lost interest in it. Realized I prefer being clear-headed for the most part.

[+ Avalon]

But doesn't marijuana make a person hungry? And that might cause weight gain for an escort which is a no no.

[+ Axiom2001]

Nope. I don't allow myself to be swayed by celeb endorsements.

 

Hugs,

Greg

 

I'm with you Greg; I, and I alone determine how I vote for issues.

[Rudynate]

Nope. I don't allow myself to be swayed by celeb endorsements.

 

Hugs,

Greg

 

 

What does that actually mean? That you reject a celebrity endorsement out-of-hand because it's a celebrity endorsement, or that you routinely ignore them, or that you are willing to consider them as possible sources of valuable information?

[TruthBTold]

Random testing of persons working in safety sensitive positions in the transportation industry has been going on for decades, many times resulting in termination per DOT rules.

Not a bad idea, if not already being done.

 

I do not have the answers for some of the following questions but one of the big ones I would ask is what trace amount in a person's blood stream affects their ability to perform their job. The simple fact that there is a trace of cannabis does not mean that a person should be fired unless there is some kind of scientific studies which show that all traces of cannabis cause problems. At one time, persons in various professions were fired outright merely based on the fact there was a trace. Not because there have been studies that show that a particular amount causes problems but because the person had violated the law by smoking pot. Those standards will change once pot is legalized. Questions will have to be answered whether any trace will inhibit the safe performance of all jobs or whether the performance of jobs will be inhibited only when the trace is above a certain amount. That may be the case, that may not be the case. But you have to have studies not simply state it is so.

[+ bashful]

I do not have the answers for some of the following questions but one of the big ones I would ask is what trace amount in a person's blood stream affects their ability to perform their job. The simple fact that there is a trace of cannabis does not mean that a person should be fired unless there is some kind of scientific studies which show that all traces of cannabis cause problems. At one time, persons in various professions were fired outright merely based on the fact there was a trace. Not because there have been studies that show that a particular amount causes problems but because the person had violated the law by smoking pot. Those standards will change once pot is legalized. Questions will have to be answered whether any trace will inhibit the safe performance of all jobs or whether the performance of jobs will be inhibited only when the trace is above a certain amount. That may be the case, that may not be the case. But you have to have studies not simply state it is so.

 

More information than I can tell you at the following:

 

https://www.transportation.gov/odapc

[samhexum]

A Georgia family has been torn apart after authorities placed a 15-year-old teen in a group home following a tip from his therapist that his parents gave him marijuana in an effort to control his seizures.

 

David Brill, whose parents Suzeanna and Matthew spent six days in jail after their arrest, allegedly suffers from near-constant seizures.

 

The couple maintains that marijuana kept him seizure-free for 71 days, until Twiggs County sheriff’s deputies knocked on their door and told them to stop. The couple said they obliged, only for Brill’s seizures to return just hours later.

 

“Within 14 hours of complying we were rushing our son to the hospital,” Suzeanna Brill told The New York Times. “And it was one of the most horrific seizures I’ve ever seen.”

 

In April, Brill was taken into custody by the state Department of Family and Children Services following an order from a juvenile court judge. He has been separated from his service dog, and is only allowed to communicate with his parents through phone calls and short visits, 13WMAZ.com reported.

 

In early May, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill that adds PTSD and intractable pain to a list of medical conditions that are eligible to be treated with cannabis oil. Late-stage cancer patients and those suffering from seizure disorders are also eligible to seek cannabis oil treatment, but state law still bans growing, buying or transporting marijuana.

 

“Marijuana is still illegal to possess or use in the state of Georgia,” Twiggs County Sheriff Darren Mitchum said Thursday. “That includes allowing or giving it to children to ingest or smoke.”

 

But the Brills said they were just doing what any parent would to save their son, and that they would do it again if it meant bettering his health.

 

“Nothing else was working,” Suzeanna Brill told 13WMAZ. “I can’t have my kid dying because no one wants to listen.”

 

The Brills have started a GoFundMe page to help pay for a lawyer and move to a state where marijuana is legal.

[TruthBTold]

A Georgia family has been torn apart after authorities placed a 15-year-old teen in a group home following a tip from his therapist that his parents gave him marijuana in an effort to control his seizures.

David Brill, whose parents Suzeanna and Matthew spent six days in jail after their arrest, allegedly suffers from near-constant seizures.

The couple maintains that marijuana kept him seizure-free for 71 days, until Twiggs County sheriff’s deputies knocked on their door and told them to stop. The couple said they obliged, only for Brill’s seizures to return just hours later.

“Within 14 hours of complying we were rushing our son to the hospital,” Suzeanna Brill told The New York Times. “And it was one of the most horrific seizures I’ve ever seen.”

In April, Brill was taken into custody by the state Department of Family and Children Services following an order from a juvenile court judge. He has been separated from his service dog, and is only allowed to communicate with his parents through phone calls and short visits, 13WMAZ.com reported.

In early May, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill that adds PTSD and intractable pain to a list of medical conditions that are eligible to be treated with cannabis oil. Late-stage cancer patients and those suffering from seizure disorders are also eligible to seek cannabis oil treatment, but state law still bans growing, buying or transporting marijuana.

“Marijuana is still illegal to possess or use in the state of Georgia,” Twiggs County Sheriff Darren Mitchum said Thursday. “That includes allowing or giving it to children to ingest or smoke.”

But the Brills said they were just doing what any parent would to save their son, and that they would do it again if it meant bettering his health.

“Nothing else was working,” Suzeanna Brill told 13WMAZ. “I can’t have my kid dying because no one wants to listen.”

The Brills have started a GoFundMe page to help pay for a lawyer and move to a state where marijuana is legal.

 

This makes me so angry and so sad at the same time. I have epilepsy but luckily although I had one febrile seizure when I was a baby did not start having non-controllable seizures until I was an adult. If this teen is having near-constant seizures he is at risk of having permanent brain damage. His seizures are obviously not being controlled by by the now available medications or combinations thereof. Once you reach the end of the medication rope, the federal government should force the states to allow patients to be treated with marijuana. It has worked with many children which has allowed most CIVILIZED states to allow seizures to be treated with pot in some form (even Illinois, mind you, not a hot bed of new ideas.) Unfortunately, while Georgia does have a very reputable medical system I think it is probably years away from people being treated with marijuana. The parents must flee if they can. If you can afford to, investigate the fund page, and send something.

[samhexum]

A Canadian woman discovered that her intense bouts of vomiting and constant nausea were due to her regular marijuana use.

 

Last year, Desiree Haight found it so difficult to keep food down that she dropped 30 pounds, from 150 pounds down to 120. BITCH!

 

Things came to a head in November when she wound up in the emergency room in her hometown of Calgary after she threw up 30 times in one day.

 

At first, doctors assumed the 46-year-old either had food poisoning or a stomach virus.

 

But one emergency room physician said her symptoms seemed familiar and asked if she smoked marijuana and if hot showers gave her relief.

 

When she answered ‘yes’, that’s when he diagnosed her with a little-known condition called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) in which chronic cannabis users vomit incessantly without explanation.

 

CHS is a recently discovered, but poorly understood, condition caused by long-term cannabis use.

 

The syndrome occurs in heavy marijuana users, those who smoke at least 20 times a month, who have recurrent and severe bouts of nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

 

The number of people affected by CHS is unclear, although its prevalence could be in the millions.

 

In Canada, where recreational marijuana was legalized last year, the numbers of people with the condition could rise.

 

The first study to report on the phenomenon was led by Mount Barker Hospital in Australia, where researchers realized patients who had repeated attacks of vomiting had one thing in common: chronic cannabis use.

 

Out of 10 participants, seven who stopped using cannabis saw their symptoms resolve. The three who refused to abstain saw their symptoms continue.

[Guest]

Anybody got a quick take on how much Colorado has made on taxes thus far on pot? Too lazy right now to do a search. WG2

It's easy to measure financial savings with pot legalization, as the taxes gained and decreased spending on enforcement are hard figures. It's much more difficult to measure the costs, such as increased accidents (which happened when California legalized recreational pot), decreased work productivity, and increased medical expenditures for obesity, diabetes, and so on. How many people won't reach their full potential due to marijuana? Tobacco earns the government lots of money in taxes. It also saves money on decreased social security expenditures (since smokers die young). Does that mean it's wonderful, and we should all be smoking it?

[Rudynate]

I didn't think of it that way. But yes, if they are smart enough to be counter to what they are pushing-then yes. if not, they are a bunch of actors-good for entertainment.

 

Not what I meant. If you are reflexively choosing a viewpoint in opposition to the celebrity's viewpoint just because he/she is a celebrity (and you don't allow yourself to be swayed be celeb endorsements), then you have no more intellectual freedom than if you had slavishly adopted the celebrity's viewpoint.

[samhexum]

Weed all about it!

 

New York State lawmakers struck a deal Wednesday to legalize marijuana, legislative sources said — just hours after Gov. Cuomo called the move “essential” to the state’s social and economic well-being.

 

The reform measures will be included in the laws that are set to be proposed as part of the state budget due on April 1, the sources said.

 

The deal would allow New Yorkers over the age of 21 to legally buy and possess up to three ounces of pot for their personal use, with sales by licensed dispensaries to begin as early as December 2022, sources said.

 

Recreational stoners could even cultivate up to six plants each, or a dozen per household, but a big bummer in the agreement would make them wait to start growing their own until 18 months after the first dispensary opens, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle said.

 

Plans call for a 9 percent state tax on retail sales that could generate $300 million a year in new revenues, state Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) told The Post.

 

Cities, towns and villages that don’t opt out of allowing local sales or deliveries could also tack on another 4 percent tax.

 

The deal includes the creation of a new state regulatory agency, the Office of Cannabis Management, to license growers, retail sales, delivery and on-premises consumption, Krueger said.

 

Still-unresolved issues include how the tax money would be distributed beyond funding the new agency, with plans calling for 40 percent dedicated to school aid, 40 percent to social-equity grants and the remaining 20 to treatment and public education.

 

In addition, Cuomo wanted the agency under his control but the plan calls for it to answer to a five-member board with three gubernatorial appointees and one each selected by the state Senate and Assembly, respectively, Krueger said.

 

During a news conference earlier Thursday, Cuomo said he was making marijuana legalization a top priority in budget negotiations with lawmakers.

 

“This year we have to get it done, and getting it done by the time the budget is passed is essential,” he said.

 

“Cannabis is not just social equity, it’s also revenue for the state.”

 

Cuomo bluntly admitted that weed should have been legalized “years ago” and — in an extraordinary acknowledgment — blamed himself for the state’s official prohibition of pot.

 

“We’ve been trying to legalize cannabis for three years. I’ve failed every year,” he said.

 

“We’re close. Close three times before. If we were playing horseshoes, we would be in good shape. But this is not horseshoes. You either get it done and sign a bill, or you don’t.”

[Mjonis]

Bordering on politics, but:

 

As a Libertarian I have no problem with adults use marijuana. Unfortunately nobody wants to take responsibility, and that's where things fall apart.

 

Further, I don't believe they have a test yet (like a BAC test) to *accurately* determine DWI/DUI. My family lives in CO and I remember reading news reports about DWI/DUI dramatically increasing due to high drivers, as well as like a 2x-3x increase of pet emergencies because people smoked it in their house and their pets got "high" (and apparently it's not good for them).

 

Personally I cannot stand the smell of it. Makes me wanna gag. I don't like cigarette or cigar smoke either, but weed is just rank. When vaping was allowed in NY (well rather when most of it was legal) a few folks had Mary Jane vapes (not legal at the time in this state of NY) but I don't recall that it smelled, which was fine by me.

 

Given we have enough problem with alcohol abuse and drunk drivers, not so sure it's a good idea, but I know why King Andy is doing it (money money money, deflect from sexual harrassment/nursing home, etc.)

 

I have never done weed (have NO desire to smoke it or vape it). I might try an edible or something, but I'm probably one of those that would have high anxiety (it can cause it some people) and I already have anxiety issues (hello Zoloft).

 

Ideally, if *responsible* people (ha!) took weed I'd have little problem with it (other than the nasty ass smell as they walk by me at work--gag). But unfortunately there will be people smoking/driving or operating equipment they shouldn't, etc. In which case, I'd like to see a very harsh penalty (same with drunk driving, IMO).

[Islesguy]

I have only been around weed once went I stayed with a friend near UCLA. I didn't smoke it but one the apartments was full of smoke the entire time so I definitely was breathing it in. I remember having a really bad headache after I left. I'll probably try an edible once they are available for sale. The only sad thing is I am almost certain my county will be opting out as they have been threatening since weed started getting legalized around the country.