Marijuana

[Dale124]

Hi all. As we in Canada head towards legal marijuana this October, I was wondering how it has gone for those in States that have already legalized it.

I personally have no problem with this new path Canada has taken. It seems to me that where marijuana is concerned, the "war on drugs" has been lost, and I don't think someone should have a criminal record for getting caught with a little weed. From the articles I have read, it seems to me to be a safer, less problematic substance than alcohol, and from a personal experience perspective when I was much, much younger, it seemed people at a party getting drunk would cause way more problems and get much more aggressive than those smoking a little Pot. I remember seeing a slogan on a hat years ago that said "Instant A-hole...just add alcohol ". How appropriate that can be.

I think my only concern about this new legislation is keeping stoned people off the roads.

Anyway, I am curious to hear your thoughts on the matter, in perticular, from those of you who live where it is already legal.

Dale

[bongobobny]

Well, since you asked, I am going to offer my personal feelings and experiences on the subject. I hope this thread does not get out of hand and/or banned as this is indeed a serious subject.

 

I am a Vietnam Veteran. I grew up and became of age in the 60's. Yes, I was a "Hippy" back in the day and since (and including) the Vietnam days I was stoned on a daily basis. Did Marijuana make me a criminal? Only because it was illegal. It did not make me want to loot or rob or anything else to support my habit. I was able to keep gainfully employed. Did Marijuana usage lead me to other drugs?? You bet your bippy it did! Maybe it was not the drug itself but the desire to get higher and higher! I absolutely refused to try Heroin because I knew I would like it too much. As far as operating a motor vehicle I felt that pot made a person more cautious and less aggressive than alcohol, but now with a clearer head, I realize that reaction times and perception are out the window!

 

So, how do I now feel about the subject?? I very strongly regret all the time I spent wasted!!! I often wonder just how much more I could have accomplished in life if I wasn't so stoned all the time! I want that 20 years of my life back!! What an utter waste that time was!! Sure, it was a fun (they tell me I had a good time) but like alcohol, it totally destroys creativity and productiveness. All of those cliches about "wasted" and "Why do you think they call it dope?" are so spot on!!

 

From the 60's to the 80's my life went downhill and quite frankly I blame it mostly on my drug use! Instead of thinking about how to improve myself and things that really matter, all I thought about was getting stoned! It wasn't until 1983 that I realized just how much I screwed up my life and turned to Jesus Christ and asked Him into my life and become my Lord and Savior. He straightened out my thinking and my life. Does that make me a perfect person?? Of course not! Am I a better person than what I was?? Absolutely!!!

 

So, am I totally anti-pot? No more than I am anti-alcohol. Those who know me know I do indeed have a drinking "problem" as every evening I drink, but I am retired now so it does not affect my career. I will be honest with you, if somebody offered me a joint I would still be tempted to accept it! To me, it's not the very occasional usage that is an issue, it is what it can lead to! If they legalize Marijuana not everyone will become an addict any more than legalized alcohol leads to an alcoholic. My concern is what it can and does lead to! It's just like legalized gambling, look what happens to more than one person who becomes addicted to gambling!!!

 

OK, I'm getting off the soapbox now...

[sydem]

I indulged in pot for a number of years in my younger days, was it fun? From what i remember. It was pretty much a daily thing, in the evening after work for years, did it affect my work? I don't think so but I wasn't overly ambitious in my career path. After slowing down over the years it got to the point of not being enjoyable so why do it? I do have a criminal record because of a dirty pipe that was found in my car, this is still something that haunts me to this day. Do I regret smoking pot? To a point, I'm sure my life would have taken a different path had I not indulged.

 

There are a lot of people with addictive tendencies and this is just another vice to be avoided and or controlled. I was able to buy it when it was illegal so if you want it you will find it. Now that it is on it's way to be legalized in Canada I am thinking that doctors will be writing less prescriptions for it. I have jokingly mentioned to a couple of doctors that I could use it and they were willing to write a prescription, so it is already available if you find the right doctor.

 

I'm thinking there will be a number of court challenges when people are charged with impaired driving due to pot. With alcohol it is fairly cut and dried, with pot I don't believe they have the same infallible test, it's more of a judgement thing. That is my big concern that they will be more impaired drivers on the road.

[SpencerPJ]

The weed we bought in the 70s and 80s is NO where close to the weed being sold today at these shops, say in Colorado. Two hits and you are lit as a kite. I too am concerned about making it too easy, and people driving high, more than they do now. And if we take this market away from the scumbag Drug Lords, they will not just roll over, they will make the next 'Mega Drug' for our Police to spend all their time chasing.

 

'And if I ever tried it, I did not inhale',

[SilvrT]

I first smoked it in the mid 60's. Didn't have anything to do with it again until the mid 80's. Smoked a bit here and there when I was around someone who had it. This continued up to around 2002. That was probably the first time I ever bought any. From then to now I went through stages of using it as a "weekend good time party" instead of alcohol. As of today I still have a small amount of it that I bought a year ago and maybe had 2 joints out of.

 

For me it was always a situation of who I was associating with at the time. Funny thing is, my son came into my life in 2002 and Nina came into my life in 2005 and I've smoked more weed since then than I ever have LMAO.

 

My son was a heavy pot user as well as a grower. He was also into the hard drugs for a while. While he no longer is a user and has really straightened out his life since about 5 or 6 years ago, those earlier years were, IMO and probably his too, nothing but wasted time (pun intended). Up until 5 or 6 years ago, he had absolutely nothing.

 

So, my take on us (Canada) legalizing pot .... it should have been done back in the 60's coz IMHO, we would have a much more responsible community of weed smokers and a whole lot less (if any at all) associated crime.

 

Frankly .... Canada ... IT'S ABOUT TIME!

 

As for things like impaired driving, etc ... I have no doubt some form of testing will be produced.

 

Will it lead to more young people becoming "pot heads" .... I doubt it! They can get all they want now and once it's legalized, those dispensaries and other retail outlets won't be able to sell it to under aged kids anyway... just like cigarettes and booze. So, the "kids" will continue to get it just like they always do now.

[uncledj]

Since alcohol's legal, marijuana should be legal as well.

My only issue with legalization is that if it's legalized, you should be allowed to grow it in the backyard for personal use. Gubment should stay out of it as much as possible.

Having said that, I doubt I'd use it anyway. I did it a few times 30+ years ago, never since, and I really didn't care for it. Made me laugh too much and then get mellow. With alcohol, I'm pretty good at metering my "dose" and, depending on the situation I can get to where I'd like to be and stay there.

I'm not experienced enough with weed to know how to do that, and since I'm happy with booze, I'll just stick to that.

[tz89]

Not an answer about use but more about legalization here in Oregon......

 

Employers were worried whether they could still legally do drug testing with consequences - the answer here is yes.

 

Lots and lots of mom and pop retail places have opened. There is a glut and I expect there will be a shakeout and lots of people will lose their money. I expect that will accelerate once the feds make money and banking safely legal. Then the big boys will crush everyone else.

 

There is already way more weed being produced than legally sold. Retail prices are dropping which makes it hard to make a living. The feds are going to squeeze the producers for sales on the black market. There will be raids and proscecutions soon.

 

Industrial tenants are complaining of rents going way up as more and more growers set up shop. There have been stories about growers using so much electricity that it is a problem in some locations.

 

Security services have become a growth industry associated with grow sites and retail locations.

 

It looks like edibles and concentrates are where the real action will be. Smoking a bowl not so much.

 

There are regular stories in the paper of home hash oil refineries blowing up though that seems to be in decline as more professional industrial operations get set up. Apparently, they use volitile chemicals (ether etc) and heat to extract the oil, and the usual pothead stereotype finds himself on fire sometimes.

 

The medical marijuana folks are complaining that they can't compete against full-on retail operations so they mostly switch over. Medical MJ has had a niche legality but I expect it will just get absorbed.

 

Oregon has been ramping up testing for pesticides and other contaminants as well as potency but couldn't certify labs fast enough to meet demand. That's been a real bottleneck problem.

 

Outside growers worry about cross-fertilization with hemp. Neighbors complain about the smell and attracting trouble.

 

The state has been surprised at how much MONEY is coming in on the tax. The neighboring state worries that their tax rates are too high and it makes them lose out. The sheriffs in neighboring states are busy busting the product leaving the state illegally.

 

The state is starting to wonder whether it should limit the number of businesses, or let the free market reign.

 

Two years ago I went to the state fair and there was an exhibit of growing marijuana. After sneaking around in the 70s for seeds and stems and ditch-weed, I concluded that the world was changing faster than me.

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by tz89

[SilveradoCA]

Humans learned how to party in the late Neolithic period. That is, we figured out fermentation, and use of the opium poppy and cannabis. (It's tough to say about tobacco, as it's indigenous to the Americas, and recorded history is fuzzier on that front, owing almost strictly to occupancy by peoples who did not develop written languages.) That would be somewhere between 6000-9000 years ago... just about the same time we learned basic agriculture.

 

It's preposterous that all three of those can be useful and even medicinal in proper doses, but only two of those three substances are lethally toxic in ingestible doses, and cause an indisputable litany of health and social problems, yet are deeply woven into the fabric of western society; while the third, which requires no processing nor enhancement before consumption (by the most common method), has active compounds which are not toxic in the body, and has far fewer adverse primary and secondary effects, is absolutely illegal, and mere possession of which carries severe criminal penalties in many jurisdictions.

 

The most hysterical part is that cannabis has only been illegal for about 100 years! Further, it's illegality in North America began in order to protect a very profitable TEXTILE crop: cotton; and more insidiously, to further racist agendas against black and hispanic people.

 

The only true challenges with legalizing cannabis are not specific to that product, but involve issues of impairment and misuse (cannabis is not, strictly speaking, addictive, but it's use certainly can be habit forming).

[tz89]

Something from Rolling Stone

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/oregons-weed-glut-what-happens-to-excess-pot-697985/

[BlueSky]

I'm against legalizing it. It is just one more step in the degradation of the USA in my opinion. I tried it a couple of times way back when and decided I'd rather have a beer.

My son admitted that he smoked it as a teenager and he also dropped out of high school when he was staying with his mother for a semester due to my transient situation. I thought I was moving back to where his mother lived but ended up not being able to sell my house. He worked a a few non-inspiring jobs for several years after quitting high school before quitting smoking pot and got focused on his career. He taught himself how to scratch records and asked me to support him while going to Full Sail, a school in Orlando where he could learn his chosen profession of music recording. I didn't know whether he would apply himself or not since he had not in high school but I agreed to support him. He worked hard in school and afterwards and now he has recorded and mixed most of Beyonces last 3 albums and won a grammy for his work on her second album. So, I'm really glad he quit smoking pot.

[Kretz]

Have never smoked (or any other way imbibed) it. No particular desire to. Guess I was lucky as I didn't even know about drugs when I was at school, college etc & afterwards I was too busy earning a living.

However as I age, movement & aches & pains get worse, I do wonder... I know people who've used marijuana to help with medical complaints & pain in particular & they say it works, but not always & not for everyone.

All I hope is that it won't unleash a whole lot of "stoned" drivers onto the roads. God knows there are enough lousy drivers & crazy people out there already! Especially here in Lower Mainland BC!

[WildBill1]

They don't call it "Wacky Weed" for no reason.......

[DanielM]

Less harmful physically and to society than alcohol.

 

Prohibition didn't work, just gave rise to organized crime.

 

Legalize and tax it.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk

[Semi-retired]

So, I'm really glad he quit smoking pot.

 

Agreed. I'm sure it's a good thing that he's "done with it".

 

When you look at the list of "music greats" who once "used", though, it gives you pause to wonder what role, if any, the "evil weed" played in inspiring the germ of talent that got some of our extraordinary talent off to a "head start". (Pun intended!)

 

Louis Armstrong

David Bowie

Natalie Cole

Elton John

Keith Urban

Jerry Garcia

Ray Charles

 

You can't really name a musical genre that doesn't have it's marijuana-using (albeit and/or ABusing at at least SOME point in their lives), giants.

 

Not condoning or condemning here...just sayin. Some move TO it....some move THROUGH it...some don't seem to want it or need it. I just thank my lucky stars that neither I nor any of my family members has ever had a habit or an issue. (There but for the grace of Mother Nature, I guess!)

[BlueSky]

Agreed. I'm sure it's a good thing that he's "done with it".

 

When you look at the list of "music greats" who once "used", though, it gives you pause to wonder what role, if any, the "evil weed" played in inspiring the germ of talent that got some of our extraordinary talent off to a "head start". (Pun intended!)

 

Louis Armstrong

David Bowie

Natalie Cole

Elton John

Keith Urban

Jerry Garcia

Ray Charles

 

You can't really name a musical genre that doesn't have it's marijuana-using (albeit and/or ABusing at at least SOME point in their lives), giants.

 

Not condoning or condemning here...just sayin. Some move TO it....some move THROUGH it...some don't seem to want it or need it. I just thank my lucky stars that neither I nor any of my family members has ever had a habit or an issue. (There but for the grace of Mother Nature, I guess!)

 

Actually, now he occasionally smokes and the artists he works with smokes but it isn't an end unto itself like it was as a teenager. Much like alcohol, a little bit usually doesn't hurt but if you over do it, it can be harmful to your ambition and life.

[Semi-retired]

Actually, now he occasionally smokes and the artists he works with smokes but it isn't an end unto itself like it was as a teenager. Much like alcohol, a little bit usually doesn't hurt but if you over do it, it can be harmful to your ambition and life.

 

Absolutely!! Just like OUR mom and dad used to say...(why WERE they so darned smart!! LOL)......"EVERYTHING in moderation!"

 

Or as I love to say: "Better to have one and not need it than to need one and not have it." (Learned that one from the Calgary Revolver Club back in the '70's, where it was their club slogan.)

 

AND it applies to almost everything in life, if you think about it:

 

Cold beer!

Sunny days

Beautiful mates

Fast throttles

Dependable fuel injection

Yummy pizzas.........ha, ha......the list goes on forEVER!!

 

Cheers,

Michael

Edited April 6, 2020 by Semi-retired
Typos and grammos, as usual! :-)

[saddlebum]

...But Not my thing ..... ...Nuff said.