3 Months Since Legalizing Marijuana, Here's What Colorado Looks Like

originally posted by: semperfortis


Just recreational use and the dangers involved..

(12% is HUGE by the way)

I dont do recreational but does it really help jailing people for possession and making it a crime?

Plus if your being consistent booze should be illegal too right?

Probably one of the worse things to happen to the image of marijuana during the Woodstock generation were "Cheech & Chong". Funny, liberating, and not afraid to talk about a taboo subject, they nonetheless set in the public's mind the image of the out-of-it stoner staring at a stop sign, or cooking their steak for 2 minutes instead of 20 minutes, or people that do the things that Cheech and Chong were doing - the stoner heirs to the Three Stooges. As a previous poster said, in paraphrase, a stupid person will focus on stupid things while under the influence, a smarter or more creative one will focus on different things - some of those being in the fields of arts and music.

Certainly anyone under 21, in Colorado or elsewhere, should not imbibe, and they should be content to safely wait. Yet the argument of "why let the dragon legally loose in society when we already have legal liquor out there" is just being selfish, and it denies, on purpose, the right of people to choose where they want to take their own head.

a reply to: JimTSpock
Looks as though you missed my point entirely...

But, if you ask, I personally wouldn't have a problem if alcohol was illegal.
It wouldn't affect me either way.

originally posted by: sbreckley
I am absolutely sick of people using drinking alcohol (or underage drinking) for comparison on this subject.
Is it just me, or is justifying a bad thing by saying "it's not as bad as XXX, so therefore it's a good thing" absolutely idiotic?

I mean on those lines of logic, robbing someone is not as bad as murdering them, so it must be a good thing, right?

Apples and oranges, your example involves crimes that have victims. Substance abuse is victimless.

Is legalizing marijuana a good thing? Of course not. No matter what, it impairs judgement, it alters the 'normal' state.
What's the point? Tax revenues? Come on...

How about explaining how that is a bad thing. Did you know that intelligent people are more likely to use drugs?
Why Intelligent People Use More Drugs

Probably at first because of intelligent people's latent curiosity, then they realize that this altered state of mind helps them tackle problems in different ways than they are used to. Many of the greatest scientists of the 60's and 70's smoked copious amounts of pot and dropped acid regularly.

It's all about a bunch of people who feel ENTITLED to do what they want.

And why shouldn't we be entitled to do what we want? Isn't that the definition of freedom? Do you not believe in freedom?

Why stop here? How about if we all take hits of acid next week? I've never heard that acid or peyote are habit forming.

Good idea. I agree. Acid isn't bad for you.

Why not legalize everything that isn't habit forming? Matter of fact, why not just legalize everything, and let people worry about their own darn habits?

Another good idea. I know you are speaking out of sarcasm, but the war on drugs is awful and is doing more harm than good. ALL drugs should be legalized.

Call me crazy, but I am sick and tired of the 'justification' for this. It just makes no sense.

Probably because you refuse to understand the issues and instead rely on outdated propaganda (that has been proven to at the least be exaggerated and at the most outright lies) pushed by people who want to keep the status quo.

The government should have no authority to tell anyone what they can and cannot put in their body.

a reply to: Aleister

Actually the worst thing to happen to MJ was reefer madness.

originally posted by: thesaneone
a reply to: Aleister

Actually the worst thing to happen to MJ was reefer madness.

I'll qualify my post and say "one of the worse things to happen to the image of marijuana during the Woodstock generation was Cheech & Chong". The era of "Reefer Madness" did set the tone for people's views who were alive during the start of marijuana prohibition.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Well said. And why does our nation refuse to learn lessons the Europeans have already learned? Decriminalize peaceful drug use and stop treating people like dangerous monsters... instead, acknowledge that they may have mental or physical health issues that require treatment which does not happen when you simply lock somebody up in a cage like a rabid dog. It's a problem for therapists and doctors, not police that are all too eager to bash in heads first and ask questions later. Oh and we live in a country that has a false sense of national pride where this concept of "freedom" is concerned. I feel like nobody takes this concept seriously as a way of life; instead it's an empty buzz-word used to trick the stupid people.

originally posted by: sbreckley
I am absolutely sick of people using drinking alcohol (or underage drinking) for comparison on this subject.
Is it just me, or is justifying a bad thing by saying "it's not as bad as XXX, so therefore it's a good thing" absolutely idiotic?

I mean on those lines of logic, robbing someone is not as bad as murdering them, so it must be a good thing, right?

Is legalizing marijuana a good thing? Of course not. No matter what, it impairs judgement, it alters the 'normal' state.
What's the point? Tax revenues? Come on...

It's all about a bunch of people who feel ENTITLED to do what they want.

Why stop here? How about if we all take hits of acid next week? I've never heard that acid or peyote are habit forming.
Why not legalize everything that isn't habit forming? Matter of fact, why not just legalize everything, and let people worry about their own darn habits?

Call me crazy, but I am sick and tired of the 'justification' for this. It just makes no sense.

I don't think alcohol is bad, neither is weed. calling them bad implies people are bad for using them. We aren't. Both can be used responsibly, and people from all backgrounds and statuses in life use both.

The comparisons are a natural part of law. We have one mind altering substance that's legal, one that's illegal. People who have used both realize the legal one has more damaging potential. I've seen more alcoholics make an ass of them selves then pot heads.

If I had the choice of being sober while locked in a room with a pot head, or a drunk, I'd would eagerly choose the pot head. The pot head is so much more tolerable. The pot head will give me long winded conversation, the drunk will try to fight me with bodily fluids everywhere. Being drunk is way more embarrassing than being high on weed.

What has keeping them illegal achieved? It's not stopping people. You are arresting them, but what does prison help? Part of being in prison is learning from other prisoners. Some of the people you put in prison are building connections they wouldn't have had otherwise.

I think people can decide what they want to use. I wouldn't touch legal heroin. I'm one of the few Americans with out a pill subscription.

a reply to: thesaneone

You're all wrong, it was the racist POS Anslinger. Just wanted to keep the Mexican migrant workers out of his country....

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

Probably because you refuse to understand the issues and instead rely on outdated propaganda (that has been proven to at the least be exaggerated and at the most outright lies) pushed by people who want to keep the status quo.

The government should have no authority to tell anyone what they can and cannot put in their body.

This is absolutely insulting. My original point has to do with JUSTIFICATION.

Because I don't agree with legalizing Marijuana, I must be relying on outdated 'propaganda'?
It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that I don't agree, right?
It HAS to be because I don't understand the facts...
Again, absolutely insulting.

I stand on my original point regarding JUSTIFICATION.

a reply to: mahatche

First of all, my saying something is 'bad' is a speech pattern thing. It does not insinuate that someone is 'bad' for doing something.

If it would make things easier for you, just replace 'bad' for 'bad for you'.

Also, I couldn't disagree more with you regarding being 'stuck in a room' with a pot head or drunk. This is a complete generalization that every person who is drunk or high acts the same. Individuals act individually.

a reply to: mahatche

From a purely scientific and physiological standpoint, alcohol is very very highly toxic. median lethal dose



Grain alcohol (ethanol) rat, oral 7,060 mg/kg 7.06
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) rat, oral 1,270 mg/kg 1.270

THC is far less harmful to living tissues. I don't know why people want to compare these two substances either, there is no comparison. Alcohol is very toxic, you can literally kill yourself by overexposure. THC is not, and there is literally no amount of THC you can consume in one sitting which will cause organ failure.

originally posted by: sbreckley

originally posted by: Krazysh0t

Probably because you refuse to understand the issues and instead rely on outdated propaganda (that has been proven to at the least be exaggerated and at the most outright lies) pushed by people who want to keep the status quo.

The government should have no authority to tell anyone what they can and cannot put in their body.

This is absolutely insulting. My original point has to do with JUSTIFICATION.

Because I don't agree with legalizing Marijuana, I must be relying on outdated 'propaganda'?
It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that I don't agree, right?
It HAS to be because I don't understand the facts...
Again, absolutely insulting.

I stand on my original point regarding JUSTIFICATION.

So do you think that the war on drugs is successful? That we should be locking up all the people who just want to get high?

You never answered my question about entitlement. Why shouldn't we be entitled to put what we want in our bodies? Why do you think the government should be able to tell us that we can't put such and such in our body?

It does make you act violently against food stuffs...... Perhaps that's what they meant...

Watch out smothered burrito ..... daddy's got a license to kill.

---------------

I'm just Amazed but how much disinformation there is flying around out there...

ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ARGUMENT....

People who have never used before go with their DARE class conditioning... yet go get smashed at the bar....

-------------

To those people: Believe me when I say Alcohol is a far stronger and much much more mind altering drug......

Comparing the level of Impairment between the two.... Alcohol wins that one hands down...

It looks quite good financially for Colorado because the in surrounding states it is still illegal. But if or when all the states make it legal then the monetary figures will be more spread between states therefore a single state would not see such high returns.

originally posted by: sbreckley
Because I don't agree with legalizing Marijuana, I must be relying on outdated 'propaganda'?
It HAS to be because I don't understand the facts...

Pretty much...sorry, very blunt but there is no legitimate argument for it being illegal. Misunderstanding or buying into propoganda are essentially pre-requisites for the position.

My own view on MJ is that if a person age 18 or over wants to use it in their own home then that should not be illegal. I think it should have the same restrictions as alcohol. I think the view that anyone who uses it ever is a criminal and should be prosecuted and possibly imprisoned is not fair or justified. Seems as though lawmakers of the state of Colorado agree.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Again, you are missing what is being typed. Let me be very clear.
1. I don't agree with legalizing Marijuana. This is my opinion, and NOT because I have been relying on 'outdated propaganda'. THIS IS EXTREMELY INSULTING of you to say.

1a. I see that you didn't answer MY question regarding 'outdated propaganda'...

2. I did not answer your question about this, true. You are asking if someone is entitled to put what they want into their bodies. (Moot point, isn 't it? Does it matter WHAT I answer here? Should I be allowed to ingest Nuclear Waste materials? How about other substances that the government has banned?)

3. The war on drugs? Where did this come from? I don't recall mentioning this at all. Please advise as to how this relates.

originally posted by: TheJourney

originally posted by: sbreckley
Because I don't agree with legalizing Marijuana, I must be relying on outdated 'propaganda'?
It HAS to be because I don't understand the facts...

Pretty much...sorry, very blunt but there is no legitimate argument for it being illegal. Misunderstanding or buying into propoganda are essentially pre-requisites for the position.

Wow, intolerance at it's worst... "If you don't agree with me, then you must not understand the issue"

How about this - I don't agree. No misunderstanding. No stupidity or propaganda involved. The end.

originally posted by: semperfortis
Problems?

Yeah they got em

On Tuesday, Dr. Michael Distefano testified that Colorado Children’s Hospital has treated seven juveniles for acute illnesses stemming from ingesting edible forms of marijuana since the law went into effect.

And, on Monday night, before Distefano appeared before the House Committee on Health, Insurance, and Environment on two bills to rein in recreational marijuana, a mother of three from Denver on the phone with a 911 operator about the hallucinations being experienced by her husband was killed when he shot her in the head.

State Rep. Frank McNulty (R-Highlands Ranch) says that achieving equivalences between marijuana from plants with the concentrates used in edibles will probably cost the state at least $100,000 to implement, but that every passing day is giving lawmakers reasons why some tightening is necessary.

The reports of edible marijuana making children sick and possibly playing a role in Kristine Kirk’s murder coincides with a new study showing that casual marijuana use can cause changes in the brain. Published in the Journal of Neuroscience, a 10-page report on the study says that brain alterations occur in young adults using marijuana before any dependence develops.

The report’s author, Dr. Hans Breiter of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital, said that longer-term studies are needed to see if brain changes cause any symptoms over time.

Food Safety News

There are some errors in this article or it is more b.s trying to keep it illegal because it messes with too many big industries.

1) 7 children suffering Acute illnesses:
A) so what they got green faced? That's all that happens, you can't OD from cannabis. There is a chemical in the brain that gets released to keep you from having an OD.
B) We know there is underage drinking & smoking so of course there is going to be youth getting into cannabis. It just means that we need to keep educating our children about cannabis. (not the fear mongering lies but actual truth.)

2) Women shot in the head cause her husband was hallucinating:
A) Cannabis does NOT cause hallucinations!! If you smoke cannabis & you are hallucinating, your cannabis had been spiked with some other drug. An article also states that her husband also may have taken prescription medications, those can cause hallucinations.

3) Yes studies still need to be done but if it were true that marijuana makes changes to the brain, the only change that is a negative one, would happen to the youth. I could see this being possible because when your young, everything is still developing. However, cannabis wouldn't be the only substance that can do that to the youth.
A) If you do nothing when you smoke pot then you can get into the habit of being lazy BUT if you continue to do day to day activities while high, your brain learns how to function while high & you can perform tasks to the same degree as you can when your not high.

Overall, yes there are still going to be some problems with marijuana but that's the same as problems with other substances like alcohol, cigarettes, fat, sugars, etc. Some of those problems will be reduced once things have settled down with cannabis being made legal. Marijuana has been used as a medicine for the last 3,000yrs but only made illegal in the last 100yrs.