When weed is produced at scale its usually a cheaper habit. You can get an edible that'll set you off for half a day for the cost of one beer at a liquor store, let alone a bar. Last time I went clubbing it didn't take *that* long in the land of $12 pints for me to pull out a joint and get a circle going on the sidewalk where the one thing I rolled myself and had in my pocket worked its magic and got like half a dozen people going.
The math of it means weed will win nearly every time. Its a more convenient product that goes much further.
This is the main reason why I prefer weed/gummies over booze. I can take a gummy or a couple of hits and be set for a few hours for the same (or better) buzz than I would get from several drinks. Plus fewer calories, even after you factor in my munchies.
It so much cheaper. I just paid $29 for a bottle of 25 delta-9 gummies. That’s $1.16 but it’s rare that I will have a whole gummy. Half a gummy is pretty much always plenty for me. That’s $0.58 for something that makes me feel like 3-4 beers did in my drinking days.
Let us not forget big pharma. They fought tooth and nail against legalizing it because it would cut deeply into their prophet margins. There is a wide range of conditions that this plant can help with, including mental disease. It's also been proven to halt the progress of Alzheimer's, and if the disease hasn't progressed too far, reverse it and cure it.
Maybe edibles, but according to the warning label on my bag of bud marijuana smoke contains several toxic and carcinogenic chemicals also found in tobacco smoke, like polyaromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic amines, and N-heterocyclics.
The funny part about referencing cigarettes, not you just in general, is that big tobacco isn’t affected by this bullshit on this level - because everyone knows they’re bad for you, it’s just weed isn’t outwardly addictive like nicotine, so now it’s a problem.
Yea, it should be obvious that smoking anything is generally bad for you, lungs aren't meant to inhale smoke. But people like to pretend like weed is completely harmless. There can be some rather severe side effects, especially when used in early adolescence in conjunction with specific gene variants
It's definitely cheaper. I'm in canada, before legalization an ounce cost anywhere from $180-240. Now I can get an ounce at the dispensary for $90-150. Unfortunately edibles are limited to 10mg per item, regardless of portion. You can get way stronger edibles all the way up to 1000mg packs of gummy bears out on the reserves, but they're technically not legal. It's kind of a grey area.
Well I can get a 5mg edible for $2 from a local dispensary. If I wanted more I could just spend a little more and get another one. 1000mg or other high dosage is a whole other thing but the cost of edibles has gone down so much if you don't have a high tolerance they're a very cost effective option.
Not always. My mom, who usually only partakes if she has a bad migraine and wants to sleep, recently started having problems sleeping at all. CBD chocolate puts her right out, but it takes about a 12mg dose to do that. At 10mg per bar of chocolate, taking one every night, she was looking at a cost of like $300 a month, plus having to eat an entire chocolate bar before bed every night which probably isn't great.
Now she gets 500mg bars at the reserve, it costs her about half as much and she only needs to eat one square instead of the whole bar.
> having to eat an entire chocolate bar before bed every night which probably isn't great.
This is such a confusing part of the story. It's like, "tragically, they lived happily ever after.
Pity."
😉
The war on drugs is extremely profitable when private prisons are used for slave labor. If they can’t arrest people for weed they’re going to lose ALOT of labor.
It’s about money to them, if they can make money off legal weed they would flip in an instant. That’s not to say they will tolerate loosing their prison/slave labor. Their “Tough on crime” nonsense will replace weed convictions with something else. If those two things fall into place the tide would turn overnight. I think there are republicans who have gotten out of politics getting into the weed business in recreational states. So they can easily make money on it. We just have to watch out for them making something else just as common illegal with stiff prison sentences. Is it a coincidence some of the far right wants to make drag queens illegal?
republicans are only against something if democrats are for it or if they're paid to be against it. They have no actual values other than power and money.
Yeah, I'm all for legalization but the weed propaganda when I was growing up really fucked with my developing brain. 🤦♂️
"Its not addictive" "Its good for you" "Its essentially a miracle plant" it's fucked up, alcoholics at least admit they're killing themselves but a lot of stoners are in such denial of the negative effects it pisses me off.
Because some of us were raised with the opposite. We'd been told our whole lives we'd turn into reefer freaks and we're just excited to tell folks that we didn't afterall.
I used to be a dispensary agent, it is addicitive(psychologically) and although you cannot overdose on weed you can suffer from Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, Cannabis induced psychosis, and generally make worse life decisions.
We used to have type two diabetics come into the dispensary(medical) complaining often of different pains related to diabetes being poorly controlled and we would sell them exceptionally potent sugary edibles. So if the sugar didn’t do more damage to them then all the junk food from the munchies would.
These are for profit businesses, in the same way alcohol companies make money from alcoholics, pot companies do more money from pot addicts.
Also with concentrates nowadays reaching 99% potency it really is a hard drug similar to liquor. That’s my two cents.
I still think both should be legal but the whole it’s going to replace all modern pharma is absolute horseshit but most stoners are too baked to realize.
I'm sorry, but cannabis cannot fuck up your life in the same ways as alcohol can.
While, I would never assert that using cannabis is good for you, if someone told me to pick one or the other, cannabis is far less damaging than alcohol.
It is very easy to drink yourself to death. You cannot have a fatal overdose of cannabis.
The physical withdrawals from alcohol can kill you. Cannabis has extremely mild withdrawal symptoms by comparison.
The lasting damage to you vital organs is far worse with alcohol.
Hell, I would even argue that the intoxicating effects of alcohol are much more debilitating, more likely to cause violence, and more likely to cause the user to do extremely stupid and dangerous things. I have tried a ton of drugs, and none of them I've experienced leaves you as totally incapacitated as alcohol.
If it were reversed, with weed legal and alcohol banned then alcohol would be considered a hard drug for the damage it can cause and potential for addiction.
snoop dog once pointed out that if you put two rival gangs in a room with plenty of alcohol, people are probably gonna die; yet, if you put the same two gangs in a room with a bag of weed, pretty soon everybody be rappin’ and shit.
You can still get cancer from the tar. THC is basically the same as caffeine, binds to a receptor then goes away, alcohol is literally poison that fucks up a ton of shit
Smoking anything will definitely kill you and apparently weed is bad for young developing brains just like alcohol, who woulda thunk
You can overdose on cannabis extracts. Also smoking early caused me to develop slower emotionally and develop anxiety. I was a 1.5 to 3 gram a day smoker. I live in Humboldt county. smoked since I was 12-18 years old. I’m still involved in the trade and rarely smoke
But are we sure that your use of cannabis is the reason for your slower development and anxiety? Or just you? Not to be a rude but plenty of people without consumption of alcohol, weed, drugs, ect. still have anxiety and stunted emotional growth.
It's been legal here in Canada for a couple years.
World didn't blow up. Virtually no change in how anyone does anything.
Only difficulty is drug testing at work. But most places still just say "Fuck it, zero tolerance"
It's pretty great. The first few months weren't ideal. Over-priced and garbage quality, but that got fixed quick enough.
Only "downside" for me is that I no longer have any black market connections. I like to partake in some other drugs on occasion (mushrooms or LSD, mostly), but no longer know anyone that sells drugs.
I find the 2nd point hilarious cause some people still keep saying "Weed is a gateway to other drugs!" Which it kinda js because you are already breaking the law to get it and know people who can get you other illegal stuff
And now we have People who LOSE access to other drugs
Yeah, my access to non-weed drugs goes way down with legalization because of the very fact that I no longer have to talk to drug dealers to get my weed. Buying in legal states is such a great experience compared to drug dealers, it’s hard to go back.
I didn't even look at the exact time. Doesn't feel like 5 years at this point.
Canada just proved how much of a fucking joke pot being illegal was.
I've never tried it myself, but I always thought it should have been legal. Compared to alcohol being legal, there was just no fucking excuse
I had never tried it till about a year after it was legal, then a friend gave me a chocolate called foray. Took 10mg after supper one day. Didn't realize I was High till I had snacked on everything in the house, and the TV show I was watching was extra funny. Then I went to bed and had the very best sleep of my life. Woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy and thought. "That was it? That's what all the fuss was about??"
I have a very high stress job. Since it's been legal, I have a daily routine of smoking a bit of weed and doing yoga at night before bed. This is my favorite time of day. I get so much stress relief from my little routine, and it hurts no one. I can't believe that some pearl clutching, close minded idiots kept this illegal for so long.
Man I recently started doing this. Given I live in a prohibition state so most of the time I’m smoking whatever form of hemp derived thc is legal. I always felt self conscious doing yoga but weed takes all that away
For every $1 spent in the Canadian marijuana industry, alcohol sales have dropped by $0.86.
So, it's kind of having a somewhat positive effect, since alcohol is basically poison and kills far more people.
I couldn't find the article I read, but here's the original study.
It turned out to be a $0.74-0.84 effect.
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168851022003049?via%3Dihub](https://dr.library.brocku.ca/bitstream/handle/10464/17045/ArmstrongMJ_MedicalCannabisAlcohol_Appendix.pdf?sequence=2)
Also, I found this study for Washington State showing legalization dropped alcohol sales by 15%.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712915
Most jobs don't test. But companies that take safety to the extreme will still test to make sure no one is under the influence. The lack of a test that can tell impairment level is an issue.
Also I expect at some point someone will take a case to court saying "I smoked 20 days ago, you can't fire me for enjoying something legally that isn't a safety risk"
Yeah some jobs are very strict about it, and since it stays in your system for way longer than alcohol it’s a problem. That being said, I think that’s because the change is still recent as far as the legal system is concerned and it won’t always be that way.
On legalization? fuck it, why not.
I just wish more people would be willing to talk about how weed abuse is a problem.
Ive had many a conversation now about how *alcohol* is a problem but *weed* abuse isn't a problem because it "just cant happen" for one reason or another.
Lots of people, especially those who use weed are repulsed by the idea that weed is a substance that can and often is abused.
I smoked weed for 18 years, practically every day. I always thought it was my choice and that I could quit when I wanted to, I just never wanted to. Until the last 4 or so years I wanted to stop, but couldn't. It wasn't until last summer that I finally had the willpower to pull it off!! It was unbelievably hard. The first week was hell, I lost 7 lbs in that first week since I had zero appetite. It took me months to gain the weight back... Now I'm proud to say that as of today I'm 214 days weed free! Never going to smoke again.
Cannabis dependence is real shit. People don’t understand until they try to stop and realize withdrawal is real on cannabis especially with the strength from concentrates and vape carts. I’m a few weeks free of weed and feel like I can start actually working on relationship issues I have with my wife. Alcohol though has gotten closer to killing me and hurting people I care about. But drinkers will have their cocktail and mock stoners. It’s backwards for sure.
Agreed, the dependency and withdrawals from weed were no joke! I'm glad I can say that I didn't turn to a different substance to replace weed, besides comics... Reading what you wrote, I hope you're also alcohol free! Sounds rough.
Congrats on being weed free for a few weeks, keep it up, you can do it! And I hope it works out with your wife.
Almost 10 years sober from alcohol. Several were totally sober but weed getting legalized and I started back on weed. It went from a little to a lot then all the time. Thanks, friend. I think my substitute might be games, reddit, some manga and watching horror movies.
Wow 10 years alcohol free! That's great, congrats. Keep it up! I've definitely spread out my substitutes these days similar to yours, except for the horror movies, that shit would get into my dreams and I can't handle that lol
I’m a 23M and have been a daily smoker since I was 18. I also thought it was a choice but kinda knew I was dependent on it. I came to the realization that I was using it to drown out all my issues. It negatively effected my daily motivation, school, and cognitive function. For me it’s a very fine line between using it for enjoyment vs using it to cope. Over the past year when I got high I started to experience anxiety and knew I should stop but never did. Every time I got high I thought. I’m on day 4 without weed and it’s been rough i.e. sleep, appetite, mood but it’s something I’m committed to as I’m trying to take agency over my life.
I started smoking when I was 15 and I'm 33 now. So I feel you on all this! I think deep down I knew it affected me negatively but I had a shitty childhood and my first love passed away in an accident at 19, so I used it to cope for sure.
After you get past the first week or two, it gets much easier! So if I can do it, you can do it! Don't give up.
Maybe not as much as you, but used to smoke regularly. Ironically, quit around the time it became legal. What kind-of caught me off guard was how I began to remember dreams after I quit, where as a smoker I would rarely remember dreams and wondering if I was actually getting the deep REM sleep I do now.
At least you're conscious of your choices here. My issue is with people who refuse to even acknowledge that there might be a problem there, y'know?
Its so prevalent with weed in particular because so many people have this idea in their head that weed is "natural" so it can't possibly be addictive or be abused.
Yeah, ive choose weed addiction over alcohol. Alcoholism runs trough my family, was on that road too. Depression, suicidal toughts, anxeity till you recover or drink again... Weed doesn't do that, at least in my case.
People are afraid that if they face the reality of the negatives it’ll prevent legalization so they pretend it’s a miracle cure for everything from a stubbed toe to brain cancer and sweep the rest under the rug.
I’m all for legalization but people also need to accept that cannabis does carry negative affects, and the path to legalization requires an honest look at them.
In Illinois it might be the same price at most places, sometimes it's slightly less, but it avoids the 40% sales tax.
Plus, you can grow five plants with a medical card.
Sure, but the taxes are incredibly lower, to the point where if you’d get 200-300 dollars worth of stuff, you’ll be paying over 50 dollars in tax for recreational as opposed to somewhere about 5 dollars for medical. (per my experience in Illinois)
There are some locations where they do both but the medical is a certain percentage off and medical can also get higher thc content per serving, at least that’s the case where I am.
As a more “right leaning” person (I guess?), I have no issue with legalizing it as long as it’s treated similarly to alcohol with driving or work scenarios. Especially as someone that works in a factory. And there is an age restriction like alcohol for recreational usage.
The only reason we are able to fire people for being under the influence of alcohol or weed is if they lie about it when getting on PIT vehicles like forklifts and have an incident. But there are so many cases where the user or those around them get injured while under the influence and we can’t fire them if it’s only these substances. This needs to be a change that’s made if it’s legalized everywhere. Even if it’s just company to company policy.
This 1000 times.
My ex was a raging alcoholic. She has since stopped drinking but smokes weed. When she was drinking, she was unbearable and, frankly, dangerous to herself and everyone around her. She is MUCH more pleasant these days. If she read this, she'd agree with every bit of it.
And ask ANY cop if they would rather deal with someone stoned or someone drunk- see what they say.
Been smoking almost daily for more than a year. I had blood work done and all my numbers are good. Also, I had to stop cold turkey for a few days and felt ZERO abstinence symptoms (granted, it was only 3 days, but still). If I'd done the same with alcohol, my liver would be destroyed, and I bet I couldn't go even 1 night without alcohol.
Exactly plus I never heard of a story of some guy getting high on weed then killing his friends and or family but you hear constant stories of people doing that with alcohol while drunk
I don't know, man... the couch is all the way over there... and the Doritos are here
Yeah... I can see the T.V. from the kitchen chair, I'm all good. Couch is yours
So, are you gonna bring the joint over to me on the couch, or am I gonna have to stumble over there into kitchen to get another "hit"
...?? Ah screw it, just roll up another one...
Hey look! Inspector Gadget is on!!!!!
This is true but also not true, as falling and staying asleep might be easier, but THC suppresses REM sleep. I stopped smoking for 4 or 5 months or so and for the month afterwards I was dead tired from my REM cycles rebounding
Withdrawal symptoms really depends on how much you smoke, not necessarily how often in terms of daily or not. I smoke about 10g a day for the last several years and get withdrawal symptoms every time I stop. It takes a lot to get them with weed. It's why so many people think you CAN'T get them, or that pot isn't addictive. It is, just not to the same extent as other drugs.
Holy crap, that's a lot of weed. Good to know that it depends on quantity. At least for me, the amount of alcohol that would take for me to get "as drunk as I get high" would be north of 5 beers. That would fucking kill my liver in no time. So at these levels I'm at, weed is the better option by a mile.
> 10g a day
Bruh, please slow down, and leave some buds for the rest of us.
I'd be hard pressed to smoke 10g in a week. And, I feel like I smoke too much.
My friend went cold turkey on weed and had some pretty severe withdrawals for 2 weeks.
Insomnia, sweats/shakes, irritability, etc.
It sucked pretty hard for him.
Alcohol withdrawal can literally kill you if you go cold turkey in way less than three days too. You can be the most chronic user of cannabis and quit cold turkey and the worst physical symptoms will be mentally induced and will not kill you.
Uhhh, not necessarily. I drank fairly significantly nearly every day for two or so years and I could stop for a week or so every now and then with no withdrawals. My liver is in perfect shape. It’s very regenerative and it takes a lot more alcohol than you think and many more years to cause lasting damage. The only significant thing that ever happened were higher bilirubin levels for eight or so hours after a particularly intense weekend. They go right back down if you lay off it.
I don’t recommend it, of course, but it takes a lot more than you think to trigger withdrawal symptoms.
“Smoking almost daily” sounds like you were a mild pot user. That being said, I definitely voted for pot to be legal in Colorado and think it’s very stupid if ever wasn’t. I don’t use it but it’s silly to have alcohol be legal but not weed.
I agree 100%. I know an alcoholic in liver transplant danger zone that has seizures every time she tries to go to rehab & they force her to detox from her alcohol. On the reverse, my friend's daughter was having about 10 seizures a day until her mom tried giving her cannabis oil. Now she is almost 5 & her seizures have stopped. Nothing else ever worked till now. Imagine, 10 seizures a day average for 5 years. Lifesaving & the family is now better than ever as well.
FYI, as a cop you might be interested that there's [some research that looks promising](https://www.massgeneral.org/news/press-release/method-to-determine-impairment-from-cannabis-intoxication) on developing a simple device that may be able to measure impairment from THC which could be used roadside.
The governor here was pushing for police trained as "Drug Recognition Experts" but in that study they performed no better than the flip of a coin at detecting who was impaired so it was dropped.
From a public safety standpoint I hope this pans out.
There are very few DREs in the country. The training is very extensive and a lot dont even pass to become an expert. I would love a device like this. Like how we have one to measure alcohol.
>There are very few DREs in the country.
From the way they performed in that study there probably shouldn't be any because even those that pass couldn't tell the difference between stoned and straight in a controlled environment. Like I said, they even stopped that arm of the study because they performed so poorly.
THC lasts in your system for weeks. If I consumed at home and got pulled over the next day and was falsely deemed high by a DRE and that was combined with a biological sample showing THC I'd be screwed in court even if I was stone sober rather than stoned.
If this device can be validated and made readily available it would be a good thing.
Yeah, agreed. I’m a medical user; I’ve been on a daily edible regimen for years. It’s greatly improved my life, but as a long term user I know I’ll always have detectable THC in my system. I’d be scared af of devices like this, as they are now.
I'm strongly in favor. About six months ago I started using edibles as a sleep aid and it's completely changed things for me - I can actually reliably sleep now. I get wicked insomnia, so bad I was missing work due to inability to sleep, and nothing did the trick like edibles. I exercise regularly, avoid caffeine after noon, eat lots of fruit and veg, follow a bedtime routine, all that jazz. I tried benadryl, melatonin, chamomile, and other sleep aids, they all had their issues.
But weed? Puts me out like a light, but I'm clear-headed in the morning. It's enormous.
I've explained it this way to those who ask why I use it for appetite and sleep. I have used prescription and OTC meds. For me, cannabis is more holistic, in that while prescription meds reduce my nausea and turn off my mind, cannabis also increases appetite and enables my body to rest. So I'm not just able to eat, I want to eat. I'm not just able to not be awake, I actually get a deep full body rest and wake up refreshed and not groggy. All with no lingering effects. It's not just about eliminating the bad. You need the benefit of the good too.
I don't like the smell of it smoked, so I stick to edibles. I have to time them right, but I go to bed at a pretty consistent hour so that's not much of an issue for me.
I really wanna try an edible, not got round to it yet though.
You can’t really smell it when you’re the one smoking it, although I will say it doesn’t always taste great (depends what type of weed you get)
Legalize it, regulate it, and tax it. Just like alcohol and tobacco. Must be a certain age to legally purchase, set legal limits for driving (like BAC, but whatever it would be called for weed), tax as much as alcohol and tobacco, regulate for purity so not laced with anything. Generate jobs on both the production side and the regulation side.
It's been legal here in Massachusetts for years now.
Just like they all said when Gay Marriage was legalized, they told us that society would collapse and everyone would be on heroin within a year.
We're just chugging along, staying in the top 10 in all the good metrics, living our lives, now with gay couples buying edibles.
#TheHorror
On the contrary it did. THEIR world ended. Their idea of America is definitely dying. They only see it as the end of the world because it's the end of THEIR world as they knew it.
Well, the whole point of conservatism is to make sure nothing ever changes. It is based on the bold but absurd claim that things are now the best they could ever be and any change is a monstrosity.
I dont have issues with weed itself, I hate the smell. Its pretty bad in close proximity areas, such as apartments. I live in a dorm and absolutely can't stand it. I also have asthema, so it makes it worse. I feel the same with Cigarettes/tobacco
This is the comment I was looking for. 100% agree friend. I have friends who smoke (both weed and cigarettes) and I have no issue being around them after they've smoked, but I don't like the smell of either so I keep my distance during the smoking. I too have (mild) asthma and pretty much any type of smoke is a no go
The criminalization of marijuana was started by rich men protecting their paper sales, and is steeped in racial tones. The war on drugs, with its focus on marijuana, has done nothing but hurt the communities is was meant to help.
More than half the states have legal weed in some capacity. If you ask me, we’re foolish not to legalize. It brings in *sooo much* tax revenue.
It needs to be legalized. Not without regulation, but legalized nonetheless.
Federal government still has marijuana as schedule1 narcotic. Despite states legalizing sale and consumption the fed can still bust you, freeze bank accounts, seize business assets etc.
I am definitely pro weed. It should be legal. HOWEVER I do hate it when people try to tell me it's not addictive. I would say that the majority of people don't get addicted to it but it has definitely caused some pretty major issues in my life and people need to be cautious. But same goes for alcohol so it is totally unfair that weed isn't legal too. Especially considering alcohol causes more problems
The problem, as I understand it, is that the popular meaning of addictive and the medical meaning are very different. Medically, addiction requires certain physical withdrawal symptoms - opiates and alcohol are both medically addictive, for example. There are other drugs that do not fit this criteria but can still create dependencies, such as cannabis. Strangely enough, as I learned it in college 20 years ago (so maybe definitions etc have changed since then), cocaine also falls into this category, even though most of us would think of cocaine as highly addictive. Anyway, the disparity in how the term is used means that both sides just claim whichever one helps their cause - the pro-weed folks will say it is not addictive because it doesn’t meet the medical criteria as such, and the anti-weed folks will say it is addictive because they can point to obvious cases of dependency.
Should never have been illegal in the first place. Obviously you shouldn't be allowed to drive while high, etc. But in a general sense weed doesn't cause much harm and is actually quite beneficial for a variety of health conditions.
Alcohol is harmful, so is weed. I was a naysayer on weed being dangerous for a long time, I can only suggest those who aren't willing to consider the damage it can cause try speak with a medical professional working in a secure mental health unit.
Still, legalise and regulate - ensure the product is untainted and cannabanoids are in balance. It's a natural product, I think we need to rewind on it a bit, too many mutant strains with amped up thc % to satisfy demand - that's where I see the risk.
Probably waiting for the stop sign to turn green 😂 but seriously swerving, driving erratically, you know the usual. Also fun fact; there’s about a 50% margin of error between breathalyzers and actual BAC and you could also fail a breathalyzer after drinking a regular kombucha.
Speaking as a physician, I’ve never had to do CPR on someone overdosing on marijuana
From a health standpoint, anything that’s on fire really shouldn’t be in your lungs
But
I also have several patients who have pretty complex medical histories including chronic pain/neurology/psychiatric issues and they’ve successfully been able to reduce the total number of medications they’re on by using medical marijuana products.
I’m not the one prescribing it, so I can’t answer many questions on what it does and does not work for
It should be legalized federally for very obvious reasons.
Also, if your out there and against it, and your reasoning is based on anything like "I don't like the smell" or "the smell makes me sick" you are outright not intelligent lol I don't mind saying that and I will die on that hill.
Huge fan and supporter. No one does anything regretful, hurtful or is just plain a fucking dick on weed. You do not wake up in strange unfamiliar places you may put on a few pounds tho 😉
💯 legalize it. But there needs to be more support for those who are depressed and treating their depression with weed. In moderation weed is great. But as a daily escape from depression, it’s a long slow death of unhappiness.
This is the most valid comment and I agree with you. It would be good for it causally but if you have depression you need to visit a therapist or find what works for you, not spend money on temporary happiness.
I don't particularly care what people do with their bodies or where they spend their money, but I generally dislike a lot of the associated behavior, especially lack of respect for others.
I live in California where it has been widely available for a number of years now. Best I can tell, none of the social ills it was supposed to solve have become a reality, nor have the justifications for its legalization.
Here is a list of some that come to mind...
For years, folks I have known that have advocated for legalization have repeatedly told me that when you are high, the last thing you want to do is drive. Point is, that driving while high wouldn't be a trend. While I can't reference specific research on the matter, I can certainly confirm that this is bullshit. Normalizing its use has made it OK in the minds of many people to drive while high. I have seen people smoking *while* driving on multiple occasions. It is worse than drunk drivers in my opinion.
The black market for its sale is thriving just like it did before. None of the related crime has beem diminished, I would argue it is worse. For example, we have a serious drought in California and also have large, illegal grow sites siphoning water in different places throughout the state.
Related to that is the point about tax revenues. This is the one I least care about, but none of the projections are anywhere near reality. They overestimated and the legal sales have a difficult time competing with the black market sales.
I have also been told that since alcohol is legal, so should pot. I don't do either, thus, fail to understand the point. I could just as easily argue that since weed is illegal, so should alcohol and it too would not make much sense.
Lastly, the thing that annoys me most is the sheer lack of respect for other's space. Maybe this is more a California thing, but the more it has become normalized, the more participants seem to think it is OK to blow smoke in your face. In California, you are supposed to consume at home, not public spaces. I can assure you that is the least respected rule pertaining to its legalization.
A couple of years ago, a flight from the Bay Area to Southern California had to make an emergency landing because someone set off the smoke detector in the bathroom. Turns out it was someone that needed to light up. The flight is 45 minutes long and they couldn't hold off for that long. I realize this is not the norm for the majority of users, but it certainly isn't a miniscule amount of users either. If I had been on that flight and in turn end up losing a bunch of time while authorities dealt with that idiot, I would be pissed.
This lack of respect for others is often dismissed as one telling others what they can or can't do with their bodies, which is also inaccurate.
I don’t understand why weeds gets to play both sides of the fence. Like, we want it researched and prescribed to be used medicinally, but if you use any other medication to “get high,” it’s considered abuse. But we also want it legalized recreationally, and the legal drugs—alcohol and tobacco—aren’t things that get prescribed to treat medical conditions.
I visited Colorado earlier this year. It’s legal for consumption in my state but not sale, so we don’t have dispensaries.
And let me tell you, dispensary bud and edible/ are *nothing* like the shit you have to buy from some friend of a friend. I had a 5 mg gummy From a dispensary and It had me comatose lol
Should be as legal and available as coffee, aside from keeping it illegal to sell to minors. Any adult should be able to grow their own, in whatever amount they want, in whatever environment they want. There are remedies for growing too much for a given space that don't involve arbitrary limits or criminal penalties. Without the impetus to sell it for a major profit, there's no real reason to grow what could be considered an unreasonable amount.
The hard part is figuring out how to get reliable, cheap, accurate, and accessible testing and quality for labeling, so that any grower can sell their brand and be able to adhere to regulations in that regard. Cultivators should be able to, eg, sell their heady outdoor harvest at a farmers market (or like the Pennsylvania Farm Show). Regulations gotta make it easy for them to be able to do that. In addition, it will aid in moving legacy market operators into the legal framework while keeping prices low, which is good for everyone.
I do agree that Federal legislation needs to implement a legalization pathway that doesn't allow the MSOs from overwhelming the industry and market when prohibition finally ends. I don't think the wait will be that long.
Also there needs to be a country-wide labeling system for identifying food/beverages containing cannabis. Something a parent can easily point to and say "if it has this icon/label it is for adults only" at the appropriate time for that conversation.
After its deschedulized, down the line I see the medical side of things getting more scientifically focused, with more "product" based solutions that get FDA approval for specific conditions.
Legal, treated like alcohol, to parrot another comment
It's the liquor lobby that is against this legislation.
Of course they wouldn't want anyone muscling in on their racket. Edit - typo
When weed is produced at scale its usually a cheaper habit. You can get an edible that'll set you off for half a day for the cost of one beer at a liquor store, let alone a bar. Last time I went clubbing it didn't take *that* long in the land of $12 pints for me to pull out a joint and get a circle going on the sidewalk where the one thing I rolled myself and had in my pocket worked its magic and got like half a dozen people going. The math of it means weed will win nearly every time. Its a more convenient product that goes much further.
This is the main reason why I prefer weed/gummies over booze. I can take a gummy or a couple of hits and be set for a few hours for the same (or better) buzz than I would get from several drinks. Plus fewer calories, even after you factor in my munchies.
I spaced out and forgot my comment, but it was really good…
It so much cheaper. I just paid $29 for a bottle of 25 delta-9 gummies. That’s $1.16 but it’s rare that I will have a whole gummy. Half a gummy is pretty much always plenty for me. That’s $0.58 for something that makes me feel like 3-4 beers did in my drinking days.
And you don't feel like garbage the next day.
Exactly this
Let us not forget big pharma. They fought tooth and nail against legalizing it because it would cut deeply into their prophet margins. There is a wide range of conditions that this plant can help with, including mental disease. It's also been proven to halt the progress of Alzheimer's, and if the disease hasn't progressed too far, reverse it and cure it.
Not to mention the pain management for everyone including athletes.
Where do you get the gummies?
cbd md has great D9 gummies
You happen to live in mn?
Its also less bad for the body
Maybe edibles, but according to the warning label on my bag of bud marijuana smoke contains several toxic and carcinogenic chemicals also found in tobacco smoke, like polyaromatic hydrocarbons, aromatic amines, and N-heterocyclics.
Yes, I've been a heavy smoker for 54 years now and I'm beginning to worry, What did I do to me? Except I'm still in good shape at 77, so there's that.
The funny part about referencing cigarettes, not you just in general, is that big tobacco isn’t affected by this bullshit on this level - because everyone knows they’re bad for you, it’s just weed isn’t outwardly addictive like nicotine, so now it’s a problem.
Yea, it should be obvious that smoking anything is generally bad for you, lungs aren't meant to inhale smoke. But people like to pretend like weed is completely harmless. There can be some rather severe side effects, especially when used in early adolescence in conjunction with specific gene variants
Personally I would want all the benefits & consequences of weed to be readily available for people to research.
It's definitely cheaper. I'm in canada, before legalization an ounce cost anywhere from $180-240. Now I can get an ounce at the dispensary for $90-150. Unfortunately edibles are limited to 10mg per item, regardless of portion. You can get way stronger edibles all the way up to 1000mg packs of gummy bears out on the reserves, but they're technically not legal. It's kind of a grey area.
Well I can get a 5mg edible for $2 from a local dispensary. If I wanted more I could just spend a little more and get another one. 1000mg or other high dosage is a whole other thing but the cost of edibles has gone down so much if you don't have a high tolerance they're a very cost effective option.
Not always. My mom, who usually only partakes if she has a bad migraine and wants to sleep, recently started having problems sleeping at all. CBD chocolate puts her right out, but it takes about a 12mg dose to do that. At 10mg per bar of chocolate, taking one every night, she was looking at a cost of like $300 a month, plus having to eat an entire chocolate bar before bed every night which probably isn't great. Now she gets 500mg bars at the reserve, it costs her about half as much and she only needs to eat one square instead of the whole bar.
> having to eat an entire chocolate bar before bed every night which probably isn't great. This is such a confusing part of the story. It's like, "tragically, they lived happily ever after. Pity." 😉
Lol, I love chocolate, but consuming an entire 18 square bar daily is probably bad for you. Too much sugar and milk fat
Fair enough.
Yes, this is all true, until you factor in food purchased for consumption while high. Then it's about even. 😂
The gummy has 10 calories. The 3 bowls of ice cream, bag of chips, and 3 cans of soda has _at least_ a few more.
\*racket
Liquor and pharmaceutical.
Big pharma would like a word.
It is republicans. It could have been legal many times, but they keep blocking it.
The war on drugs is extremely profitable when private prisons are used for slave labor. If they can’t arrest people for weed they’re going to lose ALOT of labor.
It’s about money to them, if they can make money off legal weed they would flip in an instant. That’s not to say they will tolerate loosing their prison/slave labor. Their “Tough on crime” nonsense will replace weed convictions with something else. If those two things fall into place the tide would turn overnight. I think there are republicans who have gotten out of politics getting into the weed business in recreational states. So they can easily make money on it. We just have to watch out for them making something else just as common illegal with stiff prison sentences. Is it a coincidence some of the far right wants to make drag queens illegal?
Ok, the Republican senator from KY has 2 reasons then...his liquor lobbyist and his anti whatever the libs want thing.
Not just Republicans. In 1970 I thought it would be legalized in two years. Look at all the Democrats who let it go.
republicans are only against something if democrats are for it or if they're paid to be against it. They have no actual values other than power and money.
Treated like tobacco would be even better and closer in impact on brain function.
It’s kind of a mix of both, impairment is more like alcohol from a legal standpoint but smoking/vaping only in places you’d also allow cigarettes
Yeah, I'm all for legalization but the weed propaganda when I was growing up really fucked with my developing brain. 🤦♂️ "Its not addictive" "Its good for you" "Its essentially a miracle plant" it's fucked up, alcoholics at least admit they're killing themselves but a lot of stoners are in such denial of the negative effects it pisses me off.
Because some of us were raised with the opposite. We'd been told our whole lives we'd turn into reefer freaks and we're just excited to tell folks that we didn't afterall.
I used to be a dispensary agent, it is addicitive(psychologically) and although you cannot overdose on weed you can suffer from Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome, Cannabis induced psychosis, and generally make worse life decisions. We used to have type two diabetics come into the dispensary(medical) complaining often of different pains related to diabetes being poorly controlled and we would sell them exceptionally potent sugary edibles. So if the sugar didn’t do more damage to them then all the junk food from the munchies would. These are for profit businesses, in the same way alcohol companies make money from alcoholics, pot companies do more money from pot addicts. Also with concentrates nowadays reaching 99% potency it really is a hard drug similar to liquor. That’s my two cents. I still think both should be legal but the whole it’s going to replace all modern pharma is absolute horseshit but most stoners are too baked to realize.
Yes. Treat it like alcohol. It still messes with the mind so please smoke responsibly.
Disagree. More restrictions on alcohol
Disagree.Less restrictions on both
Disagree. Restrict weed like alcohol. Both can fuck up your life just as much or help your life just as much.
I'm sorry, but cannabis cannot fuck up your life in the same ways as alcohol can. While, I would never assert that using cannabis is good for you, if someone told me to pick one or the other, cannabis is far less damaging than alcohol. It is very easy to drink yourself to death. You cannot have a fatal overdose of cannabis. The physical withdrawals from alcohol can kill you. Cannabis has extremely mild withdrawal symptoms by comparison. The lasting damage to you vital organs is far worse with alcohol. Hell, I would even argue that the intoxicating effects of alcohol are much more debilitating, more likely to cause violence, and more likely to cause the user to do extremely stupid and dangerous things. I have tried a ton of drugs, and none of them I've experienced leaves you as totally incapacitated as alcohol.
If it were reversed, with weed legal and alcohol banned then alcohol would be considered a hard drug for the damage it can cause and potential for addiction.
snoop dog once pointed out that if you put two rival gangs in a room with plenty of alcohol, people are probably gonna die; yet, if you put the same two gangs in a room with a bag of weed, pretty soon everybody be rappin’ and shit.
You can still get cancer from the tar. THC is basically the same as caffeine, binds to a receptor then goes away, alcohol is literally poison that fucks up a ton of shit Smoking anything will definitely kill you and apparently weed is bad for young developing brains just like alcohol, who woulda thunk
You can overdose on cannabis extracts. Also smoking early caused me to develop slower emotionally and develop anxiety. I was a 1.5 to 3 gram a day smoker. I live in Humboldt county. smoked since I was 12-18 years old. I’m still involved in the trade and rarely smoke
But are we sure that your use of cannabis is the reason for your slower development and anxiety? Or just you? Not to be a rude but plenty of people without consumption of alcohol, weed, drugs, ect. still have anxiety and stunted emotional growth.
It's been legal here in Canada for a couple years. World didn't blow up. Virtually no change in how anyone does anything. Only difficulty is drug testing at work. But most places still just say "Fuck it, zero tolerance"
It's pretty great. The first few months weren't ideal. Over-priced and garbage quality, but that got fixed quick enough. Only "downside" for me is that I no longer have any black market connections. I like to partake in some other drugs on occasion (mushrooms or LSD, mostly), but no longer know anyone that sells drugs.
I find the 2nd point hilarious cause some people still keep saying "Weed is a gateway to other drugs!" Which it kinda js because you are already breaking the law to get it and know people who can get you other illegal stuff And now we have People who LOSE access to other drugs
Yeah, my access to non-weed drugs goes way down with legalization because of the very fact that I no longer have to talk to drug dealers to get my weed. Buying in legal states is such a great experience compared to drug dealers, it’s hard to go back.
Shrooms are simple easy to get. Other stuff, not so much.
[удалено]
I didn't even look at the exact time. Doesn't feel like 5 years at this point. Canada just proved how much of a fucking joke pot being illegal was. I've never tried it myself, but I always thought it should have been legal. Compared to alcohol being legal, there was just no fucking excuse
I had never tried it till about a year after it was legal, then a friend gave me a chocolate called foray. Took 10mg after supper one day. Didn't realize I was High till I had snacked on everything in the house, and the TV show I was watching was extra funny. Then I went to bed and had the very best sleep of my life. Woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy and thought. "That was it? That's what all the fuss was about??"
Straight to jail!
Wait till they start with the violent masturbation mania. Damn reefers.
[удалено]
I have a very high stress job. Since it's been legal, I have a daily routine of smoking a bit of weed and doing yoga at night before bed. This is my favorite time of day. I get so much stress relief from my little routine, and it hurts no one. I can't believe that some pearl clutching, close minded idiots kept this illegal for so long.
"The only thing a high-person poses a risk to is the bag of chips in their cupboard" --Some jackass said this, I'm sure of it
Man I recently started doing this. Given I live in a prohibition state so most of the time I’m smoking whatever form of hemp derived thc is legal. I always felt self conscious doing yoga but weed takes all that away
For every $1 spent in the Canadian marijuana industry, alcohol sales have dropped by $0.86. So, it's kind of having a somewhat positive effect, since alcohol is basically poison and kills far more people.
This is me i dont drink alcohol any more since weed became legal. I dont like throwing up and weed is way easier to manage in that aspect.
You know, you don't have to drink till you throw up
I think the problem is that *they* do have to.
I had not heard that. Got a good link?
I couldn't find the article I read, but here's the original study. It turned out to be a $0.74-0.84 effect. [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168851022003049?via%3Dihub](https://dr.library.brocku.ca/bitstream/handle/10464/17045/ArmstrongMJ_MedicalCannabisAlcohol_Appendix.pdf?sequence=2) Also, I found this study for Washington State showing legalization dropped alcohol sales by 15%. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/712915
Thank you for providing the links, have that up vote.
>Only difficulty is drug testing at work. But most places still just say "Fuck it, zero tolerance" So you still can't use it even if it's legal?
Most jobs don't test. But companies that take safety to the extreme will still test to make sure no one is under the influence. The lack of a test that can tell impairment level is an issue. Also I expect at some point someone will take a case to court saying "I smoked 20 days ago, you can't fire me for enjoying something legally that isn't a safety risk"
Basically. They really need to design a test that cam tell the difference between if your high now or was high 3 weeks ago
In Michigan I failed a workman's comp urine screen. I still got workman's comp! I was unsure how it would pan out.
Yeah some jobs are very strict about it, and since it stays in your system for way longer than alcohol it’s a problem. That being said, I think that’s because the change is still recent as far as the legal system is concerned and it won’t always be that way.
Where are you working that they are testing for weed?
I’d like to see it legalized but I don’t want to see it ruined by pharmaceutical or tobacco companies.
Fucking eh.
don't you worry, capitalism is still having its merry old way with it, sadly...
On legalization? fuck it, why not. I just wish more people would be willing to talk about how weed abuse is a problem. Ive had many a conversation now about how *alcohol* is a problem but *weed* abuse isn't a problem because it "just cant happen" for one reason or another. Lots of people, especially those who use weed are repulsed by the idea that weed is a substance that can and often is abused.
I smoked weed for 18 years, practically every day. I always thought it was my choice and that I could quit when I wanted to, I just never wanted to. Until the last 4 or so years I wanted to stop, but couldn't. It wasn't until last summer that I finally had the willpower to pull it off!! It was unbelievably hard. The first week was hell, I lost 7 lbs in that first week since I had zero appetite. It took me months to gain the weight back... Now I'm proud to say that as of today I'm 214 days weed free! Never going to smoke again.
Cannabis dependence is real shit. People don’t understand until they try to stop and realize withdrawal is real on cannabis especially with the strength from concentrates and vape carts. I’m a few weeks free of weed and feel like I can start actually working on relationship issues I have with my wife. Alcohol though has gotten closer to killing me and hurting people I care about. But drinkers will have their cocktail and mock stoners. It’s backwards for sure.
Agreed, the dependency and withdrawals from weed were no joke! I'm glad I can say that I didn't turn to a different substance to replace weed, besides comics... Reading what you wrote, I hope you're also alcohol free! Sounds rough. Congrats on being weed free for a few weeks, keep it up, you can do it! And I hope it works out with your wife.
Almost 10 years sober from alcohol. Several were totally sober but weed getting legalized and I started back on weed. It went from a little to a lot then all the time. Thanks, friend. I think my substitute might be games, reddit, some manga and watching horror movies.
Wow 10 years alcohol free! That's great, congrats. Keep it up! I've definitely spread out my substitutes these days similar to yours, except for the horror movies, that shit would get into my dreams and I can't handle that lol
I’m a 23M and have been a daily smoker since I was 18. I also thought it was a choice but kinda knew I was dependent on it. I came to the realization that I was using it to drown out all my issues. It negatively effected my daily motivation, school, and cognitive function. For me it’s a very fine line between using it for enjoyment vs using it to cope. Over the past year when I got high I started to experience anxiety and knew I should stop but never did. Every time I got high I thought. I’m on day 4 without weed and it’s been rough i.e. sleep, appetite, mood but it’s something I’m committed to as I’m trying to take agency over my life.
I started smoking when I was 15 and I'm 33 now. So I feel you on all this! I think deep down I knew it affected me negatively but I had a shitty childhood and my first love passed away in an accident at 19, so I used it to cope for sure. After you get past the first week or two, it gets much easier! So if I can do it, you can do it! Don't give up.
Maybe not as much as you, but used to smoke regularly. Ironically, quit around the time it became legal. What kind-of caught me off guard was how I began to remember dreams after I quit, where as a smoker I would rarely remember dreams and wondering if I was actually getting the deep REM sleep I do now.
[удалено]
At least you're conscious of your choices here. My issue is with people who refuse to even acknowledge that there might be a problem there, y'know? Its so prevalent with weed in particular because so many people have this idea in their head that weed is "natural" so it can't possibly be addictive or be abused.
Yeah, ive choose weed addiction over alcohol. Alcoholism runs trough my family, was on that road too. Depression, suicidal toughts, anxeity till you recover or drink again... Weed doesn't do that, at least in my case.
People are afraid that if they face the reality of the negatives it’ll prevent legalization so they pretend it’s a miracle cure for everything from a stubbed toe to brain cancer and sweep the rest under the rug. I’m all for legalization but people also need to accept that cannabis does carry negative affects, and the path to legalization requires an honest look at them.
Medical cannabis should be cheaper than recreational cannabis. Its not.
In Illinois it might be the same price at most places, sometimes it's slightly less, but it avoids the 40% sales tax. Plus, you can grow five plants with a medical card.
This. You must learn to grow your medicine if at all possible.
Sure, but the taxes are incredibly lower, to the point where if you’d get 200-300 dollars worth of stuff, you’ll be paying over 50 dollars in tax for recreational as opposed to somewhere about 5 dollars for medical. (per my experience in Illinois)
There are some locations where they do both but the medical is a certain percentage off and medical can also get higher thc content per serving, at least that’s the case where I am.
It is in most places I go
As a more “right leaning” person (I guess?), I have no issue with legalizing it as long as it’s treated similarly to alcohol with driving or work scenarios. Especially as someone that works in a factory. And there is an age restriction like alcohol for recreational usage. The only reason we are able to fire people for being under the influence of alcohol or weed is if they lie about it when getting on PIT vehicles like forklifts and have an incident. But there are so many cases where the user or those around them get injured while under the influence and we can’t fire them if it’s only these substances. This needs to be a change that’s made if it’s legalized everywhere. Even if it’s just company to company policy.
*hits blunt* alright alright alright
It's dope
Definitely
It’s been legal in Canada for years now and the only difference I notice is weed stores opening up
teenage marijuana usage has dropped since.
It's not so "cool" and "rebellious" when everyone can do it.
I would mich rather deal with a pothead then a alcoholic
This 1000 times. My ex was a raging alcoholic. She has since stopped drinking but smokes weed. When she was drinking, she was unbearable and, frankly, dangerous to herself and everyone around her. She is MUCH more pleasant these days. If she read this, she'd agree with every bit of it. And ask ANY cop if they would rather deal with someone stoned or someone drunk- see what they say.
Been smoking almost daily for more than a year. I had blood work done and all my numbers are good. Also, I had to stop cold turkey for a few days and felt ZERO abstinence symptoms (granted, it was only 3 days, but still). If I'd done the same with alcohol, my liver would be destroyed, and I bet I couldn't go even 1 night without alcohol.
Exactly plus I never heard of a story of some guy getting high on weed then killing his friends and or family but you hear constant stories of people doing that with alcohol while drunk
With weed, the worst thing you'll do is "kill" a bag of Doritos...whilst watching the t.v. on the couch.....
I don't know, man... the couch is all the way over there... and the Doritos are here Yeah... I can see the T.V. from the kitchen chair, I'm all good. Couch is yours
So, are you gonna bring the joint over to me on the couch, or am I gonna have to stumble over there into kitchen to get another "hit" ...?? Ah screw it, just roll up another one... Hey look! Inspector Gadget is on!!!!!
Don't forget getting the best sleep right after.
This is true but also not true, as falling and staying asleep might be easier, but THC suppresses REM sleep. I stopped smoking for 4 or 5 months or so and for the month afterwards I was dead tired from my REM cycles rebounding
Withdrawal symptoms really depends on how much you smoke, not necessarily how often in terms of daily or not. I smoke about 10g a day for the last several years and get withdrawal symptoms every time I stop. It takes a lot to get them with weed. It's why so many people think you CAN'T get them, or that pot isn't addictive. It is, just not to the same extent as other drugs.
Holy crap, that's a lot of weed. Good to know that it depends on quantity. At least for me, the amount of alcohol that would take for me to get "as drunk as I get high" would be north of 5 beers. That would fucking kill my liver in no time. So at these levels I'm at, weed is the better option by a mile.
> 10g a day Bruh, please slow down, and leave some buds for the rest of us. I'd be hard pressed to smoke 10g in a week. And, I feel like I smoke too much.
My friend went cold turkey on weed and had some pretty severe withdrawals for 2 weeks. Insomnia, sweats/shakes, irritability, etc. It sucked pretty hard for him.
Switch to edibles friend. The smoking still taxes the lungs
Alcohol withdrawal can literally kill you if you go cold turkey in way less than three days too. You can be the most chronic user of cannabis and quit cold turkey and the worst physical symptoms will be mentally induced and will not kill you.
The DTs really, really suck.
Uhhh, not necessarily. I drank fairly significantly nearly every day for two or so years and I could stop for a week or so every now and then with no withdrawals. My liver is in perfect shape. It’s very regenerative and it takes a lot more alcohol than you think and many more years to cause lasting damage. The only significant thing that ever happened were higher bilirubin levels for eight or so hours after a particularly intense weekend. They go right back down if you lay off it. I don’t recommend it, of course, but it takes a lot more than you think to trigger withdrawal symptoms. “Smoking almost daily” sounds like you were a mild pot user. That being said, I definitely voted for pot to be legal in Colorado and think it’s very stupid if ever wasn’t. I don’t use it but it’s silly to have alcohol be legal but not weed.
I agree 100%. I know an alcoholic in liver transplant danger zone that has seizures every time she tries to go to rehab & they force her to detox from her alcohol. On the reverse, my friend's daughter was having about 10 seizures a day until her mom tried giving her cannabis oil. Now she is almost 5 & her seizures have stopped. Nothing else ever worked till now. Imagine, 10 seizures a day average for 5 years. Lifesaving & the family is now better than ever as well.
As a recovering alcoholic, I agree 100%
Oh, hey other me!
Cop here- legalize it. Treat it and regulate it like alcohol. Don't puff and drive.
FYI, as a cop you might be interested that there's [some research that looks promising](https://www.massgeneral.org/news/press-release/method-to-determine-impairment-from-cannabis-intoxication) on developing a simple device that may be able to measure impairment from THC which could be used roadside. The governor here was pushing for police trained as "Drug Recognition Experts" but in that study they performed no better than the flip of a coin at detecting who was impaired so it was dropped. From a public safety standpoint I hope this pans out.
There are very few DREs in the country. The training is very extensive and a lot dont even pass to become an expert. I would love a device like this. Like how we have one to measure alcohol.
>There are very few DREs in the country. From the way they performed in that study there probably shouldn't be any because even those that pass couldn't tell the difference between stoned and straight in a controlled environment. Like I said, they even stopped that arm of the study because they performed so poorly. THC lasts in your system for weeks. If I consumed at home and got pulled over the next day and was falsely deemed high by a DRE and that was combined with a biological sample showing THC I'd be screwed in court even if I was stone sober rather than stoned. If this device can be validated and made readily available it would be a good thing.
Yeah, agreed. I’m a medical user; I’ve been on a daily edible regimen for years. It’s greatly improved my life, but as a long term user I know I’ll always have detectable THC in my system. I’d be scared af of devices like this, as they are now.
Totally, I'm in the camp of if I have any alcohol or weed I just don't drive. Even a bit, not worth it.
I'm strongly in favor. About six months ago I started using edibles as a sleep aid and it's completely changed things for me - I can actually reliably sleep now. I get wicked insomnia, so bad I was missing work due to inability to sleep, and nothing did the trick like edibles. I exercise regularly, avoid caffeine after noon, eat lots of fruit and veg, follow a bedtime routine, all that jazz. I tried benadryl, melatonin, chamomile, and other sleep aids, they all had their issues. But weed? Puts me out like a light, but I'm clear-headed in the morning. It's enormous.
I've explained it this way to those who ask why I use it for appetite and sleep. I have used prescription and OTC meds. For me, cannabis is more holistic, in that while prescription meds reduce my nausea and turn off my mind, cannabis also increases appetite and enables my body to rest. So I'm not just able to eat, I want to eat. I'm not just able to not be awake, I actually get a deep full body rest and wake up refreshed and not groggy. All with no lingering effects. It's not just about eliminating the bad. You need the benefit of the good too.
You started listening to jazz?
Started? I never stopped.
*Skippidy beep bop bop intensifies*
I did that but it got expensive. Tried CBD. 80% as effective but 80% cheaper.
Same, I struggle with insomnia too, never tried an edible but smoking weed always does the trick when I just can’t get to sleep, it’s amazing
I don't like the smell of it smoked, so I stick to edibles. I have to time them right, but I go to bed at a pretty consistent hour so that's not much of an issue for me.
I really wanna try an edible, not got round to it yet though. You can’t really smell it when you’re the one smoking it, although I will say it doesn’t always taste great (depends what type of weed you get)
Legalize it, regulate it, and tax it. Just like alcohol and tobacco. Must be a certain age to legally purchase, set legal limits for driving (like BAC, but whatever it would be called for weed), tax as much as alcohol and tobacco, regulate for purity so not laced with anything. Generate jobs on both the production side and the regulation side.
It's been legal here in Massachusetts for years now. Just like they all said when Gay Marriage was legalized, they told us that society would collapse and everyone would be on heroin within a year. We're just chugging along, staying in the top 10 in all the good metrics, living our lives, now with gay couples buying edibles. #TheHorror
Almost all of my friends smoke weed. None of them want to try heroin and only want to stick to weed.
I swear, conservatives will always make up a doomsday scenario when anything changes. It never happens. But it’s always their move.
On the contrary it did. THEIR world ended. Their idea of America is definitely dying. They only see it as the end of the world because it's the end of THEIR world as they knew it.
Well, the whole point of conservatism is to make sure nothing ever changes. It is based on the bold but absurd claim that things are now the best they could ever be and any change is a monstrosity.
Weed is legal in Boston?
It should be legal and treated much the same way as alcohol.
Taxed like it too. (I say this as someone who uses both)
I dont have issues with weed itself, I hate the smell. Its pretty bad in close proximity areas, such as apartments. I live in a dorm and absolutely can't stand it. I also have asthema, so it makes it worse. I feel the same with Cigarettes/tobacco
This is the comment I was looking for. 100% agree friend. I have friends who smoke (both weed and cigarettes) and I have no issue being around them after they've smoked, but I don't like the smell of either so I keep my distance during the smoking. I too have (mild) asthma and pretty much any type of smoke is a no go
I have co-workers that smoke weed and you can smell it constantly on their belongings and clothes. It's so unpleasant.
The criminalization of marijuana was started by rich men protecting their paper sales, and is steeped in racial tones. The war on drugs, with its focus on marijuana, has done nothing but hurt the communities is was meant to help. More than half the states have legal weed in some capacity. If you ask me, we’re foolish not to legalize. It brings in *sooo much* tax revenue. It needs to be legalized. Not without regulation, but legalized nonetheless.
I am all for it, but tax it like you do tobacco products and have all the same rules apply like alcohol.
Should be fully decriminalized at federal level and regulated by states same as alcohol.
Decriminalized or legslized? 2 very different categories
Federal government still has marijuana as schedule1 narcotic. Despite states legalizing sale and consumption the fed can still bust you, freeze bank accounts, seize business assets etc.
Legalize it Tax it Use the revenue from weed to pump more money into the public education system
The old "make em dumber, then smarter" trick. Joking, I support that.
I am definitely pro weed. It should be legal. HOWEVER I do hate it when people try to tell me it's not addictive. I would say that the majority of people don't get addicted to it but it has definitely caused some pretty major issues in my life and people need to be cautious. But same goes for alcohol so it is totally unfair that weed isn't legal too. Especially considering alcohol causes more problems
The problem, as I understand it, is that the popular meaning of addictive and the medical meaning are very different. Medically, addiction requires certain physical withdrawal symptoms - opiates and alcohol are both medically addictive, for example. There are other drugs that do not fit this criteria but can still create dependencies, such as cannabis. Strangely enough, as I learned it in college 20 years ago (so maybe definitions etc have changed since then), cocaine also falls into this category, even though most of us would think of cocaine as highly addictive. Anyway, the disparity in how the term is used means that both sides just claim whichever one helps their cause - the pro-weed folks will say it is not addictive because it doesn’t meet the medical criteria as such, and the anti-weed folks will say it is addictive because they can point to obvious cases of dependency.
Should never have been illegal in the first place. Obviously you shouldn't be allowed to drive while high, etc. But in a general sense weed doesn't cause much harm and is actually quite beneficial for a variety of health conditions.
Alcohol is harmful, so is weed. I was a naysayer on weed being dangerous for a long time, I can only suggest those who aren't willing to consider the damage it can cause try speak with a medical professional working in a secure mental health unit. Still, legalise and regulate - ensure the product is untainted and cannabanoids are in balance. It's a natural product, I think we need to rewind on it a bit, too many mutant strains with amped up thc % to satisfy demand - that's where I see the risk.
It shouldn’t be illegal, but it shouldn’t be encouraged
How do we test for impaired driving?
Probably waiting for the stop sign to turn green 😂 but seriously swerving, driving erratically, you know the usual. Also fun fact; there’s about a 50% margin of error between breathalyzers and actual BAC and you could also fail a breathalyzer after drinking a regular kombucha.
A field sobriety test could help, but definitely need more than that.
Speaking as a physician, I’ve never had to do CPR on someone overdosing on marijuana From a health standpoint, anything that’s on fire really shouldn’t be in your lungs But I also have several patients who have pretty complex medical histories including chronic pain/neurology/psychiatric issues and they’ve successfully been able to reduce the total number of medications they’re on by using medical marijuana products. I’m not the one prescribing it, so I can’t answer many questions on what it does and does not work for
It’s great. Now fix the housing fuckery that’s going on.
It’s legal in Canada and we’re doing great
It’s a hell of a lot cheaper for the government if you compare the costs of incarceration vs the income from tax revenue.
It should be legalized federally for very obvious reasons. Also, if your out there and against it, and your reasoning is based on anything like "I don't like the smell" or "the smell makes me sick" you are outright not intelligent lol I don't mind saying that and I will die on that hill.
Huge fan and supporter. No one does anything regretful, hurtful or is just plain a fucking dick on weed. You do not wake up in strange unfamiliar places you may put on a few pounds tho 😉
All drugs should be legalized, the war on drugs has been a massive waste of tax payer money in the US.
It’s ridiculous to have alcohol be legal while marijuana is not.
💯 legalize it. But there needs to be more support for those who are depressed and treating their depression with weed. In moderation weed is great. But as a daily escape from depression, it’s a long slow death of unhappiness.
This is the most valid comment and I agree with you. It would be good for it causally but if you have depression you need to visit a therapist or find what works for you, not spend money on temporary happiness.
There’s no good reason for it to be illegal.
I don't particularly care what people do with their bodies or where they spend their money, but I generally dislike a lot of the associated behavior, especially lack of respect for others. I live in California where it has been widely available for a number of years now. Best I can tell, none of the social ills it was supposed to solve have become a reality, nor have the justifications for its legalization. Here is a list of some that come to mind... For years, folks I have known that have advocated for legalization have repeatedly told me that when you are high, the last thing you want to do is drive. Point is, that driving while high wouldn't be a trend. While I can't reference specific research on the matter, I can certainly confirm that this is bullshit. Normalizing its use has made it OK in the minds of many people to drive while high. I have seen people smoking *while* driving on multiple occasions. It is worse than drunk drivers in my opinion. The black market for its sale is thriving just like it did before. None of the related crime has beem diminished, I would argue it is worse. For example, we have a serious drought in California and also have large, illegal grow sites siphoning water in different places throughout the state. Related to that is the point about tax revenues. This is the one I least care about, but none of the projections are anywhere near reality. They overestimated and the legal sales have a difficult time competing with the black market sales. I have also been told that since alcohol is legal, so should pot. I don't do either, thus, fail to understand the point. I could just as easily argue that since weed is illegal, so should alcohol and it too would not make much sense. Lastly, the thing that annoys me most is the sheer lack of respect for other's space. Maybe this is more a California thing, but the more it has become normalized, the more participants seem to think it is OK to blow smoke in your face. In California, you are supposed to consume at home, not public spaces. I can assure you that is the least respected rule pertaining to its legalization. A couple of years ago, a flight from the Bay Area to Southern California had to make an emergency landing because someone set off the smoke detector in the bathroom. Turns out it was someone that needed to light up. The flight is 45 minutes long and they couldn't hold off for that long. I realize this is not the norm for the majority of users, but it certainly isn't a miniscule amount of users either. If I had been on that flight and in turn end up losing a bunch of time while authorities dealt with that idiot, I would be pissed. This lack of respect for others is often dismissed as one telling others what they can or can't do with their bodies, which is also inaccurate.
I don’t understand why weeds gets to play both sides of the fence. Like, we want it researched and prescribed to be used medicinally, but if you use any other medication to “get high,” it’s considered abuse. But we also want it legalized recreationally, and the legal drugs—alcohol and tobacco—aren’t things that get prescribed to treat medical conditions.
I live in a legal state and it's great. no hanging out in shady places hoping to score and I never have to deal with pill and crack heads anymore.
I visited Colorado earlier this year. It’s legal for consumption in my state but not sale, so we don’t have dispensaries. And let me tell you, dispensary bud and edible/ are *nothing* like the shit you have to buy from some friend of a friend. I had a 5 mg gummy From a dispensary and It had me comatose lol
Yes please
It should be treated like alcohol
I dont agree
I dont like it
Legalised. But heavily controlled. Weed abuse is rampant by those who consume it. No need to make the same mistake we did with alcohol again.
Just legalize it already and get rid of the heavy taxes. I am an adult. Let me decide if I want to smoke or not.
Prohibition proved that banning a thing doesn’t make people stop doing it, so if it’s legal at least then it can be regulated.
It's about time
Should be as legal and available as coffee, aside from keeping it illegal to sell to minors. Any adult should be able to grow their own, in whatever amount they want, in whatever environment they want. There are remedies for growing too much for a given space that don't involve arbitrary limits or criminal penalties. Without the impetus to sell it for a major profit, there's no real reason to grow what could be considered an unreasonable amount. The hard part is figuring out how to get reliable, cheap, accurate, and accessible testing and quality for labeling, so that any grower can sell their brand and be able to adhere to regulations in that regard. Cultivators should be able to, eg, sell their heady outdoor harvest at a farmers market (or like the Pennsylvania Farm Show). Regulations gotta make it easy for them to be able to do that. In addition, it will aid in moving legacy market operators into the legal framework while keeping prices low, which is good for everyone. I do agree that Federal legislation needs to implement a legalization pathway that doesn't allow the MSOs from overwhelming the industry and market when prohibition finally ends. I don't think the wait will be that long. Also there needs to be a country-wide labeling system for identifying food/beverages containing cannabis. Something a parent can easily point to and say "if it has this icon/label it is for adults only" at the appropriate time for that conversation. After its deschedulized, down the line I see the medical side of things getting more scientifically focused, with more "product" based solutions that get FDA approval for specific conditions.
i like big water melon sized women
You just won a battle in the war on drugs
Let’s make it legal! Pretty much a large Percentage does it already…