[eye30]

As many as 30 stores around the state are expected to start selling the drug for recreational purposes from 1 January, dubbed Green Wednesday.

Colorado, along with Washington state, voted to legalise the use and possession of cannabis for people over the age of 21 in November 2012.

Washington is not expected to allow the sale of it until later in 2014.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-25566863

[Dazzler]

  I know thousands will use it if legal or not.. but still reckon it is a crazy move! Surely lots of law abiding citizens will now be encouraged to try it and many will get hooked!

I've never, even once tried the stuff but have had plenty of contact with those that have. For many it is just a stepping stone to worse drugs.

This combined with their gun laws = more carnage IMHO 

[Phil №❶]

As if their health system isn't burdened enough, already. What are they thinking.

[eye30]

Yes but think of the tax they will be pulling in from the sales.

Just another cash cow

But they have to also pay for medical care so a double wammy.

[FatBoy]

But Alcohol and Tobacco are legal drugs too, and much more damaging IMO.

Better to legalise it, and tax it, and control it's distribution than to keep it on the black market.

BTW, I have never tried cannabis, have only smoked the occasional cigar (once a year) and drink socially.

[Phil №❶]

I was going to mention that, but I expect that a lot will be home grown (as it already is now), so they may not get as much tax as 1st thought. I wonder where the 1st commercial farm will be and which company will be the 1st to grow it. Probably a newly formed company, based in Mexico, Trade name Kar-Tel.

[eye30]

, Trade name Kar-Tel.

Spiffing

Way out man.............

[FatBoy]

Probably get it from the same places where the medical cannabis is grown.  Cannabis has been used medically in the USA since 1996.

Medical cannabis in the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[AlanHo]

I have never been exposed to cannabis or any other drug (except cigarettes).

I don't know what it looks, smells or tastes like.

[Doggie 1]

I do, but have never had it.
Crazy, crazy move.

[Surferdude]

I can honestly say I have never felt the need for more excitement in my life, so no cigarettes, no drugs. Occasional alcohol but never (well maybe once - up on Magnetic Island) drunk.
I have always just apprciated the world around me.
With surfing, sailing catamarans and driving rally cars, I've had plenty of thrills and excitement in my life.
Is adrenalin a drug??

I must say I tend to agree that you'll never control drugs so maybe it's OK to legalise it. However, I suspect a money grab by the state governments.
Not suggesting the legalisation of hard drugs though.

BTW, I think it's grown legally for medical purposes in NSW.

[Asterix]

Isn't it better that the state get the money instead of all those gangsters that get the money now..?

All those poor bastards out there already hooked on it, can now get legally, maybe at a lower price so they don't have to commit all those burglaries and mess up your homes to get their cannabis.

Maybe there could even be some help offered at the sales places for those who really want out of it.

I did try to smoke cannabis once. What a boring experience. We laughed at anything for 2 hours, then I got very tired. Not smoked it since, much prefer a nice cold beer instead. 

At the end I think it's a difficult decision, there's pro's and con's for both yes & no.

[Ugly Mongrel]

John Denver - Rocky Mountain High (From "Around The World Live" DVD) - YouTube

[FatBoy]

He had a great voice.  I could listen to him sing all day (but I wouldn't get in an aircraft with him).

[Dazzler]

Colorado Rocky Mountain Highs (a prediction maybe!)

[Dazzler]

They've put an age restriction on this (which I posted before) 

But it seems to work when embedded on here.. 

"Should Be Legalized" Eminem - Love The Way You Lie Parody by Steve Berke -

[Doggie 1]

He had a great voice.  I could listen to him sing all day (but I wouldn't get in an aircraft with him).

I wouldn't get in a car with him either. He was a dope smoker.

[Doggie 1]

They've put an age restriction on this (which I posted before) 

But it seems to work when embedded on here.. 

I couldn't possibly go to bed with a woman who smokes.

I've just changed my mind.

[Dazzler]

Yes, she is hot (and has a great set of lungs voice too!) 

[Just Rick]

Now I'm not saying I have partaken in the use of Cannabis or not,but here is my spin on it.

The biggest opposers to this mild drug are dip shits that have never tried it,it is no more harmful than the Alcohol many people let their kids experience,or the copious amounts some others drink.

Then there are the same people who also say,Oh! this leads to heavier drugs,Bull S*#t,I have seen many people become discontented with the effects of alcohol and then turn to drugs,so the leading to hard drugs is an empty argument.

Biggest two killers too society worldwide are two legalised drugs,Alcohol and Tobacco,these two alone are responsible for far more Deaths worldwide,than most illegal drugs,then there is the family abuse,spousal abuse,the car accidents(yes I know this can happen also with drug users) the continual street violence,biggest contributor to all of these is Alcohol.

For medicinal purposes I  do not have an issue,it is no different to the medicinal Morphine,I use for severe pain(as long as I am not going to work within 48 hrs) or the refined heroin which is in many of the prescribed pain killers we can sometimes be given by  our doctors.

[Dazzler]

Gee, never been called a dip shit and a bull shit artist in the one post before 

I'll stick with my opinion though as I have been fairly close to someone who started on pot and then got a liking for something stronger which very nearly killed them.

Tobacco and Cigarettes being legal sure did a lot to reduce their use... If cannabis becomes as freely available as those two then there will be 3 things to cause spousal abuse, accidents etc...

[Phil №❶]

  

[Just Rick]

I'll stick with my opinion though as I have been fairly close to someone who started on pot and then got a liking for something stronger which very nearly killed them.

People who turn to hard drugs already have a predisposition to addiction of something which will give them a bigger longer high(buzz if you wish to call it that) ANY mind altering substance could have triggered their addiction to harder drugs and it does not take all that many years to go downhill.

As stated I have known Many people who went fro Alcohol to hard drugs,I have seen many of them die,also seen many who also seen the light before it was too late and asked for help,sadly it does not matter what anyone has to say to them,until they see the light,they will not change,some try to change to late and others do see the light live their lives one day at a time and try to help others with their addictions.

Yes legalising it is not going to help,but it is not the only mind altering substance which leads to hard drugs and IMHO is less harmful than Alcohol, maybe we should all be pushing for banning Alcohol and Tobacco as well and this along with not legalising Pot will help solve many problems

[AlanHo]

One way of cutting down on drug taking would be for the government to make it compulsory.  There would then be a mass exodus from drug taking in protest   .

[asathorny]

The real danger with drugs, not cannabis, is the amount of addatives the crooks add to them to make more delicious fresh money from their punters, for example iron fillings, talcum powder, crushed aspirin all of which damage the human body, especially when taken IV.

In the UK, and in Ozz I'll be bound, Laudanum (Opium) was quite legal till very recently.  In fact child minders used have a roaring trade minding loads of kids whilst their mothers slaved in the mills, as soon as the kids arrived they gave them a spoon full of dope      There was no great threat of people dying due to the dope, they did of course die, usually of starvation and various complications thereto related.  The dope they bought at the chemist shop was not contaminated with all sorts of unusual packing out compounds, it was pure.

So legalising all drugs would in fact make the drugs SAFER to use as they would be dispensed by a chemist, not some criminal down the street whom could give slightly less than a shit about safety.

The argument the that cannabis is a GATEWAY drug to the hard stuff is nonsense, that would be akin to saying that beer is a GATEWAY drug (and it is a drug) to the hard stuff like whiskey and moonshine. 

To further explain why it is a nonsense argument, if it had any credibility then by now all of Amsterdam should now be shooting up tons of H every day as it has been legal there for years and years.  In fact the incidence of drug related crime has fallen and the usage has not risen at all 

My two cents worth.

   

[Phil №❶]

They used Laudanum in Hornblower, too. 

[Ugly Mongrel]

The real danger with drugs, not cannabis, is the amount of addatives the crooks add to them to make more delicious fresh money from their punters, for example iron fillings, talcum powder, crushed aspirin all of which damage the human body, especially when taken IV.

In the UK, and in Ozz I'll be bound, Laudanum (Opium) was quite legal till very recently.  In fact child minders used have a roaring trade minding loads of kids whilst their mothers slaved in the mills, as soon as the kids arrived they gave them a spoon full of dope      There was no great threat of people dying due to the dope, they did of course die, usually of starvation and various complications thereto related.  The dope they bought at the chemist shop was not contaminated with all sorts of unusual packing out compounds, it was pure.

So legalising all drugs would in fact make the drugs SAFER to use as they would be dispensed by a chemist, not some criminal down the street whom could give slightly less than a shit about safety.

The argument the that cannabis is a GATEWAY drug to the hard stuff is nonsense, that would be akin to saying that beer is a GATEWAY drug (and it is a drug) to the hard stuff like whiskey and moonshine. 

To further explain why it is a nonsense argument, if it had any credibility then by now all of Amsterdam should now be shooting up tons of H every day as it has been legal there for years and years.  In fact the incidence of drug related crime has fallen and the usage has not risen at all  :goodjob:NJ

My two cents worth.

   

And what a great two cents worth too, Asa. Well said words of wisdom.

[Ugly Mongrel]

I'll stick with my opinion though as I have been fairly close to someone who started on pot and then got a liking for something stronger which very nearly killed them.

People who turn to hard drugs already have a predisposition to addiction of something which will give them a bigger longer high(buzz if you wish to call it that) ANY mind altering substance could have triggered their addiction to harder drugs and it does not take all that many years to go downhill.

As stated I have known Many people who went fro Alcohol to hard drugs,I have seen many of them die,also seen many who also seen the light before it was too late and asked for help,sadly it does not matter what anyone has to say to them,until they see the light,they will not change,some try to change to late and others do see the light live their lives one day at a time and try to help others with their addictions.

Yes legalising it is not going to help,but it is not the only mind altering substance which leads to hard drugs and IMHO is less harmful than Alcohol, maybe we should all be pushing for banning Alcohol and Tobacco as well and this along with not legalising Pot will help solve many problems

Well said Rick. I couldn't agree more.

[bumpkin]

Legalising "softer" drugs is something I can see both sides of, for all the reasons outlined more eloquently than I could above, IMO (IF) the revenues raised are poured back into the system to pay for treatment of addicts (who are often in that place through no fault of their own, they are on the spiral due to the greed of the underground dealers) then perhaps that is a good thing.  The ongoing costs to the British system of replacement therapy is huge and we have all seen the addicts standing in queue at the pharmacy for their Methodone which would appear to be just as addictive, if not more so than whatever it is they are trying to be weaned off!


HOWEVER

Legalisation of ANYTHING results in it being less "exciting" as already suggested by tobacco and alcohol, so where does it stop?  Legalise the weaker stuff and unfortunately I think we would be in the route of legalising everything in order to bring it all "above ground". Society (or elements of it) historically has always been persuaded to try the illegal and therefore there will be somebody creating something in the wings ready to ensure that the underground black market will continue, if the users are no longer stealing to get their fix, then the dealers (who are already criminals remember) will have to resort to further criminality in order to feed the greed they have become accustomed to.

Lose/Lose situation??

[Ugly Mongrel]

Legalising "softer" drugs is something I can see both sides of, for all the reasons outlined more eloquently than I could above, IMO (IF) the revenues raised are poured back into the system to pay for treatment of addicts (who are often in that place through no fault of their own, they are on the spiral due to the greed of the underground dealers) then perhaps that is a good thing.  The ongoing costs to the British system of replacement therapy is huge and we have all seen the addicts standing in queue at the pharmacy for their Methodone which would appear to be just as addictive, if not more so than whatever it is they are trying to be weaned off!


HOWEVER

Legalisation of ANYTHING results in it being less "exciting" as already suggested by tobacco and alcohol, so where does it stop?  Legalise the weaker stuff and unfortunately I think we would be in the route of legalising everything in order to bring it all "above ground". Society (or elements of it) historically has always been persuaded to try the illegal and therefore there will be somebody creating something in the wings ready to ensure that the underground black market will continue, if the users are no longer stealing to get their fix, then the dealers (who are already criminals remember) will have to resort to further criminality in order to feed the greed they have become accustomed to.

Lose/Lose situation??

A very thoughtful comment, Bumpkin. Well said.