Six Months After Legalizing Marijuana, Two Big Things Have Happened in Colorado

Mic.com ^ | 7/1/14 | Chris Miles

[Rebelbase]

$19 million in new tax revenue.

Marijuana-related arrests, which make up 50% of all drug-related crimes, have plummeted in Colorado, freeing up law enforcement to focus on other criminal activity. By removing marijuana penalties, the state saved somewhere between $12 million and $40 million in 2012, according to the Colorado Center on Law and Policy.

According to government data, the Denver city- and county-wide murder rate has dropped 52.9% since recreational marijuana use was legalized in January. This is compared to the same period last year, a time frame encompassing Jan. 1 through April 30.

[GeronL]

It is okay for companies to announce they will not hire Pot users, right?

[longtermmemmory]

sure, they already have companies that do not hire tobacco smokers.

[HiTech RedNeck]

As a believer in the salvation of Jesus Christ, I do not blame things in the perishing creation for evil. But again, pot is something that is very easy to use carelessly.

One problem with prolonged pot use is that the fat soluble THC lingers in the brain. The stupor does not completely end. Alcohol may cause damage but once it is metabolized it is gone. Maybe the lingering effect makes it good for pain relief. But it’s probably not a good idea to go about that way in ordinary life without a specific need for it.

[fr_freak]

ok legitimize adultery and infidelity goes away.

We don't put people in jail for adultery, and haven't for hundreds of years. Still a false analogy. And I'm all for socially shaming people into not doing drugs (or alcohol) but not jailing them.

[ConservingFreedom]

So should we re-ban alcohol, the "I" in the overwhelming majority of DUIs?

So because there is one set of drunks on the road, you think we should add more ways to put even more impaired drivers on the road?

If adding is bad, subtracting must be good. Again: So should we re-ban alcohol, the "I" in the overwhelming majority of DUIs?

[ConservingFreedom]

there is no 'gateway effect,' just an underlying propensity to alter one's mental state and/or engage in forbidden behaviors.

YES, pot is a gateway drug.

Most pot users do not go on to use other illegal drugs. And the use of alcohol or tobacco chronologically precedes the use of pot just as the use of pot chronologically precedes the use of other illegal drugs.

[ConservingFreedom]

One problem with prolonged pot use is that the fat soluble THC lingers in the brain. The stupor does not completely end.

Yes, the stupor ends - the miniscule rate at which the THC leaches back into the bloodstream is not enough to have any detectable or measurable effect.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It isn’t in the blood that THC does its thing; it’s in the brain.

Anecdotal evidence needn’t be accepted for this.

[ConservingFreedom]

pot that is correlated (we have zero proof of causality) to schizophrenia.

Recent research, posted on FRE, indicates that the linkage mechanism is: the genes that predispose one to schizophrenia also predispose one to pot use.

[HiTech RedNeck]

People prone to some forms of mental illness may be tempted to self treat with pot.

[ConservingFreedom]

a much much stronger drug now.

Which means only that a user needs to inhale less smoke to get the same effect - just like when a drinker switches from beer to liguor he reduces his volume intake.

[ConservingFreedom]

"FRE" --> FR

[HiTech RedNeck]

These things aren’t standardized, with the free-for-all. It might be weak ditch weed or it might be the strongest ganja in Mexico.

[Proud2BeRight]

Once the genie is out of a bottle it cannot be returned. Colorado now has two out with their full blessing. I suppose there are even dope lovers who would like to see many more. Like drunks, dope smokers are losers to be avoided in life.

[HiTech RedNeck]

FReeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, dooooooooooooooooooood

[ConservingFreedom]

It isn’t in the blood that THC does its thing; it’s in the brain.

Not in the fat cells of the brain. The fact remains that the miniscule rate at which the THC leaches back out of fat cells is not enough to have any detectable or measurable effect.

[ConservingFreedom]

Once the genie is out of a bottle it cannot be returned.

Over 40% of Americans have used pot - that genie is also out of the bottle.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It’s very easy to push pot smoking to the deleterious point. Where without any reason but the buzz, people are sacrificing their alertness.

But again it’s also very easy to push alcohol to the deleterious point too. Some people will probably switch from the bottle to the joint.

The answer is not in bans but in evangelism. If you believe God takes joy in your alertness, you won’t gratuitously dumb it down.

[ConservingFreedom]

These things aren’t standardized, with the free-for-all. It might be weak ditch weed or it might be the strongest ganja in Mexico.

That's the nature of black market goods - another good argument for relegalization.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Fat has a lot to do with the function of nerves. This is elementary biology. It is not some crackpot Reefer Madness theory.