HAPPY O'CANNIBIS DAY

[Flanker]

My entire career was in Law Enforcement/Criminal Justice/high risk security. Since the beginning I've favored legalizing all drugs; needless to say; that was/is a minority opinion in those circles.

The entire anti drug thrust of US LE, PSAs, and such is 180 degrees off base. This is not a supply side issue. There is no large scale buggy whip smuggling, or usage in the US (well................except for that vicious Amish Gang) for a reason. No demand for them.

Eliminate the demand for drugs (I AM NOT advocating this) and there won't be any smuggling etc.

The two projects I worked on in Afghanistan were two of the three legs of a tripartite counter narcotics program. Billions later---drug production, refining, and smuggling are as rampant as ever (see above).

In any event after decades of failed efforts at the cost to the tax payer/s of untold billions--drug usage is as common, or more so than ever.

As everyone knows---doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result is the definition of sanity.

[wyliec]

Just my thoughts. Any ideas, concerns thoughts , ideas ???

Yeah, transfer this to the Off Topic forum.

[Pirate looks at --]

Bob, all use is medical! It depends on what you are trying to treat!

[seaweed]

https://kdvr.com/2018/10/19/studies-...nal-marijuana/

WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the probable cause of a crash that killed 12 people on a church bus near Concan, Texas, in March 2017 was that the 20-year-old man whose truck hit the bus was under the influence of marijuana and a sedative.
.
.
.
The first study found that crashes are up as much as 6 percent in Colorado, Washington and Oregon, compared with neighboring states that haven’t legalized recreational use of weed.

[Rick H.]

I too was in law enforcement for the better part of 30 years and I arrested untold numbers of people for illegal drug and alcohol use. I also on occasion arrested prostitutes for committing illegal sex acts. Legalizing marijuana in many states has done nothing but let the genie out of the bottle so to speak and there will be no going back no matter what the overall results are. All the hoopla about using the tax money for any number of projects hasn't panned out at all. The money from pot tax is going somewhere, but just where is the question. As usual the tax payers were simply sold another bill of goods and promises that haven't come true. Those people that live in pot legal states haven't seen their taxes go down, or their roads and bridges being repaired at an increased rate, so just where is this tax windfall being spent???


For all the hype about legalizing marijuana use and its benefits there are also downsides. Vehicular crashes are up involving impaired drivers and enforcement of illegal drug and alcohol use is more difficult. Arresting someone for driving under the influence of alcohol versus driving under the influence of marijuana is not the same. For right now everyone is on the bandwagon for legalizing marijuana use and I can understand why. We spent and continue to spend billions of tax dollars on fighting illegal drug use, manufacture and importation and it's as bad today as it has ever been, but is the answer really simply to legalize and tax it? Will this help those injured or worse in crashes involving someone who used legal pot, but couldn't keep themselves from operating a motor vehicle? I suppose we will find out after a few years and a few needless deaths. Desiring marijuana or a derivative of it for medical use is one thing and can be controlled via prescription by a doctor. Wanting marijuana or substance there of for recreational use where you can simply walk into an outlet and buy it is totally different.

If taxing drug use is the ultimate answer perhaps we should simply tax all drug use and why not prostitution too? Then we can turn this country into one big giant Woodstock! That way when your run over and killed by someone stoned on marijuana you won't know what's happened until it's all over because you'll be stoned too! Safe travels...…..

Rick H.

[SPYDERGUY1]

Jerry Baumchen[/QUOTE]

Yes Jerry B. I know the dealer man does not charge tax on a sale but the govt. surely does and as someone mentioned already, that tax money is going somewhere to somebody and not doing anything for the infrastructure in any way shape or form, yet they just keep raising tax's to pay for stuff like that. Go figure.

[SPYDERGUY1]

For those that have been offended by the original post in SPYDER GENERAL DISCUSSION, and think it should be in the OFF TOPIC section, please forgive me, however there seems to be some activity on the GENERAL DISCUSSION relating to this topic.

[jaherbst]

The sad part of all of this is people who smoke pot, take hard drugs prescription or not, drink excessivly cannot cope or handle life’s challenges without it.
Doesn’t say much for our society does it!
As far as “medical weed” is concerned There is so much corruption involved it’s a sham and cover up here in Arizona. I would much prefer a Doctor and a prescription that is better controlled. JMO

JACK

[canamjhb]

The sad part of all of this is people who smoke pot, take hard drugs prescription or not, drink excessivly cannot cope or handle life’s challenges without it.
Doesn’t say much for our society does it!
As far as “medical weed” is concerned There is so much corruption involved it’s a sham and cover up here in Arizona. I would much prefer a Doctor and a prescription that is better controlled. JMO



JACK

Jack, I agree with you. There is a sign in Payson, AZ advertising prescription marijuana for $$$$$. Been there a few years now..... Who do you suppose the advertisement is intended for.....?

[kbwitt]

The sad part of all of this is people who smoke pot, take hard drugs prescription or not, drink excessivly cannot cope or handle life’s challenges without it.
Doesn’t say much for our society does it!
As far as “medical weed” is concerned There is so much corruption involved it’s a sham and cover up here in Arizona. I would much prefer a Doctor and a prescription that is better controlled. JMO

JACK

Hi Jack the only side effects of weed is if you take too much you might get higher than you wanted to, calm down nothing is going to happen and it will pass fast. The drugs prescribed by doctors have so many side effects, like if you feel suicidal you should probably stop using and consult your doctor. DAH!
They destroy your kidneys and liver .
WEED : If you smoke or vape it effects are short term, if you use edibles your liver turns it into 11 hydroxy that can give a nice very long lasting effects.
Jack please next time it comes to a vote in AZ please vote yes, arthritis is very painful , plus many other medical and recreational uses with zero calories. I have been AA since 1985 it is nice now I can get a buzz with no addiction, I might use it every day for 3 days and not again for a week or longer. Last thing no black outs like alchoal.
Weed users feel vote how you want and feel , we still are friends .
Kenn

[Orange Spyder Man]

According to the statistics ... Colorado recently approved the use of weed, dope, or what ever you want to call it... their highway accident statistics increased dramatically since they allowed the use of weed, dope .. …

It would not surprise me ……….if government will start allowing murder as long as you pay a tax..

[Geep]

Hi from Canada, word on the street is that legal pot is much more expensive than street pot.

[Firefly]

You may want to review research on the traffic crash trends in states that have legalized marijuana use as well as literature on the trends of adolescent cannabis use. Then review the research on the long term health effects early cannabis use has on the structure and function of the adolescent brain. Personally, I find motorcycling among the general public challenging enough without more stoned drivers on the road. But, that's just me.

No one is advocating making weed legal for minors.
Those 'stoned drivers' have been on the road your whole life.
Texting and driving causes more accidents than anything else.
Those on legal opioids should scare you more than potheads....
Pot is far less toxic and dangerous to the human body and brain than alcohol.

Driving or riding under the influence is a bad idea no matter what the substance.. Nyquil, pot, alcohol, etc.....

[Firefly]

According to the statistics ... Colorado recently approved the use of weed, dope, or what ever you want to call it... their highway accident statistics increased dramatically since they allowed the use of weed, dope .. …

It would not surprise me ……….if government will start allowing murder as long as you pay a tax..

No.. they didn't increase 'dramatically', nor has it been proven that the correlation equals causation.

[Firefly]

The sad part of all of this is people who smoke pot, take hard drugs prescription or not, drink excessivly cannot cope or handle life’s challenges without it.
Doesn’t say much for our society does it!
As far as “medical weed” is concerned There is so much corruption involved it’s a sham and cover up here in Arizona. I would much prefer a Doctor and a prescription that is better controlled. JMO

JACK

Oxycontin is causing more problems than ANY other drug.. legal or illegal ever has in the USA. Once people get cut off they turn to street heroin.
Pot? Not so much. People all around you use it and I bet you don't even know they do.... been this way for decades.

Certainly anything can be abused, but I've seen first hand medical use that is flat out amazing.

Our 14 year old autistic daughter had a horrible seizure where she went blue and stopped breathing for 4 minutes. Scariest moment of my life, doing CPR trying to bring her back. She came back just before the EMT's showed up. Typical anti-seizure medication has horrible side effects and is damaging to other parts of the body.
She's been on a mix of high CBD oil and lower THC for almost a year, has not had a single seizure since. Her mood and anger issues have also been much better, teachers noticing a huge difference in her behavior, etc.

So what you call a sham and cover-up, we call a miracle.

[Firefly]

I too was in law enforcement for the better part of 30 years and I arrested untold numbers of people for illegal drug and alcohol use. I also on occasion arrested prostitutes for committing illegal sex acts. Legalizing marijuana in many states has done nothing but let the genie out of the bottle so to speak and there will be no going back no matter what the overall results are. All the hoopla about using the tax money for any number of projects hasn't panned out at all. The money from pot tax is going somewhere, but just where is the question. As usual the tax payers were simply sold another bill of goods and promises that haven't come true. Those people that live in pot legal states haven't seen their taxes go down, or their roads and bridges being repaired at an increased rate, so just where is this tax windfall being spent???


For all the hype about legalizing marijuana use and its benefits there are also downsides. Vehicular crashes are up involving impaired drivers and enforcement of illegal drug and alcohol use is more difficult. Arresting someone for driving under the influence of alcohol versus driving under the influence of marijuana is not the same. For right now everyone is on the bandwagon for legalizing marijuana use and I can understand why. We spent and continue to spend billions of tax dollars on fighting illegal drug use, manufacture and importation and it's as bad today as it has ever been, but is the answer really simply to legalize and tax it? Will this help those injured or worse in crashes involving someone who used legal pot, but couldn't keep themselves from operating a motor vehicle? I suppose we will find out after a few years and a few needless deaths. Desiring marijuana or a derivative of it for medical use is one thing and can be controlled via prescription by a doctor. Wanting marijuana or substance there of for recreational use where you can simply walk into an outlet and buy it is totally different.

If taxing drug use is the ultimate answer perhaps we should simply tax all drug use and why not prostitution too? Then we can turn this country into one big giant Woodstock! That way when your run over and killed by someone stoned on marijuana you won't know what's happened until it's all over because you'll be stoned too! Safe travels...…..

Rick H.

When drunk driving deaths reached a certain level, we fought back with tougher laws and education.. and drunk driving accidents and deaths went down.
Same will happen with pot... which people have already been using forever.. it's just now out in the open. It's illegal to be under the influence of ANY substance that can impede your ability to drive. Oxycontin while driving should be a bigger concern than pot.....

Texting and driving causes far more accidents than DUI related ones do...…

[Firefly]

Gene,

Michigan has recreational legalization on the ballot; expect that it will pass. We, in michigan, will be allowed 12 plant per person. Course we don't have as good of growing conditions as you do, already three hard frosts for the year.

Al in Kazoo

Amen brother.....

We'll be legal in Michigan soon..... this could be as big or bigger than the craft beer industry.

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

When drunk driving deaths reached a certain level, we fought back with tougher laws and education.. and drunk driving accidents and deaths went down.
Same will happen with pot... which people have already been using forever.. it's just now out in the open. It's illegal to be under the influence of ANY substance that can impede your ability to drive. Oxycontin while driving should be a bigger concern than pot.....

Texting and driving causes far more accidents than DUI related ones do...…

SO true but we can't just let it happen because of something else that happens. you may not think it's wrong to get
run off the road by someone who is high on weed but i don't want it to be me. those who want to smoke it, well fine
by me i just want stricter enforcement when you get behind a wheel and you are very right about those who text &
drive. again tougher law on all of it to keep these people off the road.

[asp125]

You know the genie isn't going back into the lamp.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ca...ake-2018-08-15

US Constellation Brands is investing $5Billion CDN into Canadian cannabis company Canopy, and may eventually buy all of it. Shares up 30%. Who is Constellation Brands? Ever hear of Modelo and Corona Beer?

Also, Imperial Brands (aka Imperial Tobacco) investing $13.1Million in UK Cannabinoid Technologies

There's money to be made, just as it was with tobacco and alcohol. The upside is that non-intoxicating marijuana derived products such as CBD and hemp might finally rid themselves of the wrongful stigma that they don't deserve.

[Joe T.]

My entire career was in Law Enforcement/Criminal Justice/high risk security. Since the beginning I've favored legalizing all drugs; needless to say; that was/is a minority opinion in those circles.

The entire anti drug thrust of US LE, PSAs, and such is 180 degrees off base. This is not a supply side issue. There is no large scale buggy whip smuggling, or usage in the US (well................except for that vicious Amish Gang) for a reason. No demand for them.

Eliminate the demand for drugs (I AM NOT advocating this) and there won't be any smuggling etc.

The two projects I worked on in Afghanistan were two of the three legs of a tripartite counter narcotics program. Billions later---drug production, refining, and smuggling are as rampant as ever (see above).

In any event after decades of failed efforts at the cost to the tax payer/s of untold billions--drug usage is as common, or more so than ever.

As everyone knows---doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result is the definition of sanity.

I couldn't agree with you more!!!

My wife is a retired Pharmacist. When we lived back in Texas (early 1980s), she worked in a large hospital in Ft. Worth. This facility did a lot of eye and sinus 'work' (surgery). They used 100% pure, pharmaceutical grade

cocaine. They bought it in 1 oz. bottles.

Do you know what the retail price, through the high mark-up (well over 1000%) pharmaceutical chain, was back in the early 1980s?


Guess!

Guess again!!








Remember, in those days one ounce of pure coke had a street value of over $1,000









OK, guess one more time.

































$36!!!!



If drugs were legal, there wouldn't be any other than those necessary for normal medical uses. No one would be standing outside of a school trying to sell a 'Nickel Bag' is the stuff actually sold for 5 cents!!!!



More importantly, a true conservative has really only one core 'value.'

BE ACCOUNTABLE. That covers about everything.

Be accountable for ALL of your actions. YOU are responsible for making the decision as to whether or not you use drugs. It ain't my decision, or the government's decision. It is YOURS!!!

I really don't care if you OD. You did it to yourself! It's not like catching the flu, cancer, etc.

It ain't my job to pay for your hospital bills, incarceration costs, etc. Also, it will help clean up the gene pool.

Let's save those dollars for the folks who really need help and are trying to live a decent, productive life.


Joe T.

[wyliec]

Joe T.,

I agree, the individual is responsible for their actions. But, I remember a thread in the not so distance past on here. It was about drs. over prescribing opioids which led to (supposed) dependency. In other words, it was not the patient's fault for their chemical dependency, but the drs. Okay, now back to the original topic of weed.

[Bob Denman]

[JerryB]

Hi folks,

It was just on my evening news. Oregon received $20 million in pot taxes in 2016 & $82 million in 2018 so far.

Jerry Baumchen

[mcan1x]

Hi folks,

It was just on my evening news. Oregon received $20 million in pot taxes in 2016 & $82 million in 2018 so far.

Jerry Baumchen

And as a teacher, my wife got the best raise she's ever had partially because of it.

[mxz600]