Legal pot

[Rye Miles #13621]

 Ohio joined 22 other states that have legal recreational pot. 
I voted no! I’m worried about people driving high. I’ve done it in the past long ago and it does hamper your reflexes!! Careful out there Ohioans!
 

[Cheatin Charlie]

It is still illegal under Federal law.  The last place I worked had random drug testing because we did government contracts.  Nothing has changed there.

[Forty Rod SASS 3935]

I have legal pots all over my house.  Never had any of the smoking kind.  Never saw any reason to screw up my already confused brain.

 

Did drink A LOT at one time.  Don't do that anymore, nor use tobacco any more either.

[Rye Miles #13621]

17 minutes ago, Cheatin Charlie said:

It is still illegal under Federal law.  The last place I worked had random drug testing because we did government contracts.  Nothing has changed there.

I know that’s pretty weird. I don’t know how the states get around that. 

[Still hand Bill]

1 hour ago, Rye Miles #13621 said:

I know that’s pretty weird. I don’t know how the states get around that. 

The feds said they would not enforce the law, so they just leave the state alone to enforce what they want.  In Colorado it’s “legal” on private property, but that has become very lax and I have watched people take a hit while driving when stopped at a light in the downtown.  Not a good situation imho.  

[Cheatin Charlie]

Do not forget form 4473 question 21 f

Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.

So unless the Feds change the wording it is still illegal to use pot the way I read it.

[Rye Miles #13621]

5 minutes ago, Cheatin Charlie said:

Do not forget form 4473 question 21 f

Are you an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.

So unless the Feds change the wording it is still illegal to use pot the way I read it.

My LGS told me that quite a few with medical marijuana cards have applied for firearms on the 4473 and answered NO to that question. They said the Feds don’t communicate with the states about state marijuana laws. Go figure! They all were okayed to buy a gun. 

[Texas Joker]

People who smoke pot do it if it's legal or not. Then they drive. 

 

Legal mj is a revenue generator. I expect to see a federal push for legality right before the next fed election. Gotta motivate the base.

 

Raised in state and never crosses state lines it's a 10a issue. Not the feds concern.

[Cypress Sun]

 

I'm pretty sure that "legal" pot is going to be on the Florida ballot next year. My intention is to vote for legalization for personal and medical use. 

 

The potheads already have plenty of access to illegal pot. You really can't drive anywhere around here, or park in a parking lot, without smelling it. The cops don't seem to care or just look the other way. Unlike alcohol abusers, the potheads don't seem to start fights, drive 80mph in a 25 zone or get rowdy/obnoxious...at least for the most part. I also think that it will take the Mexican pot cartel and illegal growers out of the equation, eliminating a source of income for them. Since it is so prevalent, the state might as well generate big revenue off of it. 

[irish ike, SASS #43615]

The thing is, pot back in the 60's was pretty tame stuff when compared to the hybred stuff of today.  Todays stuff is so strong you only have to intake a very small bit to get whacked out....So I'm told.

[bgavin]

My lodge brother drives for the USPS.
He says having a pot card here in CA will strip you of both your CCW and your Class-A license.

 

[Eyesa Horg]

4 minutes ago, bgavin said:

My lodge brother drives for the USPS.
He says having a pot card here in CA will strip you of both your CCW and your Class-A license.

 

When I was dealing with cancer a few years ago, my Oncologist wanted to give me a medical card for it to help with nausea. Told her I couldn't do it due to my playing with guns! Couldn't take the chance of being a liar on a 4473. She told me to grow my own, but don't buy any off the street!

[southparkslim]

Revenue generator?

Not one Colorado politician can tell you where this revenue is going, I was born in Colorado and have lived here all my life and since legalization ( 2000 for medical 

2012 for recreational) This state has never been in worse shape. Roads are nearly impossible to navigate because of POT holes, crime is at a all time HIGH, schools are falling apart, law enforcement moral is at a all time low, homeless encampments everywhere, all this the politicians promised would be taken care of with tax revenue if the voters would approve legalization.  Last election there was a new proposal to increase MJ taxes....it failed... instead Colorado voters legalized Psilocybin mushrooms  for medical (for now) and increase Real estate taxes. ..........................................just my two cents...............................................

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

People get bent about pot but turn a blind eye to alcohol. Both can be dangerous and addictive. 

[Rye Miles #13621]

9 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said:

People get bent about pot but turn a blind eye to alcohol. Both can be dangerous and addictive. 

Alcohol is bad enough, we don’t need another drug! Nothing we can do about alcohol, do you want prohibition again? Yea good luck with that!

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

I don’t want prohibition again, it didn’t work. What we have now is prohibition on pot. That’s been just as ineffective and created a market for organized crime like the 1920s.  
 

What bugs me is the hypocrisy. I’ve sat across the table from someone getting hammered with drinks while listening to a diatribe on the evils of pot. I don’t get that. 

[Gungadin]

I don't know a lot of the facts but it seems:

 

1) there is more of a negative connotation to being a pot head vs a drunk,  and if you drink status stuff it is even less looked down on than beer.

2) Pot has not been enforced, or selectively enforced for 40 years

3) Pot is better for unborn babies as best I can tell.  Fetal Alchohol Syndrome is bad.

4) Federal law still is that it is illegal but the Feds are allowing it to be a 'states rights' issue but the Justice department hasn't even taken a swing at it....unlike gun laws :-)

5) I've heard it it an entry drug, others say it isn't but logically it seems to me it must be for many but many stop at pot.

6) Testing positive makes you unhireable but they don't seem to have reasonable limits and it stays in the system longer than alcohol.  So the measurement doesn't seem equivalent.

7) I hear Amsterdam is a mess, they designate some drugs soft and a health issue and others hard but I'm not sure how criminal they consider the hard ones.  But they seem to prove that the soft ones are entry drugs for the harder ones.

8) IMO if you give or sell them to kids under some age you should be wrung up.  But that horse has been out of the barn for 3 years.

 

But what do I know,  I haven't tried it, don't care to, what if I liked it?

 

 

[Cypress Sun]

1 hour ago, southparkslim said:

Revenue generator?

Not one Colorado politician can tell you where this revenue is going, I was born in Colorado and have lived here all my life and since legalization ( 2000 for medical 

2012 for recreational) This state has never been in worse shape. Roads are nearly impossible to navigate because of POT holes, crime is at a all time HIGH, schools are falling apart, law enforcement moral is at a all time low, homeless encampments everywhere, all this the politicians promised would be taken care of with tax revenue if the voters would approve legalization.  Last election there was a new proposal to increase MJ taxes....it failed... instead Colorado voters legalized Psilocybin mushrooms  for medical (for now) and increase Real estate taxes. ..........................................just my two cents...............................................

 

"Not one Colorado politician can tell you where this revenue is going"?

Seriously? Is everyone too stoned to investigate? 

I wouldn't think that it would be too hard to conduct an audit to trace tax money from Federally prohibited drug sales conducted by the State of Colorado.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

A member of our family started drinking beer when he was twelve years old. Not long after, he was drinking distilled liquor. At 14, he was busted for pot. Over the following 25 years he graduated to every illicit drug imaginable, including heroin and meth. He’s clean now, but relapses have occurred. 
 

So my question is this - is beer a gateway drug?

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

I voted for it, not because it's a good idea but everybody gets it any way. With the law passed maybe the liberal pot heads will stay home next presidential election( I can dream can't I ?).  

[Cheatin Charlie]

The one good thing they did in Ohio is they made growing your own legal.  Why pay high prices for pot when you can grow your own?  

[Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619]

The stuff and everything that has flowed from it has been the curse of our time and generation[s] for over 50 years now.

 

Our cities are Pottervilles and we don't care. Pot shops everywhere; casinos too. Not a pretty picture anymore. Not to mention the other trash.

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

3 hours ago, southparkslim said:

Revenue generator?

Not one Colorado politician can tell you where this revenue is going, I was born in Colorado and have lived here all my life and since legalization ( 2000 for medical 

2012 for recreational) This state has never been in worse shape. Roads are nearly impossible to navigate because of POT holes, crime is at a all time HIGH, schools are falling apart, law enforcement moral is at a all time low, homeless encampments everywhere, all this the politicians promised would be taken care of with tax revenue if the voters would approve legalization.  Last election there was a new proposal to increase MJ taxes....it failed... instead Colorado voters legalized Psilocybin mushrooms  for medical (for now) and increase Real estate taxes. ..........................................just my two cents...............................................

Also from Colorado, been here 66 out of 67 years. When the legal pot laws were passed it was supposed to generate 2.2 Billion in tax revenue.  This was supposed to go towards infrastructure, roads, police and fire, schools (you know all the things politicians promise but do nothing but lie about).  Further it was supposed to pay down previous bonds and debt to reduce the future tax burden.

Twenty years later if any taxes have gone down I sure haven’t heard of them! In fact a current proposal would give politicians pretty much an open checkbook to do as they please along with the largest property tax increase in Colorado history! (It was failing this morning with 83% of the vote in at 61% opposed 39% in favor) but we have seen stranger stuff in the last three years!

On a side note as a small business owner once the legal dope came in we had to spend an incredible amount of time in the hiring process looking for good employees or deal later with failed drug tests, late/no shows and stoned employees stealing anything not nailed down to fund their B.S.
Bottom line there is not one positive thing worth the headaches of legal drugs!

Regards

    

Gateway Kid

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

2 hours ago, Cypress Sun said:

 

"Not one Colorado politician can tell you where this revenue is going"?

Seriously? Is everyone too stoned to investigate? 

I wouldn't think that it would be too hard to conduct an audit to trace tax money from Federally prohibited drug sales conducted by the State of Colorado.

Apparently it is to hard. 
Our state treasurer has been in the process of a “comprehensive” audit since 2021. He is a liberal democrat that our grifter governor thinks highly enough of to try to waive term limits on the position. Oh and BTW though we know nepotism doesn’t exist in politics his wife was appointed (not elected) to his previous state representative seat after his replacement unexpectedly retired less than a year after his election placing him in the treasury office.
Regards

    

Gateway Kid

[Still hand Bill]

There have been many side effects of “legal” pot in Colorado.  Homeless population tripled.  Real estate became distorted as growers looked for property.  Pot tourism is now a thing.  It uses a lot of water and energy.   Usage has gone up, I know several people who have taken it up as it’s now “legal”.  
 

From what I hear a lot is going out of state as the in state price is 1/4-1/3 of other illegal markets.   Even in state, the rec market is expensive and really just for tourists.   Locals still buy off the black market as it’s cheaper.  

[Capt. James H. Callahan]

It baffles me how states get away with this. MJ is still a Schedule 1 under Federal Law, just like heroin, LSD, etc. I'm not a lawyer or constitutional scholar, but I think there's something in there that says State Law cannot supersede Federal Law.

JHC

[Capt. James H. Callahan]

9 hours ago, Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life said:

Also from Colorado, been here 66 out of 67 years. When the legal pot laws were passed it was supposed to generate 2.2 Billion in tax revenue.  This was supposed to go towards infrastructure, roads, police and fire, schools (you know all the things politicians promise but do nothing but lie about).  Further it was supposed to pay down previous bonds and debt to reduce the future tax burden.

Twenty years later if any taxes have gone down I sure haven’t heard of them! In fact a current proposal would give politicians pretty much an open checkbook to do as they please along with the largest property tax increase in Colorado history! (It was failing this morning with 83% of the vote in at 61% opposed 39% in favor) but we have seen stranger stuff in the last three years!

On a side note as a small business owner once the legal dope came in we had to spend an incredible amount of time in the hiring process looking for good employees or deal later with failed drug tests, late/no shows and stoned employees stealing anything not nailed down to fund their B.S.
Bottom line there is not one positive thing worth the headaches of legal drugs!

Regards

    

Gateway Kid

We had the same thing in Texas and the lottery, oh yeah it's all going to fund schools. Yeah right. Where did all that money go? Every school in Texas is still screaming for more money, though there seems to be plenty of money for football. Every one horse town in Texas seems to have plenty of money for artificial turf in the HS stadium.

JHC

[Texas Joker]

Re lottery: the money went to school funds. The old money in the general funds for schools got re allocated elsewhere. 

 

Co pot money for estate article from 2021

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthoban/2021/05/23/the-success-of-colorados-marijuana-tax-dollars/?sh=40fc11cc529d

 

1.6 billion taxes collected. As of 2021 article.

 

You talk about homeless: social services for them has improved. $$ comes from somewhere.  Schools $$ scholarships $$  

 

Cash is being generated but is it being used well?

[Jack Spade]

My wife and I have rental properties in Missouri where recreational pot is legal.  We have to have a clause in our lease that bans the tenants from growing pot in our houses but they still do.  Just had one move out and one room had mold growing on the ceiling and the ceiling fan blades had "melted" because of the heat and humidity needed to grow the pot.  Also, you can't drive around town and not be assaulted by the smell of people smoking it.  Everywhere you go you can smell it.  I don't know how any companies can keep employees with that much pot smoking going on.  Have they totally done away with random drug testing? 

[Pat Riot]

I really don’t care. I think they should legalize all drugs. 
No more money spent on incarceration. 
Less money spent on fed and local police and DA’s. Their efforts can be directed towards more important crimes. 
Put a sales tax on it and use the money towards psychological health, not gun control. 
Those celebrating this may over indulge and take care of the problems of dealing with them. 
Could be a winning situation all around. 
This could also put Darwin’s theories back on track and separate the wheat from the chaff moving forward. 

 

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

On 11/8/2023 at 6:15 AM, Rye Miles #13621 said:

 Ohio joined 22 other states that have legal recreational pot. 
I voted no! I’m worried about people driving high. I’ve done it in the past long ago and it does hamper your reflexes!! Careful out there Ohioans!
 

The ones smoking weed, generally are driving high now anyway. The law turns a blind eye. At least in cities run by liberal Democrats, that also reframe vagrancy into a housing crisis- so the vagrants can "camp" and shit in the public spaces.

 

 

Decriminalization of petty theft cuts out the need for government middlemen to steal from businesses and taxpayers to support the "needy".

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

2 hours ago, Texas Joker said:

Cash is being generated but is it being used well?

As long as it is under government oversight, no. Not likely.

[Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474]

23 hours ago, Texas Joker said:

People who smoke pot do it if it's legal or not. Then they drive. 

 

Legal mj is a revenue generator. I expect to see a federal push for legality right before the next fed election. Gotta motivate the base.

 

Raised in state and never crosses state lines it's a 10a issue. Not the feds concern.

 

That's what got our Prime Minister elected here in Canada. I keep wondering what he'll promise to legalize for our next election, to motivate the "Woke"

[Dirty Dan Dawkins]

16 hours ago, Red Gauntlet , SASS 60619 said:

Our cities are Pottervilles......

 

 

Damn if that ain't the accurate truth.......

[bgavin]

The native populations would take their young into the woods and explain which biologicals could be eaten vs those that were harmful or fatal.
One could also take the religious view:  God gave Free Will to Man... what he does with it is up to him.

 

Homeless is not the product of pot.
Homeless is the product of lax law enforcement.
A case in point is Pacific Grove, CA where pot is legal, and bums are not.
No bums found there, because they won't tolerate it.  At all.

Crime is the direct result of lax law enforcement also.
Ask the American kid who spray painted graffiti in Singapore how well they tolerated that.

How many gun crimes would be committed if the perp knew with absolutely certain, that after being convicted of same, beyond ALL doubt, that he would be summarily executed?
As a firearm owner, I could most definitely live with that certainty.

The problems I see today are the direct result of 60+ years of Marxist indoctrination in the schools, which has made its was to the media, the courts, and the elected offices.  We have the problems because we want them (by voting).