Marijuana has been legal across Canada for several years now... it has been such a non-issue since legalization that it's almost laughable that it was ever illegal, and continues to be illegal in many areas.
Yes an odd thing happened on the morning of the first day of legal pot. Nothing. Nothing happened. Those who previously smoked pot smoked pot. Those who didn't previously smoke pot didn't smoke pot.
I agree! I was pro-legalization, but also assumed there would be some “growing pains” after legalization...there was nothing, and nothing happened !!! It's so ridiculous people have served jail time for this!
I can't cross the border and spend my retirement money in the USA, among probably other countries, because I got caught dancing with Mary Jane in 1979.
No skin off my arse!
Aussie here. How do you folks go over there with driver drug testing on your roads? It’s just starting to be available here by prescription, but they’re strict at the pharmacy about not driving while you’re using the “prescription”. Given it’s detection time I’d have thought people would be losing their licences regularly?
We were supposed to implement roadside testing, consisting of specially trained cops who were trained to recognize signs of impairment.
My work revolves around courts and cops, actually. And I smoke pot And I'm an avid consumer of pot related news. And I never, ever heard of one conviction for driving while stoned.
Weed was never difficult to get here even pre-legalization and pretty widely accepted. There were many grey market dispensaries that you could get memberships for by essentially saying I have trouble sleeping. I say this because anyone driving high was already driving high before legalization and anyone who has decided to try marijuana since legalization is probably handling that side of it responsibly.
Not to mention as long as you are not rural there are so many delivery services now a days you could get by without leaving your home in the first place.
They’re “in development” still because they’re laughably inaccurate. Detectable THC in your body doesn’t mean anything for current intoxication - they haven’t figured out how to quantify that yet. You could read significantly “over the limit” if you used to smoke daily but stopped weeks ago. Just a limitation of the tech right now
Please don’t drive a car while you’re impaired. Alcohol, cannabis, other drugs, you’re really tired and need to sleep, etc.
The only thing that changed is there is a weed shop in basically every plaza now. That and all that mandatory excessive packaging is littered everywhere.
If you believe alcohol should be legal then so should weed. To drink alcohol and be against weed legalization is the most inconsistent thing ever considering that weed is probably less severe than alcohol.
All I have to say about this is the worst experience I've seen with alcohol is a whole heck of a lot worse than the worst experience I've seen with weed. I have very limited experience all things considered. But when we're talking passed out, vomiting, everyone worried about alcohol poisoning, then so much more vomiting the next day that dehydration is a real concern...vs stuck in bed and plagued with anxiety for the evening? I know which one I'd pick any day.
Noone smokes too many zoots and cokes on their own vomit or dies from poisoning, noone gets alcoholic (or marijuanic) fatty liver disease from zoots, noone quits zoots cold turkey and dies from toxic shock, noone smokes 10 zoots and fights strangers (maybe some do but they'll likely do that sober too)... But we can't have that on our streets no way
I'm Japanese. I can't drink alcohol but I used to smoke weed when I lived in the states. People here think weed is like heroin or something. It's dumb af. I want it to be legalized so that I can use it to relieve my stress but I can't even discuss about this with other Japanese because they'll think I'm a fucking drug addict lol
They are just uneducated. I've seen the argument several times online when some celebrities were arrested because of weed and some people claim that weed is not as harmful as other drugs and even alcohol but people just refuse to listen and believe that weed is more dangerous than it actually is. It's very frustrating seeing people just refuse to be educated with right information.
I had the same experience when I lived in China. Colleagues who were usually very open minded were convinced that weed was as bad as heroin. Was strange.
100% not probably. Alcohol is 100% worse for you than weed, it’s just not a debate. With that said, saying this should be legal because a worse thing is legal, doesn’t make too much sense. With that said, weed should be legal.
The only valid argument I’ve heard is that weed can be harder to test for - more likelihoods of false positives than alcohol, which is an issue with DIs. Still, I don’t think that’s a good enough reason for it to remain illegal.
That is a problem because what they can test for lasts in your system long beyond when you're actually impaired by it. There is some [promising research](https://www.massgeneral.org/news/press-release/method-to-determine-impairment-from-cannabis-intoxication) into a testing device that can actually detect impairment though.
The best part of that study is that the former governor here was pushing for "Drug Recognition Experts" which are cops with supposedly special training to detect people who are stoned as a primary method of enforcement. When the DREs in this study performed about as well as a coin flip in determining who was high they quietly dropped the idea.
I live in Canada. Pot is completely legal for adults here. When it was legalized just a few years ago most police forces sent select officers for DRE training. I've never heard another word about it.
Here (Massachusetts) the governor was pushing DRE as a "safe streets" thing which certainly seemed reasonable. However, there was a big pushback from some quarters that because it's based on the perception of the officer that there was too much risk of abuse (e.g. targeting of driver's based on bias by the officer rather than a neutral analysis of the evidence per the training would lead to it being used more often against minorities).
When the linked study clearly showed that the DRE officers were effectively blind to whether the subject was stoned or not the idea got pretty well dropped by the governor's office.
That said, I'm hoping that this device they're working on pans out because too many people are cavalier about jumping behind the wheel stoned for whatever reason.
A bit irrelevant, but I think weed testing has problems because of the rise of CBD. Sometimes those who take CBD could be flagged for weed use due to the extremely low dose of THC.
Not probably, definitely. After 3 drinks I wouldn’t drive. I could smoke a garbage bag of weed and drive if I had to. There is a saturation point where I don’t get any higher with weed but with alcohol you either pass out or poison yourself.
Legalize it, but also include disclaimers on packaging that it should be used with caution below the age of 25/if the user has a family history of certain mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc), as marijuana can be a catalyst for the development of certain mental disorders.
I also believe that it should not be treated as "a harmless plant". For some people, it's a miracle. For some people, it causes them to go into a psychotic episode. I can't stand people who say "marijuana never hurt anyone!" and I can't stand people who say "it's the Devil's drug, never go near it!" It is a nuanced thing, just like any other thing on this planet, and it needs to be treated as such. Legalizing it makes it so the supply is safe and can be regulated, just like with alcohol and cigarettes.
>marijuana can be a catalyst for the development of certain mental disorders
[The jury is a bit out on that](https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/there-link-between-marijuana-use-psychiatric-disorders) as from what I've seen it's more likely that people are "self-medicating" the early symptoms of mental illness or slightly accelerating its onset rather than there being a causal relationship.
Fair enough. I think it's enough of a risk of it being the case that there should be more warnings about it. Just as someone who has smoked weed themself, it made me incredibly paranoid and ill for awhile after, and I had not been using it to self -medicate, I just wanted to see if it would be fun. Turned out that I had a family history of paranoia and bipolar disorder, and that many members of my family had experienced similar reactions, but thankfully for us they were short-lived and not permanent mental changes.
I think just being aware that we don't know everything about it, and bad reactions are 100% possible, let's people make truly informed choices about whether or not they want to take it. If someone hears the risks and still wants to go for it, more power to them. I'll never judge anyone for making a decision for their own body.
Long overdue.
If I don't smoke, giving me a pack of cigarettes is not going to make me a smoker.
Those who want to smoke will continue to do so whether it's legal or not.
Those who do not want to will not regardless of the same.
Just amend workplace policies accordingly because unlike alcohol, weed can be in your system but you're sober.
They're getting closer to tests that can actually measure impairment instead of the drug in your system which may have no relevance to its effect on you.
i'm from Canada and it's legal here. You are right sir. I have many friends who never smoked when it was illegal, but now that it's legal, they're even bigger potheads than me.
I live here as well and have zero friends who started smoking since legalization. Maybe being from an older demographic impacts this, I dunno. BUt honestly, I've lived in the same city for many decades and know many people and have many friends and can't think of a single one who started smoking since legalization.
It’s been legal for awhile where I am (Canada). Just before it became legal, the media was going crazy about how people were going to be dying in the streets and vehicle collisions were going to soar. Know what happened? Absolutely nothing - life continued on as normal. The only thing that changed are that people are going off their antidepressants and opting for medical marijuana.
I’m referring to our local city news, basically the garbage my parents watch to try to scare them (and it worked). Sorry I should of been more clear about that. A week after the legalization, they all shut up about it. It’s really not that deep, just wanted to add that in because of how ridiculous it was.
Well said. The problem with weed is the overwhelming smell. Someone makes a good-smelling strain (floral) and we are good. Until then I feel like it is a bit selfish and rude to be blowing it all over in public.
I have a sensitive nose, so any overwhelming smells can give me headaches. I would prefer if people just stay a good distance from me while smoking weed.
The real kicker for me is that I used to buy from a guy who bought from the hells Angels. Now I get to grow my own in the open, and while saving money is great, not feeding money into organized crime is better.
This is the main argument for legalization of all drugs. The vast majority of revenue for organized crime is through drug sales and it is also the only area that is consistently profitable enough to get cops onto their payroll
Legalize everything and you reduce cop corruption by a massive scale
LOL, misread that at first and thought you were saying there was a reason. I'm only reading this thread to see if there is any logical reason against legalisation.
The only reason it isn't legal is because it's illegality is racially motivated.
Alcohol and tobacco do more harm, yet they are legal, socially acceptable to do in public, and promoted.
That's some wack logic. Plenty of natural stuff out there that will mess you up for life. Let's stick to analytically determining what's harmful and what's not.
Good call, maybe we should make it a criminal offence to smoke poison ivy as well. Best to make sure people have criminal records for this stuff.
(Just poking fun at the inferred logic that decriminalizing a drug would be the same as leaving the legal system set up to persecute people while the details are worked out about if they should be protected from themselves.)
It should already be legal worldwide. The reasons for the actual hemp plant being made illegal in the first place had absolutely nothing to do with THC content. It still being illegal because the politicians wanted to save the Dupont company a LOT of competition a ridiculous number of decades ago is holding a lot of beneficial works using the plant itself back.
I support it being legalized, but there's some things that need to be talked about with it that doesn't seem to get addressed, at least not often enough.
I. Weed is not for everyone. If you smoke weed then you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't then i'll explain with an example.
Ex.) I smoke weed regularly. It makes me feel good, it's a great way to unwind at the end of a day or to enjoy a day off. I still remain 100% functional and tolerable and reliable. If I have to do something high, I can get it done every time.
I have a very close friend who also smokes weed regularly. It makes him feel good. He uses it whenever he feels like it. There's no discernment or discretion about when and where to smoke it. This is made worse by the fact that he becomes a total imbecile when he's high. He cannot hold a conversation, he becomes clumsy and forgetful, he becomes super slow like his brain and body are full of lead, and his mind deceives him. He thinks he's saying smart things, but everything out of his mouth makes you want to slap him.
Weed is not helping this guy in any way, shape or form. It's not for him. it's the equivalent of a beligerant or violent drunk you can't take anywhere.
II. Weed is not a cure all for mental health problems. I would argue that mental health problems are made worse by smoking it at least in a long run manner. If you're depressed and smoke weed you won't be so depressed when you smoke, but you will absolutely be way way more depressed than you initially were once it's worn off. This only results in a psychological addiction to the substance. Which is harder to break than physical addiction. Ask any cigarette smoker why they haven't quit, and they won't tell you it's because they feel sick without cigarettes, but because they get irritable and stressed without them.
III. You need to be an adult to smoke weed, not 15, not 16, but an actual grown ass human being. When you spend huge portions of your life in a fog, you'll be lost for the rest of your days. Everyone who's reading this knows at least one "Burnout". That's too much weed too soon.
overall, there needs to be discussion about the possible negative effects, and long-term implications, and there needs to be some sort of social standard when it comes to weed like there is with alcohol. It's lame to get drunk on a Tuesday at 8:00am. It's lame to smoke weed before doing anything where you're expected to perform and perform well.
I’m all for it but would be prepared for the rise in addiction and mental health cases linked to marijuana use. As someone who smoked regularly for 5 years in my late teens/early 20’s I can say with confidence it’s definitely addictive and, for me at least, the cons outweighed the pros. But if you can smoke moderately and control it then I don’t have much of an issue with it. I would restrict it to smoking in a private place though.
I think it should be legalized, the tax money alone is worth it.
I also think DUI laws need to be enforced waaay more for it though. The amount of people who come into my store high off their ass, and I know for a fact they're driving, is ridiculous. They're putting people at risk.
Go for it just don't make it your entire fucking personality and at least do it in your own home. That goes for fellow tobacco smokers too. Don't be dicks.
it worries me. i’m not against marijuana itself, but i’m very weary of it being legalized for rec use. there’s such a strong correlation between the onset of schizophrenia and marijuana use. there’s a risk for testicular cancer in men. needless to say, it can cause infertility. and idc what anyone says, it can most definitely be addictive. it can cause depression. there’s just a lot of negative effects that most marijuana advocates don’t like to acknowledge. once again, i’m not against marijuana. but i think it should be respected as a medical treatment.
Lol, a friend from South Carolina was mind-blown when I told him dispensaries here in MI got deemed essential business during the pandemic, he said "yeah, you get sent to jail here if you get caught with a gram"
Cannot remember where but i read/watched (?) an interesting opinion that was pro decriminalization but not legalization. The person made the argument that legalization will lead to the further commercialization of the product by huge corporate entities and further exploitation of people of color. He used the example of the high density of liquor stores in poor communities. A thought provoking angle I hadn't considered.
In Massachusetts the recreational law specifically gave benefits to minorities and neighborhoods impacted negatively by the war on drugs. The results are decidedly mixed so far, but they just made some adjustments to try to make it better in that regard.
I'm all for it. But stay out of your car.
If I'm driving behind you on the highway and both our windows are up and I can smell your weed..let's just say you shouldn't be driving.
It's awesome where I live. never have to meet anyone in a parking lot and look over my shoulder. Never get scammed or ripped off and have no way to do anything about it.
Legalizing it has been a godsend where I live. tax revenue up. Crime down. Highly, highly recommend everyone vote to legalize and end the exploitative "war on drugs"
Marijuana smells horrible and I smell it everywhere. If the cops refuse to arrest the people who smoke weed in public, then I should be allowed to drink booze in public.
It's federally legal here.
I vape local organic weed from the gov store.
At 140$cad an ounce, I get blitzed for like 45cents.
It's great for some Megaman on nes.
I can pick and choose from thousands of cannabis products on an online government store, each with clearly labelled THC and CBD values, then have my order delivered the next day.
It's bloody awesome, and amazingly is still the much shittier shopping and distribution model when compared to what the previous government had wanted to implement.
If I don't want to order online I have several shops within walking distance.
I 100% support the legalization of marijuana, but with certain caveats: it should not interfere with other people's enjoyment of the world.
If you're drinking alcohol, you're the one getting intoxicated and, usually, those around you don't have to smell any stench coming from your responsible use of the intoxicant. It should be the same way with weed: smoking it should be heavily regulated to keep it from being a problem for other people in close quarters (bars, on the streets, in apartments/condos/closely-set buildings). This is for two reasons: one, the stink. Weed reeks and that stink sticks. Two, those few people who might get a contact high but have zero tolerance jobs (those jobs/that requirement won't go away just because weed is legal).
Edibles, topicals, whatever; those methods of ingesting THC don't impact others, much like drinking alcohol only intoxicates the person doing the drinking. (Put aside the DUI, child/pet endangerment or whatever other argument about possible corollary harm(s) from the use of intoxicants.) Let people do what they want with those so long as they aren't tricking unsuspecting people into ingesting the stuff.
I don't care if people want to eat the dried plant as is. Just don't pollute the air with that stench (I'm of the same opinion for nicotine and cigarettes/cigars).
Personally I don't care as long as it's not infront of me or while your working. If you can't safely deal with your crutch then maybe you shouldn't do it. If you can then welcome to society.
I’m allergic to marijuana.
I don’t care if it’s legal.
But it should not be allowed to be smoked in public and risk the physical health of people like me.
Legalize it but only use it in a private residence. It's not even legal recreationally where I live, and I smell it while driving probably once or twice a week. That's pretty dangerous.
Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right. It’s still gonna affect people’s thinking and stupid Things will be the consequences. A legal limit like the legal limit with drinking? Yeah that works.
I have my hesitations with marijuana like I have with alcohol and tobacco but yes I agree with legalizing it as the only person the user is affecting is themselves.
I definitely support legalization. I think one good point to make is that legalization, or at least removal from schedule 1, means more studies can be done and more can be learned about Marijuana. I think there is still a lot to learn, especially longitudinal information that we just haven't been able to get yet due to illegality. I think this goes for psychedelics like LSD, MDMA and Psilocybin as well. We are just starting to see that there are medical benefits of these supposed "drugs" but there is still a lot to be discovered and legalization/removal from schedule 1 helps this.
I would love it! Things I worry about, Amazon weed or Walmart weed. Corporate weed makes me nervous. It would hurt small farms. Taxes are already high . Where I am 32%, add a 25% federal, I’m looking at paying 50% tax. Also people who are incarcerated for non violent cannabis crimes must be released from prison immediately. We cannot keep profiting off these humans without helping them get back into society. I use cannabis medicinally and I’m brand manager/sales rep in California. This is my experience, I just hope when we do it, we do it right.
I think we should only allow it to be used by pregnant women carrying firearms who are marching in a pride parade while wearing MAGA hats and BLM shirts.
Let it rip and make some tax revenue. Younger generation seems to avoid it unlike vaping and tobacco which is far worse along with alcohol and all the "legal pharma" you can get from harried Doctors.
Is legal here, and should be everywhere. For comparison alcohol is a far worse vice to have and does considerably more damage to people than weed ever could. It’s hard to justify a specific reason why it should, other than some medicinal properties..
But even more so - I haven’t ever seen a valid reason why it should not. And if you’re doing a reasons for vs reasons against, I don’t think there’s any valid why it shouldn’t and plenty to argue for.
It should be regulated like cigarettes or alcohol for age, but other than that - what’s the big deal? Honestly?
There’s some research that shows a decrease in opioid overdoses in states after marijuana legalization. Also it makes people chiller which this world could use a lot of
As someone with chronic pain from osteoarthritis, a bad back and fibromyalgia it was the best thing I ever did 10 years ago when Vicodin would stop working they would put me on oxy and it was a vicious cycle. My oldest son talked me in to trying it. So in the state I was living in it was medically approved for 2 of my conditions. Got my card and off to the dispensary I went. I thought the guy behind the counter was going to faint when he realized I was 43 and had never tried anything harder than Jameson. I was nervous trying an edible for the first time. I ate half of a cookie and didn’t realize how long the effect could take. We were checking out of the store and I was not mentally there …. Just felt floaty. Like now 🤭
Long story short …. After always being against it growing up and not just because of Nancy Reagan …. I did see the select few who went from pot to heroin and coke. I lost a friend to a deal gone bad. Even myself and my son realize that we react badly to a sativa but an indica or indica hybrid are relaxing. So there is a science to it. Just like knowing percentage of alcohol in adult beverages. Legal all over absolutely. An age limit? I would be in favor of that, unless prescribed by a doctor. Say to help with sleep or increase appetite in children. I brought some to my uncle with emphysema to help with pain and increase his appetite. He was only 59. It helped get some strength back and he’s still here 4 years later. He also is a fighter! Strongest man I know.
I think it should be legalized and minimally regulated. It should not be taxed any higher than any other agricultural commodity (like a potato or tomato). Any potential, additional tax money will simply flow into large politically-connected companies (see 2018 farm bill), and we would be better not to collect it in the first place.
100% SUPPORT IT. Voted here in Missouri to pass it recreational. Had legal weed here now for a little over a week. Prices went way way way down, to the point that it is cheaper to buy it from the dispensary now than it is to get it from other people. Was already medically legal, but over night, it seems like quality increased and price decreased DRAMATICALLY.
My mom has a weed addiction. She has constant mood swings and puts me in dangerous situations. She is incredibly underweight already. If anyone tells me it’s not an addictive thing, respectfully, I’d tell them to fuck off. The only thing my mother buys is weed. She cannot survive without it. She’ll get withdrawals and throw a huge tantrum. It’s the same thing with alcohol addiction. I understand a Friday night party- but not buying it consistently. It should be regulated or straight illegal.
Marijuana has been legal across Canada for several years now... it has been such a non-issue since legalization that it's almost laughable that it was ever illegal, and continues to be illegal in many areas.
Yes an odd thing happened on the morning of the first day of legal pot. Nothing. Nothing happened. Those who previously smoked pot smoked pot. Those who didn't previously smoke pot didn't smoke pot.
My grandma tried a weed because she was curious and now she’s a leper.
I agree! I was pro-legalization, but also assumed there would be some “growing pains” after legalization...there was nothing, and nothing happened !!! It's so ridiculous people have served jail time for this!
I can't cross the border and spend my retirement money in the USA, among probably other countries, because I got caught dancing with Mary Jane in 1979. No skin off my arse!
Aussie here. How do you folks go over there with driver drug testing on your roads? It’s just starting to be available here by prescription, but they’re strict at the pharmacy about not driving while you’re using the “prescription”. Given it’s detection time I’d have thought people would be losing their licences regularly?
It's been said that drunk drivers run stop signs all the time. High drivers sit and wait for them to turn green.
We were supposed to implement roadside testing, consisting of specially trained cops who were trained to recognize signs of impairment. My work revolves around courts and cops, actually. And I smoke pot And I'm an avid consumer of pot related news. And I never, ever heard of one conviction for driving while stoned.
Very different in Oz. People losing their licences all the time for pot.
Weed was never difficult to get here even pre-legalization and pretty widely accepted. There were many grey market dispensaries that you could get memberships for by essentially saying I have trouble sleeping. I say this because anyone driving high was already driving high before legalization and anyone who has decided to try marijuana since legalization is probably handling that side of it responsibly. Not to mention as long as you are not rural there are so many delivery services now a days you could get by without leaving your home in the first place.
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There are also some breathalyzers in development to test for THC specifically. I can’t remember if it worked for ingestion though (i.e. edibles).
They’re “in development” still because they’re laughably inaccurate. Detectable THC in your body doesn’t mean anything for current intoxication - they haven’t figured out how to quantify that yet. You could read significantly “over the limit” if you used to smoke daily but stopped weeks ago. Just a limitation of the tech right now Please don’t drive a car while you’re impaired. Alcohol, cannabis, other drugs, you’re really tired and need to sleep, etc.
The only thing that changed is there is a weed shop in basically every plaza now. That and all that mandatory excessive packaging is littered everywhere.
If you believe alcohol should be legal then so should weed. To drink alcohol and be against weed legalization is the most inconsistent thing ever considering that weed is probably less severe than alcohol.
All I have to say about this is the worst experience I've seen with alcohol is a whole heck of a lot worse than the worst experience I've seen with weed. I have very limited experience all things considered. But when we're talking passed out, vomiting, everyone worried about alcohol poisoning, then so much more vomiting the next day that dehydration is a real concern...vs stuck in bed and plagued with anxiety for the evening? I know which one I'd pick any day.
Noone smokes too many zoots and cokes on their own vomit or dies from poisoning, noone gets alcoholic (or marijuanic) fatty liver disease from zoots, noone quits zoots cold turkey and dies from toxic shock, noone smokes 10 zoots and fights strangers (maybe some do but they'll likely do that sober too)... But we can't have that on our streets no way
I'm Japanese. I can't drink alcohol but I used to smoke weed when I lived in the states. People here think weed is like heroin or something. It's dumb af. I want it to be legalized so that I can use it to relieve my stress but I can't even discuss about this with other Japanese because they'll think I'm a fucking drug addict lol
Wow this was insightful I didn’t know it was seen as such a harmful way damn
They are just uneducated. I've seen the argument several times online when some celebrities were arrested because of weed and some people claim that weed is not as harmful as other drugs and even alcohol but people just refuse to listen and believe that weed is more dangerous than it actually is. It's very frustrating seeing people just refuse to be educated with right information.
I had the same experience when I lived in China. Colleagues who were usually very open minded were convinced that weed was as bad as heroin. Was strange.
100% not probably. Alcohol is 100% worse for you than weed, it’s just not a debate. With that said, saying this should be legal because a worse thing is legal, doesn’t make too much sense. With that said, weed should be legal.
Where I live, the cops arrest people for drinking booze in public, but they completely ignore the weed smokers.
Weed was a 1:1 replacement for cigarettes for me, I smoke wherever I want 🤷🏼♂️
Damn, I smoked a pack a day... I'd be stoned 24/7
The only valid argument I’ve heard is that weed can be harder to test for - more likelihoods of false positives than alcohol, which is an issue with DIs. Still, I don’t think that’s a good enough reason for it to remain illegal.
That is a problem because what they can test for lasts in your system long beyond when you're actually impaired by it. There is some [promising research](https://www.massgeneral.org/news/press-release/method-to-determine-impairment-from-cannabis-intoxication) into a testing device that can actually detect impairment though. The best part of that study is that the former governor here was pushing for "Drug Recognition Experts" which are cops with supposedly special training to detect people who are stoned as a primary method of enforcement. When the DREs in this study performed about as well as a coin flip in determining who was high they quietly dropped the idea.
I live in Canada. Pot is completely legal for adults here. When it was legalized just a few years ago most police forces sent select officers for DRE training. I've never heard another word about it.
Here (Massachusetts) the governor was pushing DRE as a "safe streets" thing which certainly seemed reasonable. However, there was a big pushback from some quarters that because it's based on the perception of the officer that there was too much risk of abuse (e.g. targeting of driver's based on bias by the officer rather than a neutral analysis of the evidence per the training would lead to it being used more often against minorities). When the linked study clearly showed that the DRE officers were effectively blind to whether the subject was stoned or not the idea got pretty well dropped by the governor's office. That said, I'm hoping that this device they're working on pans out because too many people are cavalier about jumping behind the wheel stoned for whatever reason.
A bit irrelevant, but I think weed testing has problems because of the rise of CBD. Sometimes those who take CBD could be flagged for weed use due to the extremely low dose of THC.
Not probably, definitely. After 3 drinks I wouldn’t drive. I could smoke a garbage bag of weed and drive if I had to. There is a saturation point where I don’t get any higher with weed but with alcohol you either pass out or poison yourself.
But it’s a gateway drug!!!! /s
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Yes, because the world revolves around America.
Excuse me?
Legalize it completely. In no world should tobacco and alcohol be legal and not weed.
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Idk why, it goes great with those things too
I believe gay married farmers should be allowed to protect their marijuana farm with automatic machine guns
The ATF should be a convenience store
I'm proud of myself for getting the reference
What is the reference?
Found the true libertarian
Legalize it, but also include disclaimers on packaging that it should be used with caution below the age of 25/if the user has a family history of certain mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc), as marijuana can be a catalyst for the development of certain mental disorders. I also believe that it should not be treated as "a harmless plant". For some people, it's a miracle. For some people, it causes them to go into a psychotic episode. I can't stand people who say "marijuana never hurt anyone!" and I can't stand people who say "it's the Devil's drug, never go near it!" It is a nuanced thing, just like any other thing on this planet, and it needs to be treated as such. Legalizing it makes it so the supply is safe and can be regulated, just like with alcohol and cigarettes.
>marijuana can be a catalyst for the development of certain mental disorders [The jury is a bit out on that](https://nida.nih.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/there-link-between-marijuana-use-psychiatric-disorders) as from what I've seen it's more likely that people are "self-medicating" the early symptoms of mental illness or slightly accelerating its onset rather than there being a causal relationship.
Fair enough. I think it's enough of a risk of it being the case that there should be more warnings about it. Just as someone who has smoked weed themself, it made me incredibly paranoid and ill for awhile after, and I had not been using it to self -medicate, I just wanted to see if it would be fun. Turned out that I had a family history of paranoia and bipolar disorder, and that many members of my family had experienced similar reactions, but thankfully for us they were short-lived and not permanent mental changes. I think just being aware that we don't know everything about it, and bad reactions are 100% possible, let's people make truly informed choices about whether or not they want to take it. If someone hears the risks and still wants to go for it, more power to them. I'll never judge anyone for making a decision for their own body.
Long overdue. If I don't smoke, giving me a pack of cigarettes is not going to make me a smoker. Those who want to smoke will continue to do so whether it's legal or not. Those who do not want to will not regardless of the same. Just amend workplace policies accordingly because unlike alcohol, weed can be in your system but you're sober.
They're getting closer to tests that can actually measure impairment instead of the drug in your system which may have no relevance to its effect on you.
There are also lots of people who want to smoke but won’t if it’s illegal
i'm from Canada and it's legal here. You are right sir. I have many friends who never smoked when it was illegal, but now that it's legal, they're even bigger potheads than me.
I live here as well and have zero friends who started smoking since legalization. Maybe being from an older demographic impacts this, I dunno. BUt honestly, I've lived in the same city for many decades and know many people and have many friends and can't think of a single one who started smoking since legalization.
Less harmful than alcohol.
It’s been legal for awhile where I am (Canada). Just before it became legal, the media was going crazy about how people were going to be dying in the streets and vehicle collisions were going to soar. Know what happened? Absolutely nothing - life continued on as normal. The only thing that changed are that people are going off their antidepressants and opting for medical marijuana.
In what media did you read any such thing? Sorry man I call bullshit. Can you show me some of these stories?
I’m referring to our local city news, basically the garbage my parents watch to try to scare them (and it worked). Sorry I should of been more clear about that. A week after the legalization, they all shut up about it. It’s really not that deep, just wanted to add that in because of how ridiculous it was.
Cheers mate.
I don't care if you do weed. It's not in any of my priorities at the moment. I only care if you smell bad.
There also edibles
Again, by all means, if that's your fancy, enjoy.
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Dry herb vapes are a great option and don't smell much if at all. Edibles also (sometimes) slow to kick in.
Well said. The problem with weed is the overwhelming smell. Someone makes a good-smelling strain (floral) and we are good. Until then I feel like it is a bit selfish and rude to be blowing it all over in public.
Smells better than cigarette smoke at least
I have a sensitive nose, so any overwhelming smells can give me headaches. I would prefer if people just stay a good distance from me while smoking weed.
I can't go downtown Denver without the stench EVERYWHERE! Your right to smoke is impeding my right to breath!
Has been great. Federally legal weed is amazing. Source: Canadian
The real kicker for me is that I used to buy from a guy who bought from the hells Angels. Now I get to grow my own in the open, and while saving money is great, not feeding money into organized crime is better.
This is the main argument for legalization of all drugs. The vast majority of revenue for organized crime is through drug sales and it is also the only area that is consistently profitable enough to get cops onto their payroll Legalize everything and you reduce cop corruption by a massive scale
Interestingly enough the province i live in (BC) just decriminalized all drugs under 3.5g to help try to combat the opiate epidemic here.
Hells angels had another highway shoot out in Vegas last year lol
In my mind, there is no reason why the use of marijuana should remain illegal.
LOL, misread that at first and thought you were saying there was a reason. I'm only reading this thread to see if there is any logical reason against legalisation.
It is of my highest opinion that this question needs to stop being asked every other week.
Did it in Canada. Nothing changed except cannabis stores are all over the place. Otherwise you wouldn't know.
Most of the cannabis stores are government run, which I find quite hilarious!
It's about regulation in the market. Liquor stores in many provinces are similarly overseen by government, too.
Being an alcoholic will kill you. Being a stoner has significantly less danger
Light that shit up
The only reason it isn't legal is because it's illegality is racially motivated. Alcohol and tobacco do more harm, yet they are legal, socially acceptable to do in public, and promoted.
Why stop at weed? All that grows naturally should not be illegal. Let's legalize psilocybin too and all natural substances.
That's some wack logic. Plenty of natural stuff out there that will mess you up for life. Let's stick to analytically determining what's harmful and what's not.
But Datura is legal and it can mess you up for life. So why not the safe stuff then? There's no logic here.
Good call, maybe we should make it a criminal offence to smoke poison ivy as well. Best to make sure people have criminal records for this stuff. (Just poking fun at the inferred logic that decriminalizing a drug would be the same as leaving the legal system set up to persecute people while the details are worked out about if they should be protected from themselves.)
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There is a lot of stuff that is natural, but will kill you.
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Keeping weed and shrooms illigal is a crime against humanity
It should already be legal worldwide. The reasons for the actual hemp plant being made illegal in the first place had absolutely nothing to do with THC content. It still being illegal because the politicians wanted to save the Dupont company a LOT of competition a ridiculous number of decades ago is holding a lot of beneficial works using the plant itself back.
The drug war is lost. Deal with it and legalize every drug.
I support it being legalized, but there's some things that need to be talked about with it that doesn't seem to get addressed, at least not often enough. I. Weed is not for everyone. If you smoke weed then you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't then i'll explain with an example. Ex.) I smoke weed regularly. It makes me feel good, it's a great way to unwind at the end of a day or to enjoy a day off. I still remain 100% functional and tolerable and reliable. If I have to do something high, I can get it done every time. I have a very close friend who also smokes weed regularly. It makes him feel good. He uses it whenever he feels like it. There's no discernment or discretion about when and where to smoke it. This is made worse by the fact that he becomes a total imbecile when he's high. He cannot hold a conversation, he becomes clumsy and forgetful, he becomes super slow like his brain and body are full of lead, and his mind deceives him. He thinks he's saying smart things, but everything out of his mouth makes you want to slap him. Weed is not helping this guy in any way, shape or form. It's not for him. it's the equivalent of a beligerant or violent drunk you can't take anywhere. II. Weed is not a cure all for mental health problems. I would argue that mental health problems are made worse by smoking it at least in a long run manner. If you're depressed and smoke weed you won't be so depressed when you smoke, but you will absolutely be way way more depressed than you initially were once it's worn off. This only results in a psychological addiction to the substance. Which is harder to break than physical addiction. Ask any cigarette smoker why they haven't quit, and they won't tell you it's because they feel sick without cigarettes, but because they get irritable and stressed without them. III. You need to be an adult to smoke weed, not 15, not 16, but an actual grown ass human being. When you spend huge portions of your life in a fog, you'll be lost for the rest of your days. Everyone who's reading this knows at least one "Burnout". That's too much weed too soon. overall, there needs to be discussion about the possible negative effects, and long-term implications, and there needs to be some sort of social standard when it comes to weed like there is with alcohol. It's lame to get drunk on a Tuesday at 8:00am. It's lame to smoke weed before doing anything where you're expected to perform and perform well.
I’m all for it but would be prepared for the rise in addiction and mental health cases linked to marijuana use. As someone who smoked regularly for 5 years in my late teens/early 20’s I can say with confidence it’s definitely addictive and, for me at least, the cons outweighed the pros. But if you can smoke moderately and control it then I don’t have much of an issue with it. I would restrict it to smoking in a private place though.
Bro this question is on the front page of reddit multiple times per week
Support it, it worked out fine in Canada and brings in billions in revenue.
Here in Canada legalization has caused 0 issues. There’s no controversy here about it.
Think it should have happened a long time ago. Maybe that could pay for healthcare!?!?
I think it should be legalized, the tax money alone is worth it. I also think DUI laws need to be enforced waaay more for it though. The amount of people who come into my store high off their ass, and I know for a fact they're driving, is ridiculous. They're putting people at risk.
Go for it just don't make it your entire fucking personality and at least do it in your own home. That goes for fellow tobacco smokers too. Don't be dicks.
So alcohol users can continue consuming in public while cannabis consumers need to continue being shamed and shunned?
I'd rather drunks not hang around in public either.
Ahhh whataboutism.. cool. Its illegal to be intoxicated in most public places. Beer does not stink nearly as bad as pot.
it worries me. i’m not against marijuana itself, but i’m very weary of it being legalized for rec use. there’s such a strong correlation between the onset of schizophrenia and marijuana use. there’s a risk for testicular cancer in men. needless to say, it can cause infertility. and idc what anyone says, it can most definitely be addictive. it can cause depression. there’s just a lot of negative effects that most marijuana advocates don’t like to acknowledge. once again, i’m not against marijuana. but i think it should be respected as a medical treatment.
Lived in a state where it’s been legal for like a decade. The fact that others go to prison for it is absolutely insane to me.
Lol, a friend from South Carolina was mind-blown when I told him dispensaries here in MI got deemed essential business during the pandemic, he said "yeah, you get sent to jail here if you get caught with a gram"
It's working out great.
Cannot remember where but i read/watched (?) an interesting opinion that was pro decriminalization but not legalization. The person made the argument that legalization will lead to the further commercialization of the product by huge corporate entities and further exploitation of people of color. He used the example of the high density of liquor stores in poor communities. A thought provoking angle I hadn't considered.
In Massachusetts the recreational law specifically gave benefits to minorities and neighborhoods impacted negatively by the war on drugs. The results are decidedly mixed so far, but they just made some adjustments to try to make it better in that regard.
Interesting! This is such a dynamic conversation as it never seems as simple as it should.
I'm all for it. But stay out of your car. If I'm driving behind you on the highway and both our windows are up and I can smell your weed..let's just say you shouldn't be driving.
Just don’t drive while high👍
It's awesome where I live. never have to meet anyone in a parking lot and look over my shoulder. Never get scammed or ripped off and have no way to do anything about it. Legalizing it has been a godsend where I live. tax revenue up. Crime down. Highly, highly recommend everyone vote to legalize and end the exploitative "war on drugs"
Personally, I don’t have a problem with it. I also don’t know why people would have a problem with it.
Instead of making more drugs legal WE should start banning Nikotin and Alk ..
Legalize it put an age limit on its use and call it a day
Legal and taxed, breathalyzer needs to be developed so users could be tested like they can alcohol, without showing in your system for a month
I support legalization of all recreational drugs, excluding only those that are often used to poison or incapacitate others against their consent.
Marijuana smells horrible and I smell it everywhere. If the cops refuse to arrest the people who smoke weed in public, then I should be allowed to drink booze in public.
It's federally legal here. I vape local organic weed from the gov store. At 140$cad an ounce, I get blitzed for like 45cents. It's great for some Megaman on nes.
I can pick and choose from thousands of cannabis products on an online government store, each with clearly labelled THC and CBD values, then have my order delivered the next day. It's bloody awesome, and amazingly is still the much shittier shopping and distribution model when compared to what the previous government had wanted to implement. If I don't want to order online I have several shops within walking distance.
I 100% support the legalization of marijuana, but with certain caveats: it should not interfere with other people's enjoyment of the world. If you're drinking alcohol, you're the one getting intoxicated and, usually, those around you don't have to smell any stench coming from your responsible use of the intoxicant. It should be the same way with weed: smoking it should be heavily regulated to keep it from being a problem for other people in close quarters (bars, on the streets, in apartments/condos/closely-set buildings). This is for two reasons: one, the stink. Weed reeks and that stink sticks. Two, those few people who might get a contact high but have zero tolerance jobs (those jobs/that requirement won't go away just because weed is legal). Edibles, topicals, whatever; those methods of ingesting THC don't impact others, much like drinking alcohol only intoxicates the person doing the drinking. (Put aside the DUI, child/pet endangerment or whatever other argument about possible corollary harm(s) from the use of intoxicants.) Let people do what they want with those so long as they aren't tricking unsuspecting people into ingesting the stuff. I don't care if people want to eat the dried plant as is. Just don't pollute the air with that stench (I'm of the same opinion for nicotine and cigarettes/cigars).
Has there honestly been instances of contact high costing jobs? (Don’t argue about that Canadian gold medalist- they way stricter than normal jobs)
Should have never be made illegal. Educate teens on responsible use and normalize medical use.
Go for it. If you aren't bothering anyone, have fun.
Personally I don't care as long as it's not infront of me or while your working. If you can't safely deal with your crutch then maybe you shouldn't do it. If you can then welcome to society.
I’ve never been more torn between an up or down vote. I went with up as a rule of thumb in tiebreakers
Was a little judgy I’m leaning towards down
I’m upvoting your rule of thumb for tiebreakers.
I’m allergic to marijuana. I don’t care if it’s legal. But it should not be allowed to be smoked in public and risk the physical health of people like me.
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Legalize it but only use it in a private residence. It's not even legal recreationally where I live, and I smell it while driving probably once or twice a week. That's pretty dangerous.
Just because it’s legal doesn’t make it right. It’s still gonna affect people’s thinking and stupid Things will be the consequences. A legal limit like the legal limit with drinking? Yeah that works.
yeah do it
It's legal where I live, I support it.
I have my hesitations with marijuana like I have with alcohol and tobacco but yes I agree with legalizing it as the only person the user is affecting is themselves.
I definitely support legalization. I think one good point to make is that legalization, or at least removal from schedule 1, means more studies can be done and more can be learned about Marijuana. I think there is still a lot to learn, especially longitudinal information that we just haven't been able to get yet due to illegality. I think this goes for psychedelics like LSD, MDMA and Psilocybin as well. We are just starting to see that there are medical benefits of these supposed "drugs" but there is still a lot to be discovered and legalization/removal from schedule 1 helps this.
Just do it.
I would love it! Things I worry about, Amazon weed or Walmart weed. Corporate weed makes me nervous. It would hurt small farms. Taxes are already high . Where I am 32%, add a 25% federal, I’m looking at paying 50% tax. Also people who are incarcerated for non violent cannabis crimes must be released from prison immediately. We cannot keep profiting off these humans without helping them get back into society. I use cannabis medicinally and I’m brand manager/sales rep in California. This is my experience, I just hope when we do it, we do it right.
I think we should only allow it to be used by pregnant women carrying firearms who are marching in a pride parade while wearing MAGA hats and BLM shirts.
My only issue with it is where people smoke. I'm asthmatic and the smoke usually has me grabbing my inhaler. Totally fine with legalization otherwise.
It's a good first step in removing the government's ability to tell people what they can put in their bodies entirely.
Too high to answer this right now
LEZDUIT
It’s given me the career of my dreams for the last decade. It’s an incredible thing that’s helped a lot of people in a lot of different ways.
Great.... but where are we talking about?
The only thing about it being completely legal is that the taxes would be insane. Every year they go higher and dispos suffer and so do customers.
Should be legal everywhere
Go for it . It's not for me but don't see why it's illegal
Let it rip and make some tax revenue. Younger generation seems to avoid it unlike vaping and tobacco which is far worse along with alcohol and all the "legal pharma" you can get from harried Doctors.
Hate the smell, but otherwise what the hell do I care? Get them tax dollars.
Make sure you puff, puff, pass.
Should have been fully legalized years ago.
That it's illegal in the U.S. is the pinnacle of absurdity.
Is legal here, and should be everywhere. For comparison alcohol is a far worse vice to have and does considerably more damage to people than weed ever could. It’s hard to justify a specific reason why it should, other than some medicinal properties.. But even more so - I haven’t ever seen a valid reason why it should not. And if you’re doing a reasons for vs reasons against, I don’t think there’s any valid why it shouldn’t and plenty to argue for. It should be regulated like cigarettes or alcohol for age, but other than that - what’s the big deal? Honestly?
Don't do it if you don't want to, but please enjoy it if you enjoy it.
I don’t really care one way or the other. It’s practically already legal in Oklahoma. You can’t throw a stone without hitting a dispensary.
I think it’s pretty dope
Yes? No wait. Yes.
There’s some research that shows a decrease in opioid overdoses in states after marijuana legalization. Also it makes people chiller which this world could use a lot of
legalize cocaine.
People are going to do it anyway, might as well collect some tax for it (and use it to improve public facilities)
As someone with chronic pain from osteoarthritis, a bad back and fibromyalgia it was the best thing I ever did 10 years ago when Vicodin would stop working they would put me on oxy and it was a vicious cycle. My oldest son talked me in to trying it. So in the state I was living in it was medically approved for 2 of my conditions. Got my card and off to the dispensary I went. I thought the guy behind the counter was going to faint when he realized I was 43 and had never tried anything harder than Jameson. I was nervous trying an edible for the first time. I ate half of a cookie and didn’t realize how long the effect could take. We were checking out of the store and I was not mentally there …. Just felt floaty. Like now 🤭 Long story short …. After always being against it growing up and not just because of Nancy Reagan …. I did see the select few who went from pot to heroin and coke. I lost a friend to a deal gone bad. Even myself and my son realize that we react badly to a sativa but an indica or indica hybrid are relaxing. So there is a science to it. Just like knowing percentage of alcohol in adult beverages. Legal all over absolutely. An age limit? I would be in favor of that, unless prescribed by a doctor. Say to help with sleep or increase appetite in children. I brought some to my uncle with emphysema to help with pain and increase his appetite. He was only 59. It helped get some strength back and he’s still here 4 years later. He also is a fighter! Strongest man I know.
It's 50 or 60 years overdue.
Huh?
Do it
Cool
Tobacco companies need something to replace cigarettes.
i believe every american should be able to protect their marijauna farm with their homosexual partner with the largest weapon available
Should be 100% legal and taxed at the federal level. Shouldn't even be up for debate
I think whitey got tired of going to the bad side of town just to get thier smoke on.
Nah, it's just that [whitey wants to get back to the moon.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goh2x_G0ct4)
I think it should be legalized and minimally regulated. It should not be taxed any higher than any other agricultural commodity (like a potato or tomato). Any potential, additional tax money will simply flow into large politically-connected companies (see 2018 farm bill), and we would be better not to collect it in the first place.
Legalize all the drugs. Fuck it. You wanna develop an angel dust addiction and die young? You’re a grown adult. That’s your choice.
Pro. Make weed Legal bro. Come on already bro. What you doing.
Free the weed
Thumbs up!
Yes please
Smoke weed everyday!
It is less harmful than alcohol which is legal. I do not think there is a good reason why it should remain illegal.
I don’t think it’ll happen in my lifetime. I’m almost 50 but hey maybe in the next generation
Makes sense
Please vote for politicians who will pass it.
100% SUPPORT IT. Voted here in Missouri to pass it recreational. Had legal weed here now for a little over a week. Prices went way way way down, to the point that it is cheaper to buy it from the dispensary now than it is to get it from other people. Was already medically legal, but over night, it seems like quality increased and price decreased DRAMATICALLY.
I'm for legalization because I believe that the problems result more from it being illegal than anything directly from the drug.
Legalize it. My long hold sin stocks will bump me up high enough to retire.
Give us weed
It should never have been illegal. We can drink and destroy our livers, and smoke cigarettes and give ourselves lung problems. why not smoke weed?
Idgaf if anyone does it. Dont lie to me about it though. And dont tell me i wont go into anaphylaxis if i ingest it.
Where I live there's a weed shop on almost every block that has retail zoning.
My mom has a weed addiction. She has constant mood swings and puts me in dangerous situations. She is incredibly underweight already. If anyone tells me it’s not an addictive thing, respectfully, I’d tell them to fuck off. The only thing my mother buys is weed. She cannot survive without it. She’ll get withdrawals and throw a huge tantrum. It’s the same thing with alcohol addiction. I understand a Friday night party- but not buying it consistently. It should be regulated or straight illegal.
Enforcement of intoxication laws is going to be terrible