Colorado could become the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use

[cityboi]

Amendment 64, would make it legal for adults over 21 in Colorado to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants for personal use. The amendment calls for revenues from marijuana sales and seller license fees to be earmarked for school construction. A poll in Colorado shows that 50% of the resident there support the amendment. Marijuana has been demonized for many years but in fact it's safer than alcohol. You really don't hear any cases of people dying in car crashes because they are under the influence of smoking pot. No one has ever died from an overdose of smoking weed. It's safer than cigarettes which has a number of cancer causing chemicals including fiber glass in the filters. Marijuana also has medical benefits. Legalizing pot would cut out a lot of illegal drug sales because pot is the most illegal drug sold on the streets. Pot would be a safer alternative to the more dangerous drugs. Countries that have legalized it for recreational use have seen a dramatic drop in the use of all the other drugs like crack cocaine. They tried alcohol prohibition and they found out that it only encouraged more crime. Legalizing pot would also help solve the overcrowding issues in jails and prisons across the country. The fact is people are going to smoke it whether its legal or not so the states might as well make it legal and tax it like cigarettes.

http://www.cbsnews.c...FDArea;fdmodule

[FromCityToRural]

Darn. I was hoping (and always sort of figured) my native state of Taxafornia (oops, I meant California) would lead the nation in this. Given their fiscal state, they could use the pot revenue. They need to SOMETHING, after all.

[cityboi]

It won't be long before smoking marijuana legally will be the norm. Colorado and Washington are setting up the framework to tax it. It's still illegal by federal law but it appears the feds are going to leave them alone. In fact some law makers want to amend federal laws making it legal nationwide. In Colorado more people voted for marijuana than president Obama. Since Colorado and Washington were blue states in the election, don't expect Obama to fight it. He doesn't want to piss off the base. He may not be running in 2016 but democrats want to keep Colorado blue in 2016. But in a few weeks, anyone over the age of 21 will be able to light a joint in Washington state and Colorado legally. People are realizing that pot is not as dangerous as believed. In fact alcohol and cigarettes are more dangerous. No one has ever over dosed smoking pot. Also pot is not a "gateway drug". Every country that has legalized it saw a big drop in the use of hardcore drugs like crack/cocaine, meth, heroin, ect. Pot is legal all across Canada and they are doing just fine.

http://www.cbsnews.c...marijuana-laws/

[cityboi]

Marijuana now legal in Washington State. People smoked in plain sight in front of cops at the Space needle and no one was arrested

 

 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/12/06/marijuana-possession-and-same-sex-marriage-now-officially-legal-in-washington/

[nashbill]

Starbucks will start including it in there menu.  Drink coffee and get all amped up and smoke a doobie to mellow out.  Have a nice brownie to take home for later.

 

I was visiting a friend in Denver last year and she drove me past the medicinal marijauna stores.  I swear I went back in time.  They all looked like head shops from the 70's.  Signs in front with the special of the day.  Displays of paraphinallia in the windows.  I'm dating myself now.  I miss those carefree days. All seen thru rose colored glasses.

 

It really should be legalized nationally.  You have already mentioned some of the benifits. Tax revenue, less people in prison, Farmers having a crop that can be grown out in the open.  Even the stalks can be used for rope and clothing (just ask Woody Harrelson).  How about a Napa Valley type area where you can do some pot smoking (taste testing).  Ahh, yes, some Maui Waui vintage 1972.

[cityboi]

David Nathan has made the best case for a nationwide legalization of pot.

 

"Alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, caffeine and refined sugar are among the most commonly used, potentially habit-forming recreational substances. All are best left out of our daily diets. Only marijuana is illegal, though alcohol and tobacco are clearly more harmful."

 

"Those who believe cannabis to be a gateway to opioids and other highly dangerous drugs fail to appreciate that the illegal purchase of marijuana exposes consumers to dealers who push the hard stuff. Given marijuana's popularity in this country, the consumption of more dangerous drugs could actually decrease if pot were purchased at a liquor store rather than on the street corner where heroin and crack are sold."

 

"But America can fix this mess through marijuana legalization. Federal, state and local governments can regulate the cannabis trade as they do with alcohol and tobacco -- monitoring the production process for safety and purity, controlling where it is sold, taxing all aspects of marijuana production and consumption, and redirecting resources from punishment to prevention."

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/opinion/nathan-legal-marijuana/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

[dpbaker]

Well, David Nathan couldn't be more wrong or misguided. 

 

Marijuana is exceptionally harmful, the medical detriment is well known. Anything smoked is bad, marijuana happens to contain very toxic chemicals when smoked, and at least 12 different types of fungi have been identified and associated with marijuana. People are exposing themselves to things they know nothing of.

 

The medical benefits to marijuana are farcical. In fact, marijuana can ultimately lower one's pain threshold. 

 

Marijuana IS a gateway drug into more dangerous drugs that have an impact on EVERYONE - trust me, doing drugs is not a victimless crime. A lot burglary and robbery is done with the goal to get money to fund a tremendously expensive habit. 

 

Food for thought - you're getting SCREWED when you buy pot - when you think about the effort it takes to put into growing marijuana say vs. a tomato plant - how much, gram for gram, are you paying for the pot vs. the tomato? Yeah......

 

Talk to any narcotics enforcement team - and they will not be signing the praises of marijuana, legal or not. They know first hand what it leads to. They don't call it DOPE for nothing.

[cityboi]

I will say smoking marijuana is clearly not as harmful as smoking cigarettes for a couple of reasons. First marijuana doesn't have the cancer causing chemicals that cigarettes have. Secondly people smoke cigarettes more often than pot. The average regular cigarette smoker smokes one pack a day. Chain smokers often smoke multiple packs a day. Cigarettes are also more addictive than marijuana. One joint can get a person high so it's highly unlikely people will be smoking a pack of marijuana joints every day. The effects of marijuana are very similar to the effects of consuming alcohol. Alcohol harms the kidneys and liver. It also leads to automobile deaths which is something that is rare among pot smokers. Alcohol and cigarettes are more dangerous than pot yet they are legal to purchase. If marijuana is illegal than alcohol and cigarettes should be as well.