Legalize marijuana

[WuDrWu]

I don't get the whole weed thing. A large plurality of the people in this country live paycheck to paycheck to paycheck and either can't or won't take proper care of the children they already have. At least to the point that they don't have to rely on the government to some extent to do so.

I realize some can use with little to no drawbacks. Bully for them. Most can't. Same with alcohol. Like I said, I don't get it. I don't use, never have and never had the desire. Lucky me I suppose. I would say a plurality of my "friends" in my youth thought I was an idiot and a social pariah because of that. Fortunately I never really cared what others thought about me. I live a comfortable life surrounded by good people, want for nothing, have zero debt and I attribute that, at least partly, to an absence of alcohol and drugs.

There are no medical benefits. None. Those that argue there are simply want to get high. The debatable benefits can be replicated without the high. The study I read (but cannot find or I would post here) said something like 90% of people being treated for cancer (chemo) and "needed" weed to be able to eat were regular users prior to chemo treatments or admitted to just liking to get high. Again, plenty of options aside from weed, people just want to get high. And also again, I don't care what you do in your home, just don't let it affect me. And if you can show me one case where the government doesn't step in to help people (like addicted, unproductive weed users) then I will listen more closely.

So while I couldn't care less what people do in their own home, there are clear societal costs associated with more widespread use.

That being said, I'd be ok with state monitored sale to adults with a few restrictions. No public use or outdoor private use within X feet of another property (ie I don't want my neighbor stinking up my backyard). Database of purchasers that forfeit all government assistance (other than Medicare and Medicaid). Sales are made in sealed packaging much like alcohol with tax stickers. ANY possession of weed outside of your home (or private indoor allowed area) is punishable by loss of weed, loss of ability to purchase weed, loss of driver's license, and stiff fines. I'm just thinking off the top of my head.

[Shockm]

Big Tech Marijuana Businesses know how to keep their consumers interested. I read somewhere that 30 years ago, the THC levels in marijuana were 4%, and in 2015, the average THC levels were 16%, which is probably up today.

Here are some of the THC levels in current marijuana. Most of my concern is for teens as most of the Pot Heads on Shockernet are grown ups. Teens know how to hide their drug use and many parents think they know, but really don't.

THC Percentage Chart


Taking a look at some of the most consumed strains, and their standard levels of THC will give you a good idea of how the level %’s affect you personally. Of course, everyone is different and THC is unique in its effects from person to person. Here are a few of the most recognizable strains, and the percentage of THC you can expect to find from them.

Silver Haze	23%
Death Star	19-21%
White Tahoe Cookies	23-30%
Gorilla Glue	23%
Bruce Banner	25%
Girl Scout Cookies	17-28%
Chemdog	19-20%
Amnesia Haze	20-25%

What Is The Highest THC Percentage In Weed?


Finding a strain with levels of 30% THC is rare, but not impossible. Like we mentioned, some growers take extreme measures to try to amplify their bud’s psychoactive compound. But what is the highest THC percentage that’s actually been recorded? Recently, Leafly performed a review of legally sold cannabis flower and their respective lab reports, to figure that exact question out.

What they found was Ghost OG registered the highest THC percentage with a whopping 28.7%. Other strains that closely followed this elevated level, but are rarer on the mainstream market included –

• Wappa: 26.6% THC
• OG Chem: 26.4% THC
• White Fire Alien OG: 24.9% THC
• Head Cheese: 24.7% THC

Now that we know more about THC percentages, and what they actually mean…how does that translate to edibles? Many cannabis connoisseurs have taken the hobby or pleasure of DIY’ing edibles at home in which they use ground-up flower. We’ll cover this new calculation next, with a simple to use equation.

[wufan]

Legalization of marijuana boils down to a few questions in my mind:

1. is it moral to change your state of mind? Maybe not. Certainly many believe that alcohol is a mind altering drug and is therefore immoral. Anti-depressives also alter your mental condition, so I find this to be a weak argument.

2. is it healthy? Maybe not. No one knows for sure because it has been listed as a schedule 1 drug for 75+ years, meaning that research is actually banned by the federal gov. Let’s say it’s not healthy. Should our diets be 100% restricted by a government agency, or do we have our own agency to decide if we are going to have an extra doughnut or 44oz soda? I believe in the agency of the individual.

3. is it a social ill? Maybe. In order for it to be a social Ill, it has to have a victim. Being that it’s a mind altering substance, a user could potentially be more prone to violence, driving recklessly, theft to procure due to addiction. Well, abuse, vehicular injury, and theft are all already illegal. Crimes are committed w/o drugs.

4. are there externalities? Maybe. Will there be greater health costs and criminal justice costs? While it’s possible that healthcare may increase, criminal justice might decrease. These things should have some balance and there is evidence that the economic impact would be a net positive. Certainly I’m not presenting evidence here, so feel free to disagree or look into it yourself.

5. What about the children? Children are without agency, and all beings without agency MUST be protected from themselves and from those that wish to do them harm by the state.

When I look at those questions I ask, “am I someone that believes that an individual’s right to succeed and fail are at the center of humanity, or do I believe that the individual does not have agency and it is the government’s responsibility to choose for them, through force if necessary?”

[Ta Town Shocker]

I live a comfortable life surrounded by good people, want for nothing, have zero debt and I attribute that, at least partly, to an absence of alcohol and drugs.

We'll said Doc. My wife and I are in a similar place being self made with 0 debt in our mid 30's without any alcohol or weed use. Yes, we paid our way through college as well. All of this while earning a middle class wage.

I'm sure many will dispute there are health benefits. As you alluded to, I don't think anyone high school age or older has any trouble getting their hands on it. In addition, I'm not sure our law enforcement cares about recreational use. Based on this, I don't understand why we shouldn't legalize it and start collecting some tax revenues. I've been to Colorado a few times over the last couple of years and didn't run into any uncomfortable situations whatsoever.

[N Crestway]

Despite legalization in Colorado and warehouse size grow facilities locally, I suspect Mexican cartels are still growing marijuana on the cheap in the nearby national forest...probably mostly for export out of state to someplace where it is still illegal.

[Kung Wu]

Colorado: https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/f...rpass-all-2021

I thought that wasn't supposed to happen in states that legalized? Why on earth would there be record narcotics seizures in a state that allows pot?

[AndShock]

Colorado: https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/f...rpass-all-2021

I thought that wasn't supposed to happen in states that legalized? Why on earth would there be record narcotics seizures in a state that allows pot?

Maybe cops have time to go after real issues when they aren’t wasting their time trying to arrest people for weed?

[Ta Town Shocker]

Montana has seen huge increases in Fentanyl seizures also.

https://dojmt.gov/montana-highway-pa...ss-2021-total/

Fentanyl is 10x cheaper per dose than some other comparable narcotics. Drug addicts can get more bang for their buck.

[wufan]

Despite legalization in Colorado and warehouse size grow facilities locally, I suspect Mexican cartels are still growing marijuana on the cheap in the nearby national forest...probably mostly for export out of state to someplace where it is still illegal.

Interestingly, since there was a move in California for complete legalization, there has been a growing black market share. The regulations they imposed, along with the abundance of product, made legal grow operations unprofitable.

[wufan]

Colorado: https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/f...rpass-all-2021

I thought that wasn't supposed to happen in states that legalized? Why on earth would there be record narcotics seizures in a state that allows pot?

I don’t know what one has to do with the other honestly.

[Kung Wu]

Maybe cops have time to go after real issues when they aren’t wasting their time trying to arrest people for weed?

Probably some truth in there. Probably some avoidance too.

[Kung Wu]

I don’t know what one has to do with the other honestly.

The CLA (Common Liability of Addiction) model is a competing theory to Gateway hypothesis, and has a much stronger foundation (academically speaking). The results are pretty substantial: Using any substance early on results in a higher potential to abuse other drugs later. In other words, all drugs are "gateway" drugs to each other.

Early use of X leads to a higher probability of abusing Y.

Substitute any substances that can be abused for X and Y: alcohol, marijuana, pain medications, cocaine, etc.

It really is that simple.

Micro-economically it may not seem like a big deal. Macro-economically it can be a disaster.

[wufan]

The CLA (Common Liability of Addiction) model is a competing theory to Gateway hypothesis, and has a much stronger foundation (academically speaking). The results are pretty substantial: Using any substance early on results in a higher potential to abuse other drugs later. In other words, all drugs are "gateway" drugs to each other.

Early use of X leads to a higher probability of abusing Y.

Substitute any substances that can be abused for X and Y: alcohol, marijuana, pain medications, cocaine, etc.

It really is that simple.

Micro-economically it may not seem like a big deal. Macro-economically it can be a disaster.

These studies are correlative. One could just as easily say that people that are prone to addiction start addictive habits earlier in life. The addictive substance has to do with accessibility. Drugs should not be accessible to children.

[Shockm]

One could just as easily say that people that are prone to addiction start addictive habits earlier in life. The addictive substance has to do with accessibility. Drugs should not be accessible to children.

This has nothing to do with correlation ( we’ll come to think, it does), but the reason that I didn’t abuse alcohol and drugs as a kid, was simply that I feared my parents would kick my ass. My sisters feared that also, and so they didn’t date boys who were 3 years older. That solves a lot of early youth problems. Unfortunately, some of my friends didn’t have that fear, and a couple of girls got “knocked up”, and married early, and some abused drugs early in life.

[wufan]

This has nothing to do with correlation ( we’ll come to think, it does), but the reason that I didn’t abuse alcohol and drugs as a kid, was simply that I feared my parents would kick my ass. My sisters feared that also, and so they didn’t date boys who were 3 years older. That solves a lot of early youth problems. Unfortunately, some of my friends didn’t have that fear, and a couple of girls got “knocked up”, and married early, and some abused drugs early in life.

So, you didn’t abuse drugs out of fear. Okay. Doesn’t address anything I said.