How ironic, turns out Reefer Madness was just a tad bit right, after all.
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States will regret legalization.
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Not sure about that. The organized crime associated with making illegal something that people really want and will inevitably seek out (prostitutes, drugs, alcohol, tobacco) is worse than making it legal, regulated, and taxed.
The mistake that we, as a society, have made in the legalization process with both alcohol and marijuana is that we haven’t applied the same regulations and ad campaigns that made tobacco use look dangerous and pathetic. Those commercials showing a thin, wrinkled, cancer-ridden old woman using a buzzer after her laryngectomy for cancer were scary, but more effective is the banning of images of tobacco use in media, especially media that children and teens consume. We didn’t see any of the kids on 90210 smoking. As a society, we managed to change the image of tobacco use to something that was associated with being sophisticated, adult, “cool”, sexy, to just pathetic, to the point that most kids considered smoking to be stupid… until the advent of vaping, where we totally dropped the ball, allowed candy flavored vapes, allowed it to look “cool”, and another generation is now hooked on nicotine.
Marijuana edibles should come in a generic-looking plain black and white package, with pills of exact doses of the active ingredient, to be swallowed by the user, not in a wide array of fancily marketed pretty candies, cookies, etc. It should be sold in the same way as alcohol is in a high-crime area - from behind a dispensary counter, with no ads, just a list of products and contents, no flavorings, sweets, colors, where you go to the heavily guarded counter and ask for what you want, pay for it, and receive it, sort of like a methadone clinic. Marijuana for smoking should be sold in the same way. No more BS medical cards, just treat it as the harmful drug that it is, a necessary evil that is controlled, regulated, and taxed, just like alcohol and tobacco. If it’s prescribed for a medical purpose, that can be standardized and distributed in pill form where other medications are distributed - at a pharmacy, quietly, privately, discreetly, and in a controlled manner, like other controlled and prescribed substances.
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Do you really think that organized crime is no longer involved in alcohol or tobacco (two legal, regulated and taxed industries)? And I believe that studies have shown that in states where alcohol is only sold in state run stores, there is MORE illicit trade (to avoid the taxes, restrictions on sale, price controls) not less. This isn’t great grandpa’s moonshine sold out of a truck-- these are well financed criminal enterprises involved in booze, human trafficking, child porn, etc.
Where there is a buck to be made… whether regulated or not…
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Young people have used marijuana for many, many years. IMO, educating young people about the dangers of marijuana is key. Just as it is important to educate them about the dangers of alcohol. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s safe … and it may be safer for some than for others. My family has a very strong history of substance abuse and addiction - I grew up hearing stories of my Grandma’s brothers and their struggles/unhappy demises. We raised our kids to understand their potential for addiction, and we explained that neither drugs nor alcohol are “safe” for everyone. As adults, they make their own decisions, but we raised them to understand the potential consequences. My S actually told me several years ago about studies that showed the mental health consequences for young people. This information needs to be communicated to young people early and often.
Drugs that are not controlled - that is, illegal drugs - have been getting more and more dangerous. They are often cut with deadly chemicals. Regulated sales allow people to purchase safer products. They are still drugs, and like alcohol, people need to understand that they need to be used responsibly.
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Excellent point. ADHD medications- a wide range of painkillers (not just oxy)- ambien- all legal, all being abused. Making something legal, taxed and regulated doesn’t keep people from abusing substances.
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Marijuana use under the age of 21 is illegal in all 50 states. So teens can only obtain it illegally.
Many adults don’t consider it dangerous because they used it long ago but today’s plants are much more potent (and now liable to be laced with other drugs). So the problem of illegal drug trade still stands (with all the consequences). Unfortunately the better part of research on marijuana has been done by the criminals over the last 50 years–research was basically forbidden by our government. (We actually did use THC capsules for cancer patients back in the late 70’s before it got taken off the market)
Ad campaigns/drug education programs are probably the best tactic to combat it. The cigarette ads about cancer weren’t all that effective in reality. The best ads were the TRUTH ads which targeted the companies. But who you gonna target here? Your local drug dealer? It’s like Nancy’s “Just say no” campaign. But that really is the only safe message-- pretty soon fentanyl will get everyone who tries any drugs–so it’ll be a short lived problem at the rate we’re going.
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I estimate that at least 2 times each month, during the colder months, I realize someone in front of me on my way to work in the morning, at 7:30am, is smoking weed.
In the warmer months I drive with my windows down all the time(50 degrees - 100 degrees). I smell weed on my ride to work at least 3 times a week then.
Dispensary weed is expensive. Dealers still sell weed, and it’s cheaper. People tell me that weed is a wonder drug. That it fixes just about everything. It’s like a cult. I believe driving while drugged is a far larger problem than drunk driving at this point, at least in my state.
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Well before weed was legal in my state, the high school students I substitute-taught insisted that driving while high wasn’t dangerous. I tried to help them understand that indeed it is dangerous. Again, education is so important.
As far as young people, marijuana and psychosis goes, even young people old enough to legally purchase marijuana are at risk. As I mentioned, educating young people about the dangers is something that is needed. Having open and honest dialogue about risks is crucial. Just as “don’t have sex” doesn’t stop young people from having sex, “don’t smoke weed” is a weak deterrent. Let’s talk about the why not, in terms that “might” influence the behaviors of young people.
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LOL. That ad is still burned in my brain! I will say it was a great graphic.
It is pretty much true though for THC–it actually alters some areas in a developing brain. There appears to be some pretty big differences in the lasting effects between a still developing young brain and an adult.
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The worst that happens with tobacco is tax-avoidance, or an adult buying tobacco for a minor. As for alcohol, the alcohol sold in supermarkets is still regulated and taxed; it’s just that it’s sold at a more convenient purchase point.
Sure, there are home aficionados brewing beer or making wine, and not bothering to send in their tax on it, but not much of that. When did you last hear of a deadly shooting in a “tobacco/alcohol deal gone wrong”?
Remember the one about the high school kid turning the joint down, I think at a bowling alley? The one offering it was bragging about how great it was, that while his friend (turning down the joint) would be going off to college, having a great career, and marriage, and buying a house, having kids, the “cool” one offering the joint would be staying home, getting high, at best working a low wage no-skill job, living in his parents’ basement. I thought it was pretty much on target, but I was already in my late 20’s when it came out, I think. I don’t know what high schoolers or middle schoolers would have thought of it.
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In the days of Prohibition.
A teen at our local high school was shot and killed during a weed transaction his senior year.
And I think that cops are not allowed to pull people over for marijuana smoke/odor! Since it stays in the bloodstream for something like a month after having used it, we really have no ironclad way of proving that someone is driving high, which seems to be happening a ton, since legalization.
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I unfortunately missed that one! Sort of like the jokes that end with “would you like fries with that?”
I had my car searched recently when I got pulled over for a minor traffic violation because the cop “smelled marijuana.” My mind was going all sorts of places about planting drugs, etc. He found nothing and must have felt bad about the search because he let with off my infraction with just a warning. But very embarrassing.
In many states that have legalized marijuana, law enforcement can’t even use a small quantity of visible weed in a vehicle as PC.
The charge should be Driving Under Marijuana – DUM.
Imagine the “Tums” song, but in a state-sponsored ad to get the word out: Dum, da dum-dum DUMMMM.
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