<p>I’m all for regulating it. In Michigan, smoking is banned in public places. Do the same thing with pot. Problem solved and i don’t have to breathe in anyone’s habit. This asthmatic would much rather breathe in pot smoke than the toxic cigarette chemicals.</p>
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<p>[Edible</a> Pot Hits the Spot For Some, Spurring an Industry - CNBC](<a href=“http://www.cnbc.com/id/40534741/]Edible”>Edible Pot Hits the Spot For Some, Spurring an Industry)</p>
<p>Ah, capitalism!</p>
<p>Its interesting that Washington very recently closed all of their state run liquor stores, in exchange for booze to be available at the Safeway, but now will be running licensed stores selling marijuana for recreational use.
Washington sees it as a huge cash cow, they are planning to tax the heck out of it, which imagine will make it less attractive to college students even if they were 21.
Thank goodness that Washington already bans smoking in all public places, so I won’t have to worry about someone lighting up at a club. Smoking anything around others is just rude!
It is legal for those people with a medical marijuana prescription to grow it for their own use, but it will not be legal ( in Washington) to grow it recreationally unless you are a licensed grower.</p>
<p>Full disclosure- I tried marijuana in high school and smoked it socially for several years although I never really liked it. ( I did inhale - i just didn’t like it)I quit when I quit smoking cigarettes :p, which was when I was 20/21.</p>
<p>However- for the past two years i have been a medical marijuana patient. I have severe osteoarthritis & fibromyalgia. I wasn’t tolerating prescribed pain meds very well, and I searched for an alternative.</p>
<p>Our neighbor who has a fused vertebrae suggested I try marijuana to help me sleep and for pain during the day ( there are different kinds- effects vary depending on percentages of different chemicals). I was desperate so I very reluctantly tried it. ( I don’t like drugs in general, even ones that are prescribed, and I was afraid it might work, forcing me to change my position on pot.)</p>
<p>But it did work as it so happened, when I first started using it, I only needed very little to help me go to sleep. Eventually, I did build up a bit of a tolerance ( after about a year) as my condition worsened, and so now I use both a prescription opiod as well as marijuana to control pain, but I alternate them so not to build more tolerance.
( I use edibles for 98% of MMJ use- no smoking)</p>
<p>But, medical marijuana and recreational use are very different things.
I expect there will be a lot of unintended consequences.
Not that I think it will make a difference to college students, I don’t think they will be more likely to try it if they aren’t already interested.
But you may have criminals trying to access it legally in the states where it is legal, in order to distribute it in the states where it is not.
And criminals are unlikely to restrict their criminal activity to crossing state lines with intent to sell.</p>
<p>Ek, I think you just made a very good argument for national legalization ;)</p>
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<p>I’d guess for college kids it will be more like “the old days” where you went to New Orleans because it had lower drinking age laws. I could see a new Spring Break tradition of heading to Colorado.</p>
<p>I agree with mythmom in post #10. I think it should be legalized, and then taxed and regulated, and of course harsh penalties for driving stoned (just as there are / should be for driving drunk). Of course it can be regulated in public places just like cigarettes.</p>
<p>I’m a little surprised by lmkh’s vehemence, too – I thought lmkh was very much a libertarian / government should butt out of our business?</p>
<p>O7Dad ( is that like 007? ) 
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<p>The thing I’ve learned about edibles is you have to take it very slowly. You can’t just chow down on something without knowing what to expect.
The good thing about the state regulated stores is that ( I hope) the edibles will be clearly marked as to what they contain, how much and in what form.</p>
<p>Everybody’s body processes THC/TBD, differently and you need to be cautious. </p>
<p>For instance I like bar cookies, I find they are easy to divide up & I am not compelled to eat the whole thing, like I almost did with some tortilla chips. I divide one cookie into nine doses, and I don’t ever take more than one dose at a time.
The effect isn’t as fast as smoking it, it can take several hours to digest, but it then lasts for six or seven hours, so you definitely don’t want to take too much unless you want to read the last sentence over again about seven times.</p>
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<p>Since smoking marijuana is smoking, wouldn’t the existing limitations on smoking address the secondhand smoke problem? (Or if they do not, then the limitations on smoking may need to be modified, although such modifications would not be specific to marijuana, tobacco, or anything else that someone may smoke.)</p>
<p>Yes. That was my message, ucb. My apologizes if the language was muddled.</p>
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<p>LOL-- seriously. 1970. A batch of pot brownies (50 years in jail), a bottle of Ripple and a bag of taco-flavored doritoes. Heading North on I-35 out of Austin goin’ to Dallas in my 1968 Galaxie. Should be there in 3-1/2 hours, give or take. I think I’ll eat “just one” square. Damn–where’d all the brownies go? Where am I? What day is this? How’d I get to Dallas?</p>
<p>Sober since '83. </p>
<p>Like abortion, it needs to be legal but a lot of people need to make a personal decision that it is not for them (alcohol, drugs, abortion).</p>
<p>ps-- “07” was my S’s HS graduating class/college freshman year.</p>
<p>Kids will use whatever is available, so I’m not sure it matters, but as a practical matter, not every college bans smoking indoors (they might say they do, but they don’t - I’ve visited a number where the substance-free dorm is the only place that’s enforced, and was told that by at least three tour guides when I asked). </p>
<p>I’ve read so many sad roommate posts that I do find this concerning.</p>
<p>I also work with teenagers every day, and see the very sad consequences of drug use. A sixteen year old heroin addict is a pathetic sight and a life wasted. Can you get there from alcohol? Yes, but it’s harder. Kids don’t bother to check ingredients, and they don’t go to fancy pot dispensaries. </p>
<p>We all need to set better examples for our kids so that they make smart choices, no matter what’s legal.</p>
<p>Jello shots and THC-laced brownies can both have negative consequences, and overindulgence in either isn’t pretty.</p>
<p>University of Colorado - Boulder has the following smoking policy:
[Smoking</a> Policy | University of Colorado Boulder](<a href=“http://www.colorado.edu/policies/smoking-policy]Smoking”>http://www.colorado.edu/policies/smoking-policy)
<a href=“https://housing.colorado.edu/node/389#smoking[/url]”>https://housing.colorado.edu/node/389#smoking</a></p>
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<p>While I would agree that some Medical marijuana dispensaries do not limit themselves to legal prescription holders and that some Drs write the prescription with a casual hand, that doesn’t seem to be any different than how some "medical clinics "currently handle other controlled substances.</p>
<p>Reading about them sounds like a Justified script. </p>
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<p>[War</a> on drugs moves to pharmacy from jungle | Reuters](<a href=“http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/16/us-dea-prescription-drugs-idUSBRE85F09220120616]War”>http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/16/us-dea-prescription-drugs-idUSBRE85F09220120616)</p>
<p>I think the state setting a clear standard and not only requiring a license but taxing the proceeds which will be used for education, will benefit everyone. I want the bar to be high to obtain marijuana, I wish the bar was higher to obtain liquor!</p>
<p>The local grocery store which recently started selling hard liquor has been having such a hard time dealing with shoplifters including ones who become violent, that the store across the street has put their own sales on hold.</p>
<p>The DEA has been pretty quick to shut down dispensaries which were flaunting the law, but have been leaving others alone.</p>
<p>I think in some cases legalization could open a dialogue that might reduce drug use in some cases. Like EK I smoked in the late sixties but stopped at 18 because it made me paranoid. Not a good head. In fact I stopped pretty much all drug use then. I am a college professor. I would love to have open discussions of these things with my students, but I am afraid to.</p>
<p>My H smoked every day before I met him and grew his own plants hydroponically. He damaged his memory and some reasoning capacity, or so it seems. My S damaged his GPA one semester. He’s recovered. </p>
<p>If mj is recreational, then we can talk to them openly about other possibilities, like anti-depressants, which mj often substitutes for.</p>
<p>Prohibition was a failure. I hate the idea of so many young men in prison with NY’s three strike policy, particularly young people of color. I don’t want these kids in jail.</p>
<p>If pot is legalized it does take away the “easy” argument of “well, it is against the law.” </p>
<p>For those of us who have personal and/or family addition histories, the dialogue with our child has to start at the earliest possible age and be delivered not as a legal/moral judgment of “it is wrong” rather that it may be risky/dangerous/ultimately disasterous for that child.</p>
<p>A little history: Ann Arbor, MI effectively decriminalized pot in 1972, enacting a municipal ordinance and later a city charter amendment making possession of up to 2 ounces of marijuana a civil infraction (i.e., less than a misdemeanor, same status as a ticket for overtime parking) punishable by a fine of $5. Marijuana remained illegal under state and federal law, of course, but the charter amendment prohibited the city police and city attorney from enforcing anything other than the municipal law. That stood until 1990 when a more conservative city administration narrowly pushed through a referendum raising the fine to $25 for the first offense, $50 for the second, and $100 for the third and subsequent offenses.</p>
<p>And guess what? The sky didn’t fall when marijuana was decriminalized in 1972. The city hasn’t subsequently turned into a bunch of stoners (indeed, there is probably less marijuana use than in the 1970s). Some students at the University of Michigan use pot, but probably in no greater numbers, frequency, or quantity than on other college campuses. There are few, if any, marijuana-induced traffic fatalities; as everywhere, alcohol is much more dangerous in that regard. Like most colleges and universities, the University of Michigan has express policies prohibiting any illegal drug or alcohol use on campus, but also like most colleges and universities, the de facto policy is to tolerate the discreet use of both, and perhaps more importantly in a place like Ann Arbor where most upperclassmen live off campus, campus authorities have little or no say in what goes on behind closed doors in the privacy of students’ homes. Nor do the local police view it as a high priority to write a bunch of marijuana tickets, unless there’s a situation that’s getting out of hand.</p>
<p>It’s been that way in Ann Arbor for 40 years now, without tragic consequences. I just don’t think there’s much to fear here.</p>
<p>To be blunt ;), I think that the government should not be wasting its time on this issue. Just legalize it and stop wasting government resources on such dopey issues. I hope the number of state that legalizes pot gets higher If this requires you to weed out your vacations or college choices, I’m sorry, but this is the direction the country is headed.</p>
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<p>I know this idea is brought up a lot, but I actually disagree. I think making pot legal will cause more people to try smoking pot. And I say this as someone who fully believes that marijuana should be legalized, even for recreational use. This is based on my friend’s experiences with alcohol - I have quite a few friends that would not drink, or drink very little before they were 21, but once they did turn 21, they started to drink more heavily. I think the illegality of drinking made them uncomfortable, even if they thought that drinking by itself was okay. And I do have friends that say that the only reason they will not try smoking marijuana is because it’s illegal.</p>
<p>Clearly education is the best route, not prohibition. The gay community lowered rates of HIV infection faster than anyone else because they were more responsive to information on “safe sex.” He have to discuss risky behaviors as 07DAD says. I talked to my kids about safe sex, but I did not expect them to avoid sex entirely. And the risk for different individuals differs. MJ is worse for me because I have severe asthma; it might be worse for my S because he has ADD. I just don’t think criminalization of victimless crimes works.</p>
<p>I also think Bloomberg was ridiculous to pass a law against Big Gulp sodas. He’s hurting poor families who may share one drink among family members.</p>
<p>Prohibition brings about “coolness”, rebellion and illegal activities as well as incarceration of minorities in greater numbers. I am not a big believer in the redemptive powers of jail.</p>
<p>While war brains friends say the only reason why they will not do something is because it is illegal, most teens I dare say will not have that hesitation.</p>
<p>In 1972 when I was 15, I tried pot for the first time, I didn’t seek it out, a friends boyfriend had some.
Marijuana, was * much* easier to get a hold of for a high school kid than alcohol.
Alcohol was monitored, regulated and you needed access to someone who was willing to use their legal access to obtain it for you.</p>
<p>People who sold marijuana, weren’t licensed, they weren’t trying to follow the rules and regulations of providing marijuana, they were trying to avoid it!
You didn’t have to find someone who could buy it legally, because no one could!
They were just as happy to sell to a high school kid as to a Boeing engineer.
Not only were they not scrupulous about who they sold to, they didn’t have to be scrupulous about what they were selling.</p>
<p>They might tell you they only had pre rolled joints that could be soaked in poison, they might try and get you to agree to sell amphetamines in order to still have access to pot.
Doesn’t sound like a very good deal, but it still was less hassle than trying to find alcohol.</p>
<p>Marijuana is still not going to be legal for children, and when the illegal routes dry up( although I doubt if they will completely), it will be harder for teens to find someone who is willing to risk their legal access in order to provide it to youth.</p>