In January 17, 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution effectively established the prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the United States by declaring the production, transport, and sale of alcohol illegal. However, Americans wanted to drink booze so the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The Twenty-first Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933. It is unique among the 27 amendments of the U.S. Constitution for being the only one to repeal a prior amendment and to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions.
Supreme court legalizes recreational marijuana, and soon to follow recreational heroin and recreational cocaine.
Americans want more drugs and alcohol.
I just hope that they people of color who have been incarcerated and disregarded dealing marijuana are thought of when all of this is said and done.
2
Will our country legalize this plant ever? In my lifetime (I'm old)? It is so crazy that you can legally by the flower in one state (Colorado) and then drive across state lines into Kansas and get locked up. I know progress is slow, but this is ridiculous.
Our country is wrong in many ways right now, including this.
2
Steve DeAngelo has always been a pompous self-promoting jerk. Ask around, the real pioneers and "fathers and mothers of the cannabis industry" will be glad to share their thoughts.
"Relationship with the plant?" Is that what folks working for microbreweries, another industry with startling growth numbers, are taught to say? Everyone knows why most folks are interested in working for dispensaries and cultivators, and all points in between.
The world might be a very peaceful place if we all would take a daily dose of cannabis :o)
2
Here in Southwest Oregon, it is a gold rush. County commissioners with secret investments, running the regulatory process. People paying cash for rural properties, bulldozing the mixed conifer forest and planting weed. Then the mice and voles gnaw the plants. Out comes the rodenticide. Lots of rodenticide. Dead hawks, coyotes and anything else that eats small rodents. Licensed pesticide applicator? No, a minimum wage guy who mixes the stuff without even wearing gloves. Next, the grower brings in water tanks. Lots of water tanks. Now your well goes dry. Probably coincidence. Call the Water Master? A county employee, he is suspiciously friendly to the growers.
Now it is close to harvest, the plants are worth serious money. Out come the rifles, the weird looking 'employees' with the jailhouse tattoos. Soon gates go up across roads that have been open for generations.
I first smoked grass in 1967. I believe it should be legal. But I do not believe in trashing the forests.
These articles talk about the marijuana 'business.' This is real capitalism. Pay workers the minimum, evade the law, poison the forest, bribe the politicians.
5
The reason the federal government doesn't legalize cannabis is because it will throw our states' racially biased and oppressive criminal injustice systems into the light of moral repentance.
So much of the existing American prison industrial complex has been built by criminalizing minor legal infractions of black and brown people which have been largely ignored in white populations. The federal government does not want to pay reparations, or decrease selective oppression that has been assimilated into our extraordinarilyy dysfunctional criminal justice system.
Remember that America has more prisoners per capita than any other country in the world. Not a small portion of imprisoned persons are black and brown petty offenders who have been handed down outsized jail terms by overly punitive judges.
Also let us not forget that for almost two years we had an attorney general in office with no small investment in the private prison industry.
Federal legalization of marijuana is long overdue if we are to right the significant and egregious wrongs and trespasses against non white Americans of the current American prison industrial complex.
2
This article stands in stark contrast to another one published concurrently by the Times. There is a huge surplus of cannabis products documented in both California and Oregon. In reality, the market for workers is likely to contract significantly as hype meets reality. Export of high quality product from these two states alone could be an option but would only partially offset the huge surpluses being grown, assuming the feds de-schedule cannabis in the near future. But as time goes on there will be fewer and fewer businesses in existence as the dust settles. This is just another gold rush as history demonstrates so well.
2
Everything in moderation . 2 glasses of wine..........2 hits on a pipe ............. Don't drive , Peace out .......
6
I am schizo-affective with a herniated disc in my neck. I used to end up in psych wards on a regular basis because I had no way to manage my pain effectively. I lost a good job because the doctor's solution -- Ultram, an opioid -- only made me too sleepy and dizzy to leave the house. And don't get me started on the ineffectiveness of psychotropic medication. I have taken various pharmaceuticals on and off for twenty years and none of them could keep me from winding up back in the hospital. I got my medical cannabis card three years ago and I haven't been hospitalized since then, knock on weed! I know not everyone likes pot but it really helps people like me.
7
Yes, legal weed's great. I live in the Bay Area, and I smell it every day -- on the interstate, at playgrounds with my young kids, and even when other parents drop off their 8-year olds at elementary school. I especially love seeing parents sitting in their cars in a playground parking lot, smoking weed while their 2 or 3 year old is playing out of sight. Or when I'm hit in the face, from 20 feet away, with the stench of some half-smoked blunt stuffed into the pockets of someone at the public library (kids section), or at the doctor's office. Legal weed is a real boon to society. It's teaching a whole new generation of low-income children to deal with neglect. So be sure to include this angle in the spin! Great job on the investigative reporting, and great job investors on your concern with social consequences!
1
@JRP The parellels to cigarettes are staggering. Its literally the exact same thing we have had the last 50 years. You could apply the same laws or criticisms to that. There will always be a compromise between people having a right to smoke, and others being around that.
1
@JRP So JRP, I raised two kids who work in the medical field and help people. And I smoked some weed from time to time. Do you have any evidence to suggest they were neglected as a result? Can you offer some evidence of how your prodigy have made the world a better place? What makes you think you should have any say over my behavior?
6
Worth remembering: The Roosevelt administration's pitch for repealing Prohibition at the depths of the depression in 1933 was that it would create jobs.
1
BigPharma, which held its thumbs on the scale against marijuana for all these decades, must be disappointed. However, from what I can tell, their marketing people are busy trying to make expensive versions of Mary Jane into pills. Thanks to them, and Congress acting in their behalf, countless people have ended up in prison for minor "legal" drug possession or dealing, or dead from the hidden side effects of prescription drugs, taken as prescribed(due to the FDA being made hopelessly weak in its prescription drug safety function). When, if ever, will our government act in our behalf and not in the service of corporations and the uber wealthy?
5
I have never smoked.
Though I was born in the right decade in the right century when smoking dope was a sign of rebellion.
I just crossed 70.
But now, with all medical warnings on smoking - what attraction these folks have towards dope is mystifying.
Not to mention, it may stop you from getting most high paying jobs in industries where you are tested.
In a couple of decades - I am thinking there is to be a dope settlement along the lines of the tobacco one.
1
The main purpose of weed being illegal in the first place was to have an easy way for police departments to arrest and jail blacks and other minorities. Now it’s seen as a jobs program that can mitigate the loss of mostly white manufacturing jobs to Mexico, China and automation. So maybe Trump should be promoting his wall as a means to protect American pot jobs from cheap foreign competitors?
4
Great. But you can pretty much guarantee this is going to lead to increased health care costs for society. Smoking anything is not good for your health. Large increases in pulmonary problems will follow soon.
4
@Bob@Bob The two doctors in my family totally agree with you, and so do the four cops.
@Bob The town I live in has winter air that is comparable to smoking a pack of cigarettes a week. Nearly every legislator takes $3000 to $30,000 dollars a year from the petroleum refining industry. Indeed, they are expanding capacity here. Do you really think public health goes before profit? I assure you, it does not.
8
Everyday I smoke more and more Marijuana.. My budtender Sven [I think he's from Austria] is the only person on Earth who understands me. He knows exactly which strain of pot I need to cope with my chronic pain and never ending list of newly discovered allergies. Yesterday, I just found out I was allergic to Q-Tips! All these years I kept reinfecting myself and Sven finally pin pointed the cause and rolled me a fatty! My budtender and I have a spiritual connection and he is smarter than any "medical doctor" I ever visited. I need marijuana .. I want to smoke it when I'm not smoking it.. I need it! Give me more and give it to me now!
6
I think a lot about cannabis...... I've got a few Euros invested in the industry. However for now the industry reminds me of...... 8 Track Tapes. It requires a closet, grow light, water, a little nutrients, and about 16 weeks to grow 3/4 lb of very good bud from a seed. If you smoke this much weed, you've got a serious problem. In reality, most people will not do this. They will instead choose to go to their local 'national vendor and pay up for consistent bud nation wide. This is why we have people paying $5 for a cup of coffee that cost Starbucks ~$0.30 to produce. MedMen in CA have got a shot, as well as the Constellation Brands group and a few others. The real pain will be felt in the spirits industry and the wine and beer industry.
1
@Henry Why would consuming 3/4 lb of pot be a serious problem? For whom?
2
@Herman.......... the babies and children of the stoned parents?
@Henry 12 ounces off of one plant? indoors? home grown? YEAH RIGHT. maybe 4-8 ounces in the perfect setting depending on strain and grower's skill and money and time invested (water every few days, regular feeding schedule, light schedule, maintaining temperature and humidity, trimming and plant training, pest prevention, and then the harvest process).
people who get 12-16+ ounces per plant are growing outdoor, professionally (legally or not but profit, not consumption is the motive), and their plants are huge.
im a green thumb with access to good genetics (meant for where i live) and my best plant so far (in terms of yield) gave me 4 ounces, grown outside in now LEGAL vermont! my indoor (greenhouse grown) plants give me half that.
your average beginner hobby grower is going to buy a 2x2x4 tent kit off amazon for $200, some autoflower seeds from their dispensary or online from europe, and they will get an ounce to an ounce and a half per plant if they are lucky, every 2-3 months (photoperiod strains take 6-9 months depending on strain but come with higher yields). i have a friend who is a professional grower of all sorts of herbs, greens, and fruits, and in that type of set up his best yield so far has been two ounces off one plant. PRO GROWER. TWO OUNCES!!!!
im getting really tired of the arrogant ignorance from the retirement set here in the comments spewing their reefer madness and trumped up statistics.
3
This article is fuzzy about which marijuana is being discussed. An entire article could be devoted to the proliferation of CBD products alone with only a nominal amount of THC which is the psychoactive part. These are being used for a multitude of medical issues having little to do with the pleasure seeking described in this article.
1
@s m brown your ignorance is astounding. CBD alone works for some medical conditions, but combined with THC (not .03% THC) the entourage effect makes the medicine more potent.
and some conditions require THC in higher amounts (1:1, 2:1, 10:1, etc).
god forbid people seek pleasure.
Recreational weed should be legal nationwide for everyone age 21 and up. Anyone should be allowed to grow as much as they want for their own personal consumption. Anyone who wants to sell it should be licensed, regulated and taxed. Those who are better at it will drive those who are less good at it out of business. Anyone caught driving under the influence should be arrested. Taxes should be set at levels that don't make it worthwhile to purchase from unlicensed sellers. Packaging should include warning labels like tobacco products do. People previously incarcerated for possession should be released from prison and have their criminal records expunged. Anyone caught selling to minors or not complying with industry regulations should lose their license. Minority owners should be given preferential treatment when applying for allotted licenses. Consumers would be assured of purchasing a quality product. Workers would get jobs. Governments would generate tax revenue. Fewer people would be in prison, which would save tax dollars. Seems like we should try and make it work.
15
I'm sure that most people enter the industry to "smoke dope freely" all the time, at least the people I know in it started out that way.
Early opponents of cannabis chose to call it "marijuana," perpetuating a negative racial stereotype. We still think of it as coming from Mexico (most doesn't).
The term "marijuana" was racist then, and it is even more racist now.
2
@Old Yeller Way too hate to stuff that cat back in the bag. But I generally use "cannabis."
1
@Old Yeller
Would you believe it if I told you the sport of "Surfing" is derived from the pejorative word "serf" which means slavery?
In order to preserve the integrity of ocean waves- We need to stop using the derogatory term "surfing" and replace with "wave riding" or "natural naked"
Waves are free man.. so are we...
2
@Aaron except thats not where surfing got its name from, whereas the very history of marijuana's name is racist.
1
As a cash only industry, this booming new market is only benefiting America's royalty, the 1%. You have to be your own bank to get on this boat.
In the money-chum frenzy, living wages and environmental concerns were left behind.
Average workers are paid and treated like chattel and in addition to using massive amounts of energy and water, the industry is creating oceans of non-recyclable waste.
Maybe some of that money could be channeled into why we would start a new industry without a nod to people or the plant, or even why our need for escapism is so...high?
8
@Kate
Spot on, though on the rare occasion I do smoke it makes me more present, not less, and that presence stays with me for a long time after, so its not always escapism that people seek.
5
@Kate I would think legalization would make a lot of formerly illegal businesspeople legitimate.
2
Legal Cannabis socially failed the most wonderful opportunity: to keep growing and selling in the hands of the "people."
Instead of what we see now, limited amounts of cannabis should have been allowed grown by anyone, then tested and sold in Farmer's Markets.
Whether allowing small growing of 20 plants or 200, this would have provided a significant income to the rural and urban poor or those right on the edge.
They have done it wrong because yet again, Big Business wants to horn into what could be a savior for many who are economically distressed and just barely making it.
Another lost opportunity to the chauvinism of capitalism. How about getting rid of all the lights and vast energy expenditure of a crop that can and should be grown outdoors?
This isn't progress.
10
No. If it is to be tested, graded and sold by potency, small growers/farmers would not have the money to test it, the problem that Oregon has right now. And the main reason to legalise it, was to tax it, small growers wouldn't pay the tax.
2
A lot of people in this comment section seriously underestimate how much work goes into growing consumer grade cannabis. It isn't like growing tomatoes in your backyard, you need a regime of nutrients, and temperature and light management. Sure it will grow easily some places, but wild cannabis has little to no potency.
5
@C M growing consumer grade isnt hard, you just need access to the proper environment and strains to do so.
nutrients are not a must, not if one is using proper soil.
Are you serious? The apple of weed? The amazon of weed? Both those companies destroyed all competition because they had the money to! Is there data on the employment that the industry provided before this legalization? Every farm I used to seasonally work on in Northern California has shut down, sitting on land that is not worth nearly as much as they bought it for 10 years ago. These companies aren’t job creators they are monopolies trying to cut out any middle men and boost profits. What a joke nytimes.
17
This is further evidence of the continuing decay of American culture. The marijuana craze, first promoted by liberals and now embraced by conservatives, is symptomatic of the inability of American culture to deal with reality. Just as the opioid crisis has been understood as an economic bonanza for those who profit from people's addictions, now cannabis, a psychedelic and mind distorting drug, becomes big business. Wherever there is money to be made, there go the investments and ... the jobs. Trump and his ilk must be celebrating. It is a really sad time for the country.
2
Oh but alcohol is fine isn’t it.
8
@Lara Cannabis is not a psychedelic drug. It is far, far less dangerous than alcohol. Introducing legal cannabis to reduce alcohol consumption is quite arguably a public health harm reduction measure.
5
@R Wilson
I've smoked a lot of pot and consumed a lot of beer, wine and booze in my 67 years. I haven't smoked pot in years and I now somehow manage to drink a single beer before dinner. You smoke to get high. A single beer does not yield a buzz.
If pot becomes legalized--or even just decriminalized--everywhere, anyone with a bag of dirt will be able to get into the business...or at least grow their own for themselves and family/friends (think window sill herb planters). Investing in a pot company will go down in history as the ultimate sucker's bet.
@Bruce anyone can make alcohol too but people still choose to buy it from the store.
18
@Bruce I've been making beer and wine for years to drink and give to friends, but from what I've heard, you really need to put a lot of research and effort into getting good plants. It's not like the backyard stuff people did in the 70's.
1
@Pete, @Tim :
I think you fellas are missing my point. There's so much oversupply now generated by the legalized industry, that it's flooding into the black market. Nobody is making a buck at it today. Imagine when everyone and their mother begins a Cannabis startup. But by all means, dump your 401Ks into Cannabis stocks. I'm sure the next Apple or Amazon is in there somewhere.
1
Meanwhile,
- non-violent drug dealers are still in prison
- my risk of injury in traffic has increased because people smoke in their car and sober driving rules are not enforced
- I can’t open my window any more without being exposed to the stench 24/7
8
Professional managers and executives aren’t referred to as “talent” in corporate speak. They are referred to as management. The word talent typically refers to creative producers, engineers, and other brainy types that keep consumers interested in what the corporation is selling.
4
what about the banking aspect?
1
@Pottree I was wondering that, too. Are employees paid in cash?
@Annie yes the industry is over 85% cash and carry, and that goes for legal businesses paying taxes. Some dispensaries are forced to go down the street and buy US Post Office money orders with cash and then pay their business taxes with money orders! This is due to banks, which are federally regulated, not providing services to cannabusiness for fear of being in violation of federal reporting, usually under the heading of Anti-money laundering and related requirements. It basically comes down to something called a SAR (suspicious activity report). And since banks are cautious creatures, few take the risk of providing banking services to this industry.
1
OMGoodness, how coincidental that this ad popped up:
"This pot stock could be like buying Apple in 1980 for $22 per share."
Where do I sign up? David Dancer, contact me, as I agree that [Pot] can and should be part of everyone's life!"
3
I'm not sure how I feel about living the rest of my life high all the time just to provide someone with a job. If I couldn't find one without it I don't see how a cloud of smoke will do much more other than stink up the room. Peasants out in the streets sweeping with straw brooms provides jobs too and the air outside is at least fresh, as it can be.
@John Doe why do you have to be high for someone to have a job? No one is forcing you to smoke
4
"An estimated 160 million Americans are either obese or overweight. Nearly three-quarters of American men and more than 60% of women are obese or overweight. These are also major challenges for America's children – nearly 30% of boys and girls under age 20 are either obese or overweight.."
What's going to happen when everyone smokes pot and 160 million overweight people get the munchies?
3
@Aaron Google BMI of cannabis users vs. non users. You may be surprised. Munchies go away, and you're left with a zero calorie alternative to alcohol, that doesn't make you hung over so you can bounce out of bed the next day and stay active. But for the most part, actual facts don't matter when it comes to the cannabis debate. But for those interested, BMI of the average cannabis user is lower than non users. Look it up.
10
@Sage
<>
Please Mr. Science, could you describe the "average" pot smoker for us? Thanks.
@h king sage is correct, the average pot smoker has a lower BMI than the average non pot smoker. studies have been done.
I know I am a voice in the wilderness. . . . This is a huge mistake. We are setting ourselves up for a big health crisis down the road as the longterm effects of smoking pot become evident. With everything happening in the world and our country we need people to be as sharp as possible, the last think we need right now is a bunch of drugged out stoners. You can either be part of the solution, or you can trust people like me to make decisions for you, because you are too wasted to care.
5
@Bruce1253 What long-term effects? I have been smoking pot all day every day sine 1964. I'm now 73 and in excellent health.
17
@Tony Wicher Indeed. Many rely on the old wive's tails the prohibition crowd still attempt to use and persuade.
9
@Bruce1253 too bad you don't get it, Cannabis actually motivates me and makes me more present. If you don't want to be a hypocrite, crusade against alcohol, It's the worst 'legal' product sold like candy!
3
I don’t think it is accurate to write that George Washington’s purported hemp garden is a staple of dorm room conversation.
3
One faster growing business is treatment for schizophrenia...check Colorado’s numbers. No sense checking California’s, it was already through the roof.
14
@skyfiber
The faster growing business is drug war propaganda and badly done studies or misread studies that make unfounded claims about marijuana causing mental illness.
2
@skyfiber - "…treatment for schizophrenia…"
Good work, sky - updating Reefer Madness for the 21st Century!
2
@skyfiber Another debunked myth. Cannabis rates have been steadily rising for decades, and the schizo rate has remained completely flat. No uptick. It's simple: People with brain issues like schizophrenia seek out cannabis because it quiets their mind and makes them feel better. So more of them may use it, but there's obviously zero correlation. But again, facts don't matter to those who oppose legalization. They prefer russian face book posts for their info.
3
There’s all this talk about marijuana. One thing that seems to be lost, among others, so far has been the fate of those who don’t use it and don’t wish to, especially because they don’t respond to it well. Many people get headaches or other problems whenever they smell it. All the talk and discussion is about the other side and little about how to protect those who don’t want to be exposed to it. Many people are being forced to smoke it through secondary smoke in shared residences like apartment complexes or on the streets etc.
22
@Frey
Yes, and the internal combustion engine needs to be eliminated. The second hand exhaust fumes I breath ridding to school are choking. They are also causing rapid climate change.
53
@Frey
Yes, and the internal combustion engine needs to be eliminated. The second hand exhaust fumes I breath ridding to school are choking. They are also causing rapid climate change.
1
@Frea Come on, secondary smoke, give me a break.
20
The future of cannabis is in the medical world, not the recreational sector it occupies now. If it weren't, no one would be investing. The industry is also showing us the path to future food growing techniques, which for many reasons won't be in the antiquated open field. I think it's a viable sector with tons of room for growth, just follow the think tanks.
2
Hold your horses folks. Growers in Washington are going out of business at a steady rate because wholesale prices are too low to keep going. Scaling up is impossible for them due to costs and no bank loans available. So big money likely will come in, think Budweiser, etc. And as to those jobs, they’re mostly temp minimum wage, a one week harvest then gone. No benefits, no health insurance. And a nightmare for the grower/owners who have to do all the government paperwork. Meanwhile black market growers prosper tax free.
10
@R Harvy
A big problem in Northern California where the effects are closing stores on main street. The failure of local politicians to limit large grow operations, protecting mom and pop farms from the big money takeover of the industry, is ripping apart the positive effects decades of local industry.
As usual, county leaders rarely ignore when money talks.
4
Even as one who 'has had a relationship with the plant,' I've been amazed and slightly concerned at the rate of legalization for recreational use.
Laws differing between states are what make them 'laboratories of democracy.' With ten states now allowing legal use, I'd think it's a good time for other states (and some democratic candidates) to 'chill out' and just observe how things go for several years, before deciding to follow suit.
1
It's neither food, water, nor air. Inhaling pot smoke will not make users healthier, smarter, or stronger.
8
@Bitter Herb Recreational sex, movies, a few drinks, recreational sports and scores of other activities that people choose to engage in do not grow the individual like a writing course or a construction job, but people do them because they like to or because they derive something worthwhile from their point of view from the activity. The mood and the laws of the nation regarding pot have moved in the direction they have because the suppression of this choice to indulge in a marijuana high has been evaluated to produce more harm than good.
3
Many people using the plant’s extracts for healthcare do not smoke— they use sublingual tinctures, topical lotions, gel caps, and skin patches. The medical benefits have been proven (mostly by European scientists), and National Academy of Sciences published a 2017 report on the scientific and clinical evidence of the plant’s medical benefits, recommending Congress to invest in research. You can download the report for free.
3
@Bitter Herb. And it doesn't purport to. Does alcohol?
3
This is a bubble. Marijuana is as easy to grow as, say, oregano, but it takes so little of it to get high, occasional users might not use the equivalent of a spice jar's worth of pot in an entire year. Oversupply is going to be a huge problem for the industry. Anybody thinking of a career or an investment should think long and hard about it. Most of what is happening now is happening on borrowed investment capital.
10
@Tom. Your fears of a market collapse due to oversupply are shown to be bogus. Retailers in Canada have frequently had to close up shop temporarily due to lack of supply.
A nation full of pot heads... I don't care what adults do, but we are just legitimizing recreational use for kids whose brains are still developing. And before everyone jumps in and starts yelling, "the dangers of alcohol are far greater" .. well I don't care. Marijuana is a gateway drug and it leads to harder drugs. Every person I know who smokes pot has eventually tried X and Acid .. and the list goes on and on..
I smoked it, I hated it, I was paranoid and thought I was dying .. All my friends stood around and laughed at me... The worst experience of my life.
And if I had a terminal illness and was going to die .. the last thing I would want is to be stoned... My worst fear would come to fruition.. I would say "I'm dying" and everyone would stand around and laugh.
Sorry but no thank you!
5
Is there evidence to back up the old idea that marijuana is a “gateway” drug? How would you even design such a study? There seem to be a lot of complicated factors. For instance, is alcohol a gateway drug to marijuana?
3
@Aaron Ah, so we should have the U.S. government put people in jail for this because we personally don't like it?
So -- let's spend a trillion dollars and give 40 or 50 million people criminal records because we don't want people getting high.
Oh, wait, we already tried that! We spent a trillion dollars on the War on Drugs and gave 40 million people jail time and criminal records. How did that work out for us?
6
@Aaron just because you had a negative experience, and it sounds like you had too much based on your experience, doesn't mean you should control what others do with their bodies. Sometimes when people first try alcohol, they have too much have a terrible experience, but rarely do they go around telling others about how terrible alcohol is. What people don't realize about cannabis is it is very easy to take too much especially at first. There is a way around this and its a technique called micro-dosing. This will allow you to find a dose for each different product you want to try that works with your body. Everyone has different levels of sensitivity to cannabis. It doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the product itself. Almost any mind altering substance works the same way. Just because you are unfamiliar with the correct way to use the herb doesn't mean its ineffective or only makes people paranoid. Just saying writing off the whole industry just because of one bad experience where your dose wasn't properly administered seems harsh and short sighted.
14
Here's the deal with pot - people use too much at once. A whole joint is something people did in the cheech 'n chong days when 1) pot was weaker or 2) the goal was to get blitzed. If you smoke a tiny bit of the new weed in a pipe (maybe 1/8 of what you see people rolling into a joint in these videos) you get a nice calm, good feeling without being paranoid or debilitated. You can think clearly and freely.
8
‘Marijuana’ (Marihuana) is racist nomenclature which exists as an anachronistic relic of the Reefer Madness days. Cannabis is the name of the flower. A weed is an invasive plant that thrives in inhospitable conditions. What a thing is called effects how that thing is perceived.
“Still, listings for cannabis-related positions have rocketed to the top echelon of the fastest-growing-job categories on sites like Indeed and ZipRecruiter.”
And still, any money made while working these jobs can’t be put in a bank account without the additional risk of losing said money, and maybe even going to jail.
2
@ubique:
Say what?? Banks don't ask where the money you're depositing comes from. At least, none of the ones I've ever used have questioned a deposit - as long as a check doesn't bounce. And I suspect at this point, cannabis employees are paid in cash.
1
@Ambient Kestrel Ever heard of civil asset forfeiture?
In any case, if bank reporting indicates something fishy, or if there is a federal drug investigation, that money is at risk...
1
In 10 years people will be laughing about how absolutely idiotic it was when marijuana was illegal
16
@Marc , not anyone who knows people who spent 6 years in prison for half a joint in Maryland or were shot hiking in Humboldt County. We should never look back at tragedy due to changing social norms or medical treatment availability and think it was idiotic that those times existed. Always remember the tragedies. I think paying attention to what's happening with the spread of measles in our country is a good example of brushing the past off in a superficial gesture.
3
The desire to get stoned has driven much of commerce since long before coins were minted.
People have a right to do what they want with their own mind and body, and no right to require me to fund their upkeep when they ruin it.
The War on Drugs and the Welfare State should both be killed and buried together in the same grave.
5
Cannabis only appears to be a job machine now because the demand far outstrips the legal supply. Once it's legal (which low-THC hemp already is), the supply will blossom, the price will fall along with the margin for the grower and the largely imaginary job market will turn out to be just another pipe dream.
Cannabis plants (hemp and marijuana) grow like...weed.
Once everybody has all the cannabis products they want (and watch as, with experience, the purported medical benefits of THC and CBD dissipate like a puff of smoke) supply and demand will set a price point for this grow-anywhere commodity that will be even less profitable than the corn, soy beans and wheat crops it will displace for a time.
If you haven't gotten into the growing market by now, but still want to make big bucks, become a cannabis lobbyist. They're all ultimately funded by Big Pharma, so cash flow is not a problem. If you don't understand the difference between cannabis, pot, marijuana and hemp, you're perfect for the job!
The rush is on - if you wait til you hear the bong, it will be too late.
1
Like you, many Americans are uninformed and have believed the govt propaganda denigrating “pot.” More than 10,000 scientific studies prove the “purported medical benefits” of the plant compounds THC and CBD. Medical schools slowly are adding cannabinoid science to their curricula. The US Govt owns a major patent on cannabis treatment for neurodegenerative disease. We are way behind other countries in researching how to use the plant’s extracts to boost health. This info is easy to find online.
5
Big Pharma created the opioid death rate disaster. Don’t get me started on the Madison Avenue’s glamorization of alcohol abuse. But, me oh my, let’s wring our hands and wrinkle our brows in “moral” self-righteousness, and let’s not let people suffering intractable pain try grass, right?
14
@Barbara Ommerle. I had stage 4 metastatic cancer of the esophagus. I was told I was terminal. I lost 100 pounds due to my therapies. Only marijuana saved me. It was the only thing that gave me the ability to get food into me and retain it. That was 29 years ago this May.
13
I cannot tolerate alcohol, but have always found cannabis tolerable with significantly fewer negative side-effects than alcohol. While I will eagerly tout its benefits for me, I also realize that the substance can also have significant negative side-effects. Interestingly, as an employee who has been subject to substance tests for most of my career, let me share an interesting story. I am three years clean from what was becoming a serious opiate addiction that lasted about six years. Why did I take opiates other than the fact that they helped me feel "good" and were easy to obtain, either legally or on the black-market? Simple. I could easily consume opiates while maintaining a legal prescription. Quite simply, I could avoid failing drug tests for an "illegal drug" because I had a standing prescription. It is so sad that I felt pushed to take this route with a truly risky substance rather than smoking my daily small dose of herb. Now, I smoke and continue to abhor opiates. I'll take my chances while scheming every way possible to avoid an employer drug test. I NEVER work while high, and support disciplinary actions for anyone who does. The entire "opiate crisis" is such a sad joke and history repeating itself. I predict that in about 80 years someone will "invent" yet another "miracle opiate" that is claimed to be non-addictive. Humans will always seek substance-relief, yet are gullible.
11
I think due to federal law, the businesses can't open bank accounts, which would be a major sticking point. That would be a massive headache, unless they fixed that caveat.
1
I got two house and going thru my second round of cancer treatment. I'm growing fruits and exotic vegetables in my backyard, I can legally get medical marijuana but why I can't legally grow my own marijuana? I have spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on my cancer treatments, why make people pay premium price when I can grow my own?
5
Investing early in (MSO)'s multi state operators has been very profitable for many investors & MedMen is just getting started. It'll probably be the most well recognized Brand in the U.S./Canada and soon Internationally already creating 1000's of jobs. Cannabis has helped countless people alleviate their addictions to alcohol, sleep aids & opioids. Well advised for NYT readers to educate themselves on the benefits of cannabis & CBD's for themselves or their ailing Pets, or just visit MedMen Fifth Avenue (Bryant Park). Natural pain relief without dangerous & addictive pharmaceuticals is priceless. Seniors are waking up to the benefits.
5
@M. Smith. I don't disagree with your multi-state operator view, but cannabis is not just medicine and it's not just for men.
The MedMen brand equity is limiting, in my view.
1
marijuana, cannabis, HEMP, - its a cash crop, its always been a cash crop. Just look at WW II and our governments call for hemp (via proper permits)... Hemp is no different than cotton and tobacco. Except it's the poor man's cash crop since it performs well (the crop grows well with little maintenance). This is why big business doesnt like it, it puts tobacco out of business, its gives lumber and cotton a run for the money. Those industries would lose government subsidies if they need to share with another industry that is also ... naturally better. Just look at our own governments history of controlling hemp ... with permits . So of course there is money in it, but a lot of others will lose money as well... and thats why its illegal.. (see history of permits, you can grow hemp, as long as you went to DC personally , went to a window and exclaimed you wanted the permit...Look at the dealings behind the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, secret dealings & congress didnt even spell it right (wonder if that makes it null and void)
3
@Ed P I have heard that the reason "it" was spelled incorrectly for the 1937 tax act was because congress wanted the word to sound as "Mexican" as possible in order to generate racial distrust against the substance...
2
Very interesting article about the exploding economic opportunities of the cannabis industry. The bitter irony is that enforcement of the law when it comes to simple possession has been just another example of racial inequality in the US. It is said that marijuana has been "legal for white people" for several years now. And with really big money at stake, the "dealers" have become high powered and well connected professionals who will reap enormous profits off a product the population clearly wants available.
10
White people tend not to smoke outdoors. Maybe in the country they do, but there's a lot of air out there in the country. It dissipates and besides, there are no cops.
Here in the city, it's black men who smoke outdoors. It stinks, it's illegal, and a lot of people object and call the cops -- no matter what broad-minded Times commenters say.
1
For the last time, people, this shouldn't even be a conversation any more. Ditch the corporate nonsense.
Cannabis is easier to grow than tomatoes.
Spread seeds. Water seeds. Watch it grow. Leave it alone. Males express themselves 2-4 weeks BEFORE females do and are instantly recognizable. Remove them (chop the stalk, do not pull them up by the roots if they're planted in close proximity), allow the females to thrive. Harvest before frost / freeze.
No fuss, no stalking, no fertilizing, no hassle. Just patience.
No, you won't end up with "bubble gum" or "blueberry" or "whatever "prized" strain" but you will end up with your own product, you will know where it came from and what went into it. If you're into "prized" heirloom vegetables, then of course seeds for specific strains are available (at ridiculous prices) so knock yourself out. My point is regular seeds will produce decent grade cannabis for your personal consumption. And it's as easy as tossing some seeds into the earth and waiting for them to do their job.
21
@Moehoward
Easy for you to say ... In the adjacent city next to mine a guy did just that and the smell from the plants was so strong and odorous it caused the next door neighbors autistic son to have seizures. The grower and the dad fought in the street and he was stabbed, a pitbull bit an elderly lady trying to render assistance, the mother of the autistic son ran off with the wife of the grower, the son is in therapy, the pitbull was euthanized and now there is a huge lawsuit.
All over "growing your own" !!!
4
@Aaron
Ah, anecdotes aside, I don't believe you.
Preposterous nonsense.
A few plants of "regular" strain cannabis sativa do not "reek" so badly that people nearby can notice.
4
@Moehoward
Without question you are correct.
I've lived in a Cannabis growing culture since the mid-60's. Cannabis is not difficult to grow in the slightest, and this is the weak underbelly of the dreams of vast fortunes. Only when an emphasis is put on large harvest does the operation become difficult at all. Your points are well taken.
Autoflowering Cannabis has made the operation even easier, and here,as fine of Cannabis as can be grown is literally given away as commonly as tomatoes or peppers or various other veges and fruits.
There is just an astounding amount of mis-information about the growing of this plant. All sorts of hocus pocus in an attempt to justify high prices.
Growing your own guarantees a product without anti-fungal sprays or polluting nutrients, or the vast usage of power for indoor growing.
Eventually these dreams of big money in the industry will fall in on itself. Because Cannabis is best grown at home with environmentally sound practice.
And because of this, The Industry will try and prohibit such do-it-yourselfers; the way the plant has been grown for thousands of years.
3
My recent experience in Colorado was very enlightening.
The marketing aspect is being strongly tied to vaporizing in many forms. The most popular being the pen with a cartridge. This then, is the real wave of the future. The cartridges are discreet, and refillable, the extract is delicious with the strength being your choice. Pure CO2 extract oil.
The flower on the other hand has had the price drop so dramatically from production saturation that they are practically giving it away. Half what it used to be just two years ago.
So I see a focused campaign to 'Make the Right Fit for Your Lifestyle' kind of thing when I read the advertising and literature on this. ("Disposable pens for when you are just in a hurry, or on the go!)
In any case, the corner has been turned, Colorado has figured it out, some are making a fortune. Where do I sign up?
6
@Stephen Csiszar probably in Colorado, one might expect...
1
I'm less concerned about the growth of the new industry and more interested in the legality of people growing their own. Why enrich a company with something you can grow yourself?
And why is it still classified as a schedule 1 drug? That supposedly limits the legal research and medical testing that would point out potential harms and discover new beneficial uses.
Such a stupid decision for political gain and another way to divide the electorate with the de facto presumption that the government is making decisions in the best interests of the people they govern.
31
This is spot on.
As a gardener and someone who prefers weed that isn't overpowering, I would want full control of what I ingest instead of being forced to buy from a store.
Unlike homemade alcohol that the government allowed to kill thousands as a deterrent during Prohibition, there are no such dangers with homegrown marijuana.
I can grow any other herb for my own consumption. Why not pot?
21
@D.A.Oh
Completely agree on being able to grow your own, but what if I don't have the time, skills, or real estate to do so?
And what if tinctures or topicals are more effective delivery systems for me?
This is where industry needs to be a complement, in my view.
6
@D.A.Oh I believe California allows you to grow up to three plants, or six, or whatever. But you can grow your own here now that it's legal recreationally.
1
I can’t decide which is more pleasurable: cannabis itself or the angry flailings of the people who wish they could still lock people up for it.
31
Missing from this article is the fact that many young adults will not have criminal convictions that limit their job opportunities. Additionally, the demand for non-productive jobs like prison guards, lawyers, and probation officers should decrease as there are less arrests for pot. Those who would have had careers focused on removing people from society will instead have the opportunity to do something that adds positive value to society. To me, the economic impact from those changes will vastly out-weigh the economic impact from the legal sale of pot.
20
A great example of how job creation must always look to the future, not the past. Now, perhaps the states with old-line industries where jobs are shrinking (think the coal producing states here) would just recognize these growing industries and work to attract them, their jobs and the much needed revenue, economic lift and taxes.
Should folks be concerned about the moral and health/addiction issues of legal weed, let me point out that many of these states are suffering from the dire effects of the opioid crisis and not receiving any (legal) economic benefits. And this from a drug crisis created intially by a legal drug....
38
@elise "....drug crisis created initially by a legal drug...".
Well said, yet, in my home state the state legislative bodies, who see alcohol and cannabis as taboo to the point of revising a citizen-passed ballot initiative and tailored medical weed legislation to their perception of the product do little to address the opiate addiction.
6
As someone who once had a relationship with cannabis (don't tell my wife!), I look forward to the moment when smokers en masse realize they can't really get high from it anymore. THC is a lipid and it collects in fatty regions of the body, like the brain and testes/ovaries. Eventually, these regions become saturated, so when you smoke more you only feel it for a few minutes. I bet many people who smoke regularly know this already, if they were honest with themselves. Yippee!
3
@Brian Prioleau Maybe you were using a LOT of product per day? I've been a regular cannabis user for most of my adult life, first as recreation and now to manage nausea due to Celiac. I currently vaporize .5 gram of flower a day and still get the effects I'm looking for; lasts about an hour, strength depending on strain... and vaporizing doesn't leave me feeling spacey afterwards.
Of course the effect is the strongest if I haven't used in a while (sometimes too much, to be honest), but even if I've been using for a month straight, I'm still getting quite noticeable effects.
"Different strokes" and all, I guess.
4
@Brian Prioleau wow. I never knew this. it means that all those 20 years I smoked every day and got high I didn't get high. I must have been so high I didn't realize I wasn't high. Wow!
PS - theoretically, sir, you may have some credibility, but not in my house, or in my mind. and, as Neil Young sang: it's such a fine mind.
apertif?
3
It is easy to re-set your tolerance levels to restore your sensitivity to THC. All you need to do is stop using THC for a period of at least 48 hours (a week is best). Also, as we age and other factors affect our physiology, your body’s reaction to cannabinoids changes. Search online for a scientific paper by neuroscientist Ethan Russo MD on the restoration of the human endocannabinoid system.
1
This is the perfect arena and the perfect stage in business growth to guarantee wage equality and attach Drug War Reparations to all Marijuana/Hemp commerce.
Physical labor in Marijuana work should be one of the highest paying forms of manual labor presently available. This is an industry that is "new" and booming with a scarcity of product.
These are designer and luxury products ripe for capitalist exploitation, and the concentration of wealth.
Workers must unionize and organize to demand these jobs are protected as high paying work. Your industry is being exploited by Pharma and Venture Capital, and your hard earned skills are being rapidly devalued, your "safety" work is being taken away.
Perhaps in time we can restore reverence and "wealth" to the herb and lifestyle, and to those people who by a legal system determined to perpetuate race based oppression, have been so unjustly incarcerated and disadvantaged.
4
Question nobody wants to ask, including this article: how will the marketplace fund sustainable job growth in this sector when consumers prefer to pay less for illegally-sourced product? Tax receipts in newly-legalizing states have been disappointing because well-established criminal networks can bypass the taxes and deliver a cheaper high. And those networks aren't paying $15 an hour to “bud tenders” either.
3
Our country is literally rotting from within and two of the most talked about “solutions” - legalizing weed and building casinos. Seriously? The 21st Century equivalent of Nero playing his fiddle while Rome burned.
16
@Rich I believe you have missed some of the discussion concerning the use of CBD rather than addictive "legal" drugs.
If a product weans us from opiates I am all for it.
Now, as far as casinos go, well, it is like those who drink alcoholic beverages-both are recreational and legal (in some states).
6
@Rich
If we stop spending money and energy on a useless, counterproductive war on drugs and start putting them towards solving our real problems its a huge win.
And the fact that so many of our citizens are in jail or have criminal records due to the war on drugs and the fact that it disproportionately effects minorities makes this a very real and important issue.
5
The country is rotting from the top down, much more than "from within."
Lead by example and the whole world will follow.
4
Once again, corporations and VC-funded “start-ups” reap the rewards of the underground without giving back or giving meaningful credit to the unsung pioneers. I have a lot of respect for the hidden innovators who evolved Cannabis cultivation and culture at great risk to their personal freedom.
20
As a graphic designer, I've chuckled at grow shop identities for decades. I see a high opportunity for growth.
4
@Hollis All puns aside, amen to that!
I own a design firm that currently works with larger corporations and have been looking for new clients in the cannabis industry. Unfortunately I live in a state that still considers it illegal, so that makes it a bit tricky.
The current packaging & brand identities for many brands out there is *really* poor. I think they should take a look at the current high-end alcohol brands; make the product luxe and aspirational, not looking like something you'd find on a paisley blanket in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead show.
@KiruDub the majority of packaging is a lie, so I vote for something authentic that tells a story.
This is not actually a boom in the marijuana industry. The demand and consumption of marijuana in the United States has remained constant. Instead, what we are observing is the proper regulation/ uncovering of the industry and the taxation of its revenue. Before, the capital generated from weed was not directly taxed, nor were the incomes of the workers behind it. With the prohibition system, production occurred in illicit places like the mountains of Mexico, hydroponic systems in closets, and rural hidden farms. By adopting legalization, we are merely moving the production and sale of this drug to locales with regulation and taxation.
Ultimately, legalization is a good thing: disempowering Cartels; generates tax revenue on already occurring transactions; brings commercial disputes within the rule of law and not a system of retribution violence; allows the government to set standards for producers & distributors, thereby creating an enforceable system of who can buy cannabis. How anti-legalization forces don’t see the parallels with Alcohol Prohibition is beyond me.
53
More jobs in drug rehabs will certainly be needed.
12
@Greg From marijuana? If that is your reference please provide empirical evidence from reputable sources that marijuana is addictive.
12
Have jobs in alcohol rehab gone up? You know, from the dangerous drug that causes so many more problems than pot.
3
Just as with alcohol, there will be a subset of serious cannabis abusers who harm themselves, others via car accidents and their families. Cannabis needs to be regulated just like alcohol and we need to acknowledge some of the negative outcomes. Unfortunately, medical data and our ability to test for cannabis induced impairment for drivers remains very limited. This gap should be filled with scientific data so that legalization of cannabis can be managed with regulations based on facts.
58
@JRS
Your comment implies that cannabis is not regulated, but 33 states regulate it with considerable zeal.
You also imply that testing for cannabis impaired drivers is a necessary analogue to testing for alcohol impaired drivers. In fact, accidents caused by cannabis-impaired drivers are vanishingly rare.
27
@JRS
Yes, JUST LIKE ALCOHOL, which means:
NO purchasing limits.
The current limit to purchasing fermented or distilled alcoholic beverages in my state is limited either by the store where I'm purchasing or whatever my wallet can withstand. In other words, there's no limit. If I'm refused at one liquor store I can go 1/4 mile down the street and get more. Purchases are not limited. Possession is not limited, as long as there's not open container(s) in my vehicle, or if there's no drinking in "public," etc..................
BUT, dispensaries are few and far between, despite this being worked out already in several other states years ago, delay of roll-out has continued. Purchases are LIMITED. Possession is limited. Even at home, there's a cap on "possession" and people can STILL be charged with "intent to distribute." Whereas I can fill every cubic foot of my house with alcohol, I can only hold 10 ounces of cannabis, or grow a limit of 12 plants. What's more of a "health issue" or "danger?" A room filled with alcohol, or a kilo (that's 2.2lbs people) of cannabis? There's no limit (theoretically that is) to the amount of beer I can brew at home, limited only too my water / fuel supply / storage capabilities. But you're telling me I can only "grow" 12 plants at one time, with only a few of those "flowering." The growing "season" is called a season for a reason. You can't grow cannabis outdoors in the winter.
19
@William Romp
You're absolutely right, William, when compared to alcohol. However, there is impairment when someone is stoned, as driving simulator tests have shown. A quick search resulted in this scientific review of the evidence:
https://norml.org/library/item/marijuana-and-driving-a-review-of-the-scientific-evidence
I'll quote two bits. This first refers to actual accidents, second to impairment:
"[In] cases in which THC was the only drug present were analyzed, the culpability ratio was found to be not significantly different from the no-drug group.”
“In conclusion, marijuana impairs driving behavior. However, this impairment is mitigated in that subjects under marijuana treatment appear to perceive that they are indeed impaired."
So a Mea Culpa - I drove stoned many times in college (long time ago). While I agree, generally, with the above findings, I think the picture is more complex. Some things are difficult to lab test. Its harder to attend to many things at once when stoned vs sober. In a lab people know they are on a simulator and their use has been approved, so they aren't distracted about getting caught...or worried about anything. They can better focus on the simulator. More testing is needed.
For example, I found that even with a lot of practice I became distracted by drivers behind me instead of just attending to traffic as a whole, so I had to turn my rear view away...That is not ideal, no?
I'd rather not share the road with impaired drivers.
3
Why is it taking the Federal Government so long to legalize pot? Because so many government agencies depend on marijuana’s illegal status. There’s the DEA of course who are the wonderful people who made it a Schedule I drug in the first place. For no reason other than misplaced paranoia from the Reefer Madness movement. The ATF would have a lot less to do as well. I grow tired of the old worn out excuses from our government that it’s s dangerous drug, etc. when it clearly is not. No one has ever overdosed from pot. In the meantime a truly dangerous drug called alcohol is legal. Go figure.
119
@Mike L
Asset forfeiture, aka “stealing” = $$$
7
@Mike L
Don't forget the business lost by the private prison industry.
11
@Mike L
I so agree with you. Even the New York State Department of Health could not find any reason not to legalize marijuana.
I've smoked marijuana most of my life. I don't drink much, even socially, and my experimentation with other drugs led no where. No gateway here.
I also think that the money raised by taxable marijuana can be used to address the opioid crisis the Sacklers helped create, as well as other addiction issues. It could provide jobs for the diminished ATF and DEA's usual gang of idiots.
I have, even in my own family. seen how alcohol destroys. I have known heroin addicts, friends, who overdosed. Thanks to Joe Kennedy, alcohol is legal. Oxycodon is still legal.
Yes, go figure.
9
Nothing to be proud of.
11
You could say the same thing about countless frivolous but legal businesses. Tattoos? I thought you people were all about the free market.
2
Its about time Cannabis was given its due.
Jobs are just the economic extension of it all, and clearly when something works well, it sells.
Grant it federal legality, and watch the innovations soar.
Discreet, smoke free options like sublingual cannabis strips have come to market as a result of legal cannabis in CA. Further research, and consumer market demand will tease out the best cannabis has to offer.
Big pharma sleep aids like Lunesta ( speaking of psychosis..) will be left in the economic dust, in place of safe, refined cannabis solutions. Its already happening, and its about time..
6
California legalization has actually meant much less business for most dispensaries, as people move to the unregulated, untaxed, and often contaminated black market. This surely means fewer people are actually employed in the industry than before legalization.
This is obvious to anyone on the ground in CA, but this reporter seems to have gotten excited by some marketing job listings from some speculative firms seeking a foothold in what they mistakenly thought would be a Green Rush. That’s a very small and irrelevant part of the real picture though.
8
@Michael Try again.
@Michael - Alrighty then, Legalization pushing peeps to the black market, you say? Have another martini and call me in the morning, Mike.
@Miss Anne Thrope Well, I visit the legal purveyors of cannabis in our neighboring states to the east and west, so, I suppose I frequent the "black market".
I live in Colorado where Governor Hickenlooper has carefully, and quite successfully, guided the legalization in our state.
This is nothing less than a brand new industry launch. Colorado used alcohol guidelines as regulations and it's working. We enjoy some of the lowest unemployment numbers in the country, but more important, the industry is sustainable because of industrial hemp use as well as medical benefits. It's here to stay.
59
Until they criminalize alcohol .... the serious illness it causes, the family abuse, the drunk drivers, the deaths and all the rest ... the critics should just stop all their blabbing.
Alcohol and prescription drugs are the problem in thus country.
96
It was brilliant the Plant lovers stayed focused on the positives and convinced many, rightly, it would help some people. Topical CBD has undone a few ski bumps for me, for sure. Not a fan of THC. The difference is an essential aspect that is glazed over in this article. THC is altering; CBD is not in the same way. (Compare oxycontin and Advil.)
No surprise capitalism is doing its job and inserting itself to make markets - having found the opportunity - layering marketing, media, and money to make it part of the "industry" and marketplace of the US, next to alcohol, tobacco et al.
More education around the Plant and its effects and differences should be available and shared, not just from the budtenders, but also from a hopefully unbiased, data-driven scientific source. The Plant can be medicine, but it can also be unpleasant if used incorrectly, and even dangerous to some.
24
Making money profiting from abuse is way bad karma.
Wall Street field mass marketed pot is a very different thing than just decriminalizing.
In the end, this will be a very bad anchor on our society.
13
Plastic surgery? Boob jobs? Pyramid schemes like Mary Kay? Let the market decide.
2
@Jane - "Making money profiting from abuse is way bad karma."
Well Jane, I guess that dooms the Military Industrial Complex to eternal perdition? Oh yeah, plus Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Tobacco, Big Booze, Big Insurance, blah and blah?
4
As the CSNY song would have it, we are now caught in the devil's bargain. So we have job growth. But THC is a known stupefying substance, one that robs initiative from our adolescents and makes those who operate motor vehicles under its influence a danger to others on the road. Soon countless 8-year olds will be coming home suffering from cannabis intoxication after their playmates feed them THC goodies for a gag. Just because we can do something, including indulging in cannabis intoxication, doesn't automatically confer any virtue upon it. Dumbing down the nation chemically is never going to help us remain in our place with the rest of the world, but will merely serve as an indicator that we have given up the race.
40
All true; in addition the known correlation of marijuana use with mental illness, particularly with the higher grade stuff now expertly farmed by those in search of weed fortune. That aspect is never discussed or explored by an inquiring press.
Devil’s bargain, indeed.
23
@Tournachonadar THC is not good for adolescent brain, neither is alcohol. Prohibition of alcohol did not go well, so it is legal while not sold in stores unless you are 21.
Why should we keep cannabis under prohibition? Users will just buy it from the street. Police will waste time chasing cannabis users and dealers while we have a huge opioid crisis that takes lives. We have to prioritize.
47
@Truthbeknown As I'm sure you know, correlation does not equal causation. Just because mental illness and marijuana use are correlated, it doesn't mean marijuana use causes mental illness. Couldn't it be possible that people with mental illnesses are choosing to use marijuana (among other, more harmful substances) to self-medicate? And furthermore, if CBD can be effectively harnessed to alleviate the symptoms of mental illness, how would that be a bad thing?
13
I did not get a return call when I asked a nearby legal cannabis store how they clone cannabis? I've read the label on synthetic root hormone powder and it explicitly says federal law law prohibits use to clone for plants intended for consumption. This prohibits clones of fruit and berries for human consumption, what about leaf and flowers to smoke and eat?
This needs to be addressed. Anyone know more about this and what safe alternative root growing technologies that the newly emerging cannabis industry can use and promote?
10
@Richard you dont need cloning hormone to clone plants. all you need is a dark cup, water, a 6-8 inch cutting with bud sites on it (not just a fan leaf), indirect sunlight, and some honey. i recommend taking cuttings from the bottom of the plant while its still relatively young.
put the cutting (45 degree angle cut with a clean knife) in the dark cup of water, place it in indirect sunlight, give it a little dab of honey for nutrients once a week, and in about a month you should have well enough developed roots to plant it in a damp planter (keep the soil moist for at least two weeks as the plant adjusts to its new environment). take multiple cuttings as the clones dont always take.