I LOVE Metropolitan Diary! Brava! Bravo!
With one side of their mouths they say that they want to legalize marijuana to level the playing field for the African-American community. $42/ ounce in N.J. doesn’t do anything to level the playing field. The black market will thrive.
Alex Berenson's book has been rejected by the researchers he cites and media. Nearly every claim in his book is exaggerated, out of context, debunked, or not settled in the scientific community (I'm sure he made a quick buck with his alarmism though).
"The Reasonable Way to View Marijuana’s Risks"
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/upshot/the-reasonable-way-to-view-marijuanas-risks.html
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Alex Berenson is a fiction writer, he hasn't stopped as demonstrated by his anti-cannabis book.
Alex Berenson's book has been rejected by the researchers he cites and media. Nearly every claim is his book is exaggerated, out of context, debunked, or not settled in the scientific community (I'm sure he made a quick buck with his alarmism though).
"since Tell Your Children hit the shelves of bookstores around the country, 75 medical professionals, researchers, and clinicians from elite institutions like New York University, Harvard, and Columbia have signed onto a letter strongly criticizing Berenson’s work, calling it an “example of alarmism designed to stir up public fear based on a deeply inaccurate misreading of science.”"
-Civilized Life, "Scientists Are Calling Out Alex Berenson's Reefer Madness — And He Deserves It"
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Can you put NYToday back on the home page like it was before so it is easy to find? It is hard to locate. It's one of the most useful reads in the morning!
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Americans don't have to like cannabis, but they should hate its prohibition. This prohibition law strikes at the very foundation of our society. It is a tool of tyrants, used to violate core American beliefs and nearly every aspect of the Bill of Rights.
A populace that accepts and becomes accustom to overreaching government policies, such as the prohibition of relatively safe, popular substances, becomes more accepting of overreaching, powerful government in general. This devastates America, not a plant that has been used by mankind since the beginning of recorded history.
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Basic market economics, if there is demand, there will be supply. I am all for legalizing marijuana along with all other drugs. Decades of D.A.R.E. and "just say no" and the "war on drugs", haven't made a dent in reducing drug use. Criminalizing drugs only leads to an increase in, well, criminals.
Legalizing drugs will at least bring the transactions out of the back alleys and dark corners. Legalization with regulation and oversight, would enable the nation to manage and get help for those with addiction and reduce the violence that surrounds illegal drug use which destroys lives bystanders and communities.
We spend millions each year loosing a "war" because we are trying to fight the basics of economics and the nature of addiction. Let's put that money to better use though management and treatment.
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I've never been a smoker of tobacco or marijuana but the smell of marijuana has never been unpleasant; well, no more than that of incense. Has the smell changed as the strains have evolved?
If made legal, I'd definitely try marijuana but I would heed the warnings. It's apparently much more potent now. It is good that legislators are discussing the ramifications.
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When New York legalized the lottery the revenue was specifically earmarked for education. We need to do the same with marijuana tax revenue and earmark it for the MTA.
But we also have to hold the legislature to the fire. When they saw how much money was coming in from lotto they simply deducted that amount from their proposed education budget and spent the money elsewhere.
We can't allow that to happen with our crumbling subway system.
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The perspectives of the people that are quoted here regarding the legalization of marijuana is an excellent perspective on the mind-boggling stupidity of too many people. For god's sake, legalize the drug and remove one of the most incredibly destructive policies that has existed in our country for decades. It was used to destroy communities. Shut up and legalize it.
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You can be sure of one thing. If there's any money to be made by legalizing marijuana, New York State will find a way to do it, and the M.T.A. won't see a penny of it.
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@N. Smith, regarding use of money that gets to city coffers, aren't you also wondering why Mayor Bill needs to work out in Brooklyn when he's home in Manhattan, but seems to find working out in South Carolina perfectly OK when he's on the road.
cue his weekend moves to R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fl..." [no, I won't, even I wouldn't dare - ]
:)
PS. On presidential politics, how I'd love to see Amy Klobuchar taking no prisoners with the Prez, handing him the comb she just ate the salad with during Donald'snotty answer, and saying, "Here, Donald, clean this comb - or just run it through your hair; the balsamic will do wonders for your combover. You're welcome!"
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@N. Smith, right on point. Look how much the lottery is helping education. Teachers buy out of their own pocket school supplies. Doesn't say much for the lottery.
New York at present has a positively screwy medical marijuana law ask anyone with a license to buy.
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"Screwy?" No. Judgmental and way overly restrictive.
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People considering legalizing marijuana in New York should keep in mind the "Dead Skunk" stench from marijuana farms as reported in the New York Times in December here:
‘Dead Skunk’ Stench From Marijuana Farms Outrages Californians---https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/19/us/california-marijuana-stink.html
What's the solution?
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Sometimes I scout Realtor.com to see where it would be nice to live. In the country. With quiet, and fresh air.
But now when (flying overhead on the wings of Google Maps) I spot a farm with greenhouses near an interesting property, I do not linger. When such places are turned into marijuana factories, it'll be as though I never left Flatbush.
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The reason we medical people "oppose" legalization as proposed is mainly due to inadequate public health warnings and understanding (including news media) about its dangerous health effects. Were there to be adequate public programs to warn of problems such as 17% addiction rate (as with alcohol), teen brain and mind developmental impairments,impaired driving etc, and PSAs, it could be legalized as is tobacco and alcohol.
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While some consider cannabinoids to be addictive, their addictive potential is considerably lower than that of other common drugs, both prescribed and recreational. [NCI. 2019] The rate is 9%, not 17% as you stated. It's important to note that cannabis does not cause the kind of dependence that we typically associate with the term, like that of alcohol or heroin. It is more similar to that of caffeine, though with less symptoms. [Danovitch and Gorelick. 2012; Ozsungur et al. 2009] Since "cannabis dependence" does not fit the traditional criteria for dependence as described in the DSM, researchers had to invent a new class: "cannabis use disorder". Cannabis dependence is uncommon, relatively mild, and usually not a serious issue or something that requires treatment, unless of course it is court ordered. [Grotenhermen & Müller-Vahl. 2012; Joy et al. 1999]
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@Ron Clark
enough with the reefer madness already! lets go ban alcohol and see how that turns out!
@Ron Clark
We've had over 10000 years of experience with the plant. Isn't that enough proof?
It was very hard to find New York Today on my app and it wasn't the updated version. I had to access it through a browser.
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I've always felt that Broadway presents plays that appeal to the local Broadway enthusiasts, and others primarily for tourists. Many if not most tour packages sold to the other states include a Broadway ticket with the usual statue of liberty, empire state building, Rockefeller center, Radio City, the Museum of natural history, central park--depending on the length of the stay.
Tourists are seemingly drawn by plays for celebrity musicians, or classics like My Fair Lady or the Lion King. Something familiar. Many would be disappointed if they were told they were receiving tickets to The Bands Visit, Come from Away, Dear Van Hansen, Waitress etc. Tourists want to tell folks back home that they saw a play about Cher or Carole King. Tourists kept Cats playing at the Winter Garden for a quarter century. I wouldn't bet on Britney doing the same.
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@Billy, this is an interesting case, since like Ariana Grande (who had done Dan Elish and Jason Robert Brown's "13" on Broadway), Britney Spears was in theater before pop; she was the understudy for a lead, the bad seed kid Tina Denmark in the off-Broadway "Ruthless" (1992-93).
Cue chorus of all the theatergoers who are sure they saw her go on for Laura Bell Bundy, but probably didn't. A friend who thought he'd see Britney found his program and it seems pretty clear he saw Natalie Portman, who was also a Tina Denmark understudy later during that run.
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People who tended to smoke marijuana indoors flew under the radar; people who smoked marijuana on street corners or who were stopped while committing crimes and had marijuana in their possession ended up with records.
See the difference?
If marijuana is made legal, I hope that there will be strict laws against smoking it out of doors and that includes on stoops and porches.
The way it is with liquor. One thing: I can't smell someone's boozy breath 10-15 feet away. With marijuana's stench, that's going to be the norm unless we treat the stuff like alcohol.
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@B.
Interesting. I really don't know if second hand grass smoke is dangerous medically? That is really the only reason that regular cigarettes are now banned in public places--dangerous second-hand smoke, not the idea of them annoying non-smokers.
If second-hand grass smoke is not dangerous medically, I don't see how it could be banned in doorways or anywhere else.
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Because it stinks?
Because when I pass through it on the street, it stings my eyes and I feel my throat constrict?
I'm not the only one.
Not to mention that for the young men -- usually young men -- who roam the streets of Brooklyn wafting noxious vapor trails behind them, it doesn't do their brains any good?
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@Billy Stupidity is dangerous medically. A brief whiff will not hurt you as much as McDonalds or cologne on the subway.
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