Recreational Weed now legal in Illinois

[Red Bull Breeder]

The area i live in was made famous back in the seventies and early eighties, by high times and Willie Nelson. Biggest problem with the new pot laws is the governments lust for money. Take the government out of it and the problem won't be to bad.

 

[Nuakerprel]

It has been legal here for a long time and the state is making a TON of money off it
I wish we had gotten in early

 

[jltrent]

With new weed taxes coming in, plus all online sales/buys taxes coming in these states ought to be flush with new revenue. I hope they don't waste it........

 

[Dave]

Dave, I think what you are seeing is the effects of partial prohibition and a minor little boom. This is what happens in either of those situation. It should just be legal everywhere for everybody. (ok maybe not minors, though still better than alcohol or tobacco)

In this case one of my big points is the riff raff that moved into the area attracted by the legal pot. "Maybe not minors"? There are studies out that show serious affect of pot on the development of the brain in young people who are pot users. Now the recreational user who smokes a little on Saturday night is one thing but tell me when was the last time you met a daily smoking pot head who was ambitious? There is a reason they call it dope.

 

[Ky hills]

From what I can see we are already in a mess, I can't see how legalizing more things is going to help. I have always had the impression that alcohol, tobacco and now this weed stuff are essentially gateway drugs for lots of folks. We live in an area where sometimes it looks like you are almost in a zombie movie. It seems almost everytime you go to town you encounter somebody intoxicated by something.
Its sad to see so many lives ruined or at the very least altered by the various types of drugs.
We were involved with ministry work for several years, and through those programs we saw first hand some of the details of lives forever changed by drugs and alcohol, and yes the health conditions that tobacco can cause as well as the financial hardship addictions to each of those put on folks. Usually where one of those vices is there are more. If I had had a dollar for ever time I have said if so and so hadn't got on whatever, they could have done anything they wanted to. So many talented and capable young folks have become pickled by the time they are still fairly young, it is just devastating to see the lives affected. Children being raised in homes where those things are going on and accepted are much more likely to go down the same path. Granted peer pressure and the need for something more so to speak can also lead to addictions.
I guess I have said all of that to say that my fear is the acceptance of one more thing will eventually lead to the desire to accept the next thing. I honestly don't know how it will play out, I hope for the best. I still believe that on a personal level the just say no slogan is still the best for me.

 

[Little Cow]

My dad was a functional pothead and my parents were divorced. When I visited him, I hated the smell of weed, the way he acted, the way he drove while on it, the way he would get weird about stupid things. The times he freaked out because it had other things in it. The time he baked brownies and I tried to eat one (spit it out because it tasted awful). I was seven and didn't know any better. The sheer level of irresponsibility because of the drugs was over the top. I would take off and play outside as long as possible before coming back. I slept in a sleeping bag right next to an open window so I couldn't smell it. My brothers didn't do that. How much second hand smoke did they get? Is that why both had trouble with drugs as adults? Is that why one has mental illness now? Not enough research.

I wouldn't wish that life on any kid. Parents can be stupid enough with alcohol they don't need another way to be stupid. I don't think anyone who has kids living with them should be allowed to get a license to buy it in those states that allow it.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Legalize everything, no one pays attention to the laws and there's no real enforcement of the laws anyway, it's all just a political money grab. They need a pot sniffer similar to a freon sniffer and anyone caught DUI needs a lethal injection. Looks like a lot of folks are high on something as bad as they drive.

 

[cowrancher75]

In September 2013, the incarceration rate of the United States of America was the highest in the world, at 716 per 100,000 of the national population. While the United States represents about 4.4 percent of the world's population, it houses around 22 percent of the world's prisoners.

 

[haase]

I'm sure after more states legalize it the federal government will step in and make it legal to get their tax money, cant see them sitting by the wayside for to long.

 

[Ryder]

Why do folks feel the need to alter their mental state?

Escapism? Running from reality? Coping mechanism?

Low self esteem and going lower? :cry2:

 

[Hippie Rancher]

... Now the recreational user who smokes a little on Saturday night is one thing but tell me when was the last time you met a daily smoking pot head who was ambitious? There is a reason they call it dope.

Well, some of 'em you wouldn't want to have ambition. :lol2:

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Why do folks feel the need to alter their mental state?

Escapism? Running from reality? Coping mechanism?

it is in the DNA - many, many, many critters seem to enjoy getting intoxicated. heck, enjoying a funny, scary, or emotional movie or play, or even music is a form of altered mental state. deep prayer and other religious activities are also.

 

[greybeard]

Dave, I think what you are seeing is the effects of partial prohibition and a minor little boom. This is what happens in either of those situation. It should just be legal everywhere for everybody. (ok maybe not minors, though still better than alcohol or tobacco)

In this case one of my big points is the riff raff that moved into the area attracted by the legal pot. "Maybe not minors"? There are studies out that show serious affect of pot on the development of the brain in young people who are pot users. Now the recreational user who smokes a little on Saturday night is one thing but tell me when was the last time you met a daily smoking pot head who was ambitious? There is a reason they call it dope.

One of those studies showed that a particularly debilitating effect was long range planning. They are relatively creative, ideas come easily, but how to carry those ideas or vision thru to fruition is lost of them. The best they can do is start something, then hire someone else to do the bigger lifting or let someone else pick it up and run with it...all that takes $$ and the everyday user doesn't have it for obvious reasons. They may indeed have some ambitions, but can't do anything with them. That part of the brain no longer functions as it should.

 

[Little Cow]

My dad has been an everyday user for decades. He drinks tons of coffee throughout the day and smokes pot to calm down between coffee bursts of activity. He ran a successful business (then sold it for a lot of money), played senior baseball on the weekends, etc... Now, he's retired and obsessed with politics (he supports the current administration, so he's not actually a hippie). He wasn't always all there, but he functioned.