Society really has changed, here's proof.....

[gimmethesimplelife]

Here's something I never thought would happen in my lifetime.....it looks like recreational marijuana is going on the ballot in Arizona this year. Wow. I am bit ambivalent on this one but will vote for as it's a middle finger salute (and very richly deserved) to the private prison industry. I am looking forward to all the mud slinging on this one.....I just hope from a human rights standpoint that it passes.

And Arizona is not quite as red as it once was - it might actually pass here. Whatever happens, it will be interesting political drama, the kind Arizona seems to be very good at. And since I'm not emotionally invested in this issue like I was in Medicaid expansion, it won't be a constant cliffhanger for me. Rob

[Lainey]

I think AZ, along with other states, has been seeing the tax dollars come in to Colorado after their legalization passed. That's another incentive to drop their moralistic objection.

[JaneV2.0]

Personally, I think all drugs should be legalized. Cannabis and the psychedelics, like ayahuasca and psilocybin, should be studied for their many therapeutic properties, and the harmful ones like methamphetamines and heroin should be meted out with numerous treatment centers available to get people off them, and to put an end to drug trafficking. If nothing else, this would end the pointless prison sentences, overdoses, thefts and burglaries, and violence associated with street drugs.

Legalization of marijuana specifically, here and in other places, has had no noticeable downside that I can see--and a real upside for people who don't want to buy from some stranger out behind the high school :~)

I bet Arizona retirees will vote for legalization, as older people make up a large percentage of cannabis consumers. I see you already have legal medical marijuana.

[ToomuchStuff]

Are the private prisons only state prisons, or federal? Federal ones will not be immune if the state goes against the feds on legalization.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Anyway don't they have minimum occupancy rates, so won't they just arrest people for something else? (I have no idea what, guess they'll have to think of something). Maybe next time making private prisons illegal should be on the ballot, it's of course just common sense, whoever thought privatizing *prisons* was a good idea, I think pretty much noone, but there was money in it I guess.

[Rogar]

I think most things have gone pretty well here, as far as I can tell. I object to edibles that look like candy, pop, or treats even though there is some distinct labeling of the product warning it is MJ. There have been just a couple or few cases of kids mistakenly getting into them thinking they are snacks, but it just doesn't seem right and there are other ways to prepare edibles that is less appealing. The other thing is that as far as I can tell there is no easy definitive way to test for a person being under the influence while driving. Although I think people are less likely to drive stoned than drunk. The more states that legalize it, the fewer people that will come here just to get stoned.

I am basically not libertarian, but it seems like an excellent example of where states have handled things in their own unique way while the federal government continues to classify it in the same category as heroin and live in the dark ages of the drug war. As long as this remains the case, technically anyone processing pot is guilty of a felony regardless of the state.

[Teacher Terry]

jane I totally agree with you.

[bae]

Here's something I never thought would happen in my lifetime.....it looks like recreational marijuana is going on the ballot in Arizona this year. ... ...I just hope from a human rights standpoint that it passes.

Rob

Can't you just use the escape valve of the border, and go to Mexico for your legal marijuana?

[ToomuchStuff]

Can't you just use the escape valve of the border, and go to Mexico for your legal marijuana?

Is it legal there yet?

[bae]

Is it legal there yet?

I've been told Mexico is where Americans go to have freedom.

[JaneV2.0]

Different countries, different freedoms. We're not perfect. Not at all. But that shouldn't stop us from working for change. (Or griping about the status quo, either.)

[gimmethesimplelife]

Can't you just use the escape valve of the border, and go to Mexico for your legal marijuana?Bae, please let me be clear....I don't partake. I wii be honest and admit I did in college but I mostly didn't care for it. It tended to make me anxious and paranoid and for me pot was a real bummer. Just a let down. That said, I will visit a dispensary while I am in Denver. For photos (if they will let me take some), for the novelty of it, and to try some THC bath soak which I understand does not make you high but will temporarily erase middle aged aches and pains and it is legal in Colorado. I will leave the bud and the edibles for those for whom THC works....I remember it didn't work well for me.

About Mexico.......
I am not going to mess with drugs in a foreign country period. I am mostly anti drug (Though I'm also against the war on drugs and I'm thinking more and more marijuana should be legalized.) I don't have the inclination to use in the first place and that goes doubly for using in a foreign country. Rob

[gimmethesimplelife]

I've been told Mexico is where Americans go to have freedom.For this American, this is not a freedom I personally seek. Different folks, different strokes. Rob

[JaneV2.0]

Bae, please let me be clear....I don't partake. I wii be honest and admit I did in college but I mostly didn't care for it. It tended to make me anxious and paranoid and for me pot was a real bummer. Just a let down. That said, I will visit a dispensary while I am in Denver. For photos (if they will let me take some), for the novelty of it, and to try some THC bath soak which I understand does not make you high but will temporarily erase middle aged aches and pains and it is legal in Colorado. I will leave the bud and the edibles for those for whom THC works....I remember it didn't work well for me.

About Mexico.......
I am not going to mess with drugs in a foreign country period. I am mostly anti drug (Though I'm also against the war on drugs and I'm thinking more and more marijuana should be legalized.) I don't have the inclination to use in the first place and that goes doubly for using in a foreign country. Rob

CBD is the component of cannabis that is less-to-non-psychoactive. It's the chemical that predominates in Charlotte's Web, the strain that is protective against seizure disorder, as shown in Sanjay Gupta's excellent CNN specials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3IMfIQ_K6U

Therapeutic strains of cannabis usually contain a balance of CBD and THC. Apparently, it takes some experimentation to find the combination that works for any given individual. I haven't done much research yet :D, but I'm very thankful there are alternatives available now.

[ToomuchStuff]

Rob, I think you could get away with photo's from the outside, but inside you have both security concerns dealing with money and security, as well as privacy issues and catching images of people in federally illegal actions. (keep the camera at home)