My problem with recreational marijuana is DWI issues. There is a saliva test that can be used at roadside to determine the THC level in the bloodstream, but it has not been commonly used due to 1) THC and metabolites can stay in the blood stream for a prolonged period of time and can re-appear after periods of abstinence, and 2) There is not common agreement as to what level in the blood constitutes intoxication, as different people have different tolerances. None of that is taken into consideration with alcohol; a level is picked and that is the number (0.08 G/dL in most states). I believe most moderate drinkers can pass all the sobriety tests with a 0.08 alcohol, but that doesn't matter--if someone "blows" a 0.08 alcohol on a poorly-calibrated instrument, they are automatically guilty. I think if they are going to judge one drug on the basis of the level of that substance in the blood, ALL drugs should be judged in that manner. Some jurisdictions are trying to lower the legal alcohol level to 0.05, not to make the roads safer, but to generate money for the coffers of law enforcement.
I don't think I would pass after one drink.....not used to alcohol ...one sip now and I feel sleepy and my legs get heavy. I would try medical marijuana for pain but only if all the high effect is taken out of it. I tried pot once and would never want to ever again. Freaked me out. I was about 26 and already married etc when a friend brought some to our house. Hungary has zero tolerance laws and there aren't many drunk driving accidents but then again most people walked or took public transportation everywhere.
I agree with you, @Chrissy Cross , and from what I have read, it is actually much more effective for relieving pain when you do not use the kind that makes you get high. There are many varieties of hemp/cannabis, and only a few of them have the mind-altering properties, and those have been specially bred to be that way. Using the fresh leaves does not make a person high, and if you get one of the varieties that are designed for pain-relief and health purposes, then it is a very healthy plant.
Yeah, Chrissy, I was referring to people who generally drink moderate amounts of alcohol. Teetotalers and those with no tolerance are different. I was just poining out that marijuana, where legal, is treated differently from alcohol.
Me too. I'll try wine once in awhile because I don't hate it, and a little bit of wine is supposed to be a good thing, but I feel tipsy after a few ounces, and would probably get sick on a full, regular-sized, glass of wine. As for marijuana, I'm just not interested. I didn't like it in the 1960s and see no reason to think I'd like it now.
Hal, would you also like to see an end to recreational alcohol? How about ice cream because it's bad for you and makes you fat. Heroin and marijuana are two entirely different things and one has nothing to do with the other.
I have that same problem with recreational alcohol. I enjoy a cold beer every now and then but I would never drink and drive...and others shouldn't either. You may have the right to drink...but no one has the right to hurt or kill anyone else when they are drinking and driving.
My state is having an election next week. Medical merijuana is on the ballot, whether to legalize it or not. I have some concerns. I always thought I would vote to legalize marijuana, medical or recreational or both, but I do have concerns. I personally think drinking alchoI may be more of a problem than using marijuana. I don't think it will pass but don't really have a feel for it. I've always been concerned about the morals of legalization but more concerned about the long sentences many of our young kids have gotten and will continue to get for possession of small amounts of the weed. It's the little guy who always pays the biggest price for crimes while the major offenders can buy their way out, like the pharmaceuticals who have politicians and justice department lawyers in their pocket. It's next week. I'll vote and will come to some conclusion.
It starts with medical marijuana. One or two years later, you'll be voting on recreational marijuana. Personally, I'd like to see them simply remove the plant from the lawbooks but the real attraction is taxes.
You're right @Ken Anderson. If Government can make money off of it by taxing it...then sooner or later it probably will be legalized for both medical and recreational purposes in all the States. I think that's why they invented Global Warming problems so they can just tax away on the air we breathe in the name of using those taxes to make the air safer. I believe they really are going to do that with our taxes about as much as I now believe we really voted in the Lottery over here so that we could improve our schools. Instead our schools are worse than before we had the lottery.
Im still confused on the marijuana laws....not that I care because I'm not one that would use it anyway...but when it was legal in Fresno for medical purposes you still could get in trouble because it's illegal federally...is this still the case??
I'm afraid there already is that, although not legalized and it's killing a lot of our young people and others who are sold a bad batch or overdose on it. A young woman died in one of the Cottages like we live in when her boyfriend whose Mom bought that Cottage for him...gave her an overdose of herion. And then a wonderful young man who we knew personally, lived in front of us and was just beginning his life died when he decided to try it just one time and that one time was a bad batch. And I know by relation to others about 5 or 6 others who died from overdosing on their "recreational heroin" too. The Detective who talked to us over here after the young woman and the young man we liked so much died told us that more than 10 young people had died at that time from a bad batch of heroin going around here in our City. I hope they caught the scum that was selling it but I never heard anything about them doing so on the News. Meth and Heroin are already big problems all over...and I'm sorry to have to say one of my Nephews is still addicted to meth and it's only by God's grace and our familys' prayers to save him that he isn't already dead too. Marijuana seems like a can of beer compared to meth and heroin.
It is still the case that Federal regs trump state law. Banks, especially those with Federal charters, are leery of handling money obtained from marijuana sales. It has been legal for personal use in your own home in Alaska since 1977, but voters voted to "legalize" it a couple years ago, i.e., regulate and tax it, for commercial sales. Since it has been "legalized", the drug-related traffic accidents have skyrocketed, and, since there is no established drug level of intoxication as there is with alcohol, enforcement of impaired driving can only be done by specially-trained cops. A bad situation promoted by a cartel of drug pushers with willing, but uninformed voters willing to comply with their wishes.