The marijuana train has left the station, and it's not turning around

[marmar]

from the Detroit Metro Times:


Higher Ground: The marijuana train has left the station, and it's not turning around
By Larry Gabriel


Marijuana has become pretty normal in America.

That doesn't mean that people aren't still getting dragged off to jail for possession. According to FBI estimates, about 750,000 people were arrested for marijuana-related offenses in 2012. The vast majority of them were for simple possession, and although marijuana use is approximately equal among both groups, young African-Americans and Latinos are arrested at rates much higher than whites.

Those arrest numbers speak to a whole different set of social issues other than marijuana use, and as soon as this marijuana thing gets untangled, it will give law enforcement one less way to ensnare people of color in the legal system.

That said, there's a very interesting CivicScience report out now, based on data over the past two years, that shows 58 percent of Americans support legal marijuana that is regulated and taxed like alcohol. Data from the past three months shows 61 percent support. I'll discuss implications of those numbers later. ...................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/higher-ground-it-wont-be-too-long/Content?oid=2245498

[NuclearDem]

1. It is, however, going to derail near a Dorito's plant.

[Feral Child]

3. HA!

[Cirque du So-What]

4. Doritos Schmoritos

My weakness was Russian tea biscuits.

[Katashi_itto]

7. Samosa is mine

[Enthusiast]

17. You made me look up Russian tea biscuits.

[Cirque du So-What]

21. Now you gotta have some, right?

Be forewarned: nobody can eat just one.

[Enthusiast]

25. I wish.

I have the gluten thing.

[Cirque du So-What]

27. Sorry

Perhaps you can find a gluten-free recipe...maybe one that uses almond flour.

[Enthusiast]

32. Some of the gluten free cookies are fantastic. Udis makes these little snickerdoodle cookies....

wow! I no longer buy them because I sit right down and eat them all.

[skamaria]

22. Mary Janes here.

And Maple Nut Goodies Yum!

[calimary]

38. Welcome to DU, skamaria!

Glad you're here! I lean toward chocolate, myself. Chocolate pretty-much-anything (except cocoanut). I could drown in a bowl of M&Ms though... (Plain. Not peanut. Unless you start speaking of Reese's...)

[BlindTiresias]

42. Dried apricots for me

Dried apricots or chana chor garam.

[A Simple Game]

5. You and LOLcats have made my day, thank you. n/t

[Feral Child]

2. Good article.

Proper trend towards legalization.

Thanks for the post.

[daleanime]

6. K&R....

[flt rsk]

19. my doctors are good people

When I’m in a bar, I will tell the bartender that I’m on a quest to find a good dry white wine that complements Percocet. When I said this to my family doctor, he said that any wine would pretty much do it. I also told him that I wanted a medical marijuana prescription for my arthritis. When I smoked in college, I didn’t have arthritis, now forty years, I do have arthritis. I see a correlation.

[ripcord]

9. I honestly think it will be legalized

once they discover a test to determine if someone is impaired at the moment rather than the current test that can tell within a couple of weeks.

[glowing]

10. Well, if you are driving 20mph in a 50 zone, you might be high.. LOL

Most people don't do too much driving if they are truly stoned... They just order out. I bet more biz's will be staying open late and delivering in areas that partake more often... Or someone will come up with an ingenious "order to go" biz where you can place an order for a run thru Taco Bell, the gas station, and McDonald's, and then deliver to the house.

But really, how many people are really going to sit around every night and get stoned? I see it as more of a social habit for adults or medicine for those who have that needs.. It will still be the college aged kids who will still be one of the largest consumers of the item more often. I do admit, it would be nice to have some legally every now and then, I prefer it to alcohol so much more...

[ripcord]

11. I'm not that worried about people driving cars so much

but as a truck driver I do worry about someone pushing 80,000 pounds down the highway stoned. If they want to smoke some over the weekend or the night before as long as they don't overindulge, just like we treat alcohol, I am fine with that.

[glowing]

12. I doubt too many truck drivers would smoke pot on a trip.. They drive for too long and need to be

alert. They are more likely to consume caffeine, cigarettes, red bull, and uppers if they really dare to take anything drug related. There will still be companies out there who will refuse to hire you if you smoke weed; and I would assume it would be those related to driving because there is no barometer on "high", just an ability to detect the drug in the body. I may smoke on Monday and the following Monday still have it show up in my body and I'm stone cold sober... I'm assuming that there will be an adjustment period to introducing a legal drug like MJ to the populace and different business needs. Some people actually function better high.

[Niceguy1]

18. one of the more recent bloody

Train delrailments was caused by an engineer with mj in his system. People will do stupid stuff when it is legal. ..just like alcohol

[glowing]

20. But was he high? Like I said, if I smoke the evening before, by the morning, I'm not high anymore;

Last edited Sun Sep 14, 2014, 06:09 PM - Edit history (1)

there's just detectable residue left over. The high doesn't last forever.

On edit: to be clear, I don't do this anymore. This is from experience from college days.

[U4ikLefty]

29. Did they do a saliva test or a blood test?

One (saliva) determines the recent MJ usage whereas the latter (blood) can detect MJ metabolites up to 30 days after consumption...no "high" just traceable metabolites.

Don't think you have the answer, but you drew conclusions w/o being truly informed.

[ripcord]

35. I take it you haven't met many truck drivers

I have talked to drivers who were driving drunk, at least there is a reliable test to tell if they are drunk. They need a similar test for THC for pot to be legalized nationally.

[nolabear]

40. Can I put in a vote for speed? I was once held at gunpoint

By a speed crazed truck driver and I can tell you that mans brain was altered.

[ripcord]

41. It is scary out there

I have seen some stuff on the road you wouldn't believe. Teamsters seem to do better than other drivers but we are way outnumbered.

[xchrom]

13. du rec.

[Initech]

14. We need to end the War On Drugs NOW! !!!!

De-militarize the police. Cease operation of ultra corrupt for profit prisons now! !!

[Comrade Grumpy]

15. Legalization is on the ballot this year in Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia

And for 2016, look for California, Arizona, Nevada, maybe Maine or Massachusetts.

Who's going to be on the caboose?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

30. Most of the red states will be the caboose.

Alaska is a libertarianish outlier. But your fundy states will continue to fight til the bitter end.

[eggplant]

39. Hmm...

One of these, I would bet:
- Texas
- Arizona
- Ohio
- Florida

[Uncle Joe]

16. And not a moment too soon, this is a well thought out article.

Come on Tennessee, get with the program!

Thanks for the thread, marmar.

[Logical]

23. Polls show the legalization law is trailing in Alaska. Not a good sign. nt

[Comrade Grumpy]

28. There are some issues with those Alaska polls (say the people with the initiative).

Small sample sizes.

Over representation of older voters.

Too much reliance on land lines.

We shall see.

[Logical]

37. I assumed that state would really favor legalization. I hope the polls are wrong. nt

[daredtowork]

24. It outrages me that we're wasting money on the War on Drugs, but

once marijuana is fully legalized, I hope this doesn't turn into Big Tobacco redux with people smoking it everywhere.

Even now, with general public sentiment against forcing 2nd hand smoke on non-smokers, people light up the minute they get off a commuter train, forcing everyone on the escalator to choke on their smoke. There has never been an understanding that their freedom to smoke inhibits the right of others to breath clean air.

So while I totally support the legalization of marijuana, I hope people will have the consideration to bake it in brownies.

[Enthusiast]

26. This one time....

I got completely high on second hand marijuana smoke. Actually it was second hand hashish smoke. But still.

[daredtowork]

31. I think that happens all the time

on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, lol.

But the second hand smoke issue is serious for people who already have health problems.

And this could just become a way for Big Tobacco to make a comeback: the new "cool" thing to smoke in the US.

[Arugula Latte]

44. I was recently in Colorado and, I've gotta say,

I hadn't smelled that much pot in public since I was a kid in the San Francisco area circa 1971. People were smoking outside of our hotel, in a park, at an outdoor concert, etc.

I hate walking through a cloud of cigarette smoke outside and I'm not thrilled with walking through pot smoke clouds either. I still support legalization though.

[Cartoonist]

33. The title hits on something

Something I was just talking about in a current thread. I would have thought the pro-choice train left a long time ago, but there it is again pulling into the station. The government gives, and the government takes away.

[sanatanadharma]

34. Perhaps pot paranoia only but Republican control of America is still possible...

The possibility of Republican control of America still exists.
Should goppers get the government back, we can kiss cannabis legalization goodbye.
Colorado and Washington will be shut down cold. Medical marijuana will be mixed and maligned with sin, sensuality and abortion.
Tax it! Hell no, they hate hippies and taxes equally.

[Arugula Latte]

45. One factor at work, though,

is that the generations who were unfamiliar with pot are dwindling. The vast majority of people under the age of, say, 70, have likely at least tried pot once and realize that "reefer madness" was a tad overblown. It's hard to whip up the paranoia of previous decades.

[jtuck004]

36. Here the teabagger right wing guy is for it, some Democrats getting in the way. I would never

vote for the rw'er, but I will never mark a ballot for anyone who stands in the way of medical marijuana.

Dumb decision on their part.

[Raster]

43. I have smoked marijuana off-and-on for about 40 years.

This weekend I purchased my first LEGAL weed from a licensed distributor in Washington State, buds of a lovely Sativa, 16.18% THC.