Oregon's Weed Industry Sold 11,000 Lbs. of Pot in 3 Months

[grantcart]

39. You are obviously an enthusiast.

Your logic that underage use will decline because its no longer forbidden is based on the mistaken premise that over time the status quo will remain the same and other factors will not be introduced. That is unlikely to happen.

The most likely outcome is that increased use will lead to national legalization. Once it is nationally legal powerful commercial forces will lead to advertising and marketing. Celebrities, sports stars and athletes will endorse and the most likely outcome is that there will be increased underage consumption.

That is not an argument not to legalize, there really is no other choice. Arguing that the decrease in underage usage in Colorado is a compelling reason for legalization is a weak argument in my opinion because a) its too premature to really know b) if the trend reverses then it would be a reason to criminalize pot, which isn't going to happen.

In any case the discussion is off point on the larger question "will it effect the political engagement of younger people". When I was in high school there were people who wanted to drink and smoke weed and those that were motivated to stand in the freezing snow to protest the war. We were engaged primarily because of the war and it became a lifelong reflex. Since the Iraq War and up to today I have attended dozens of demonstrations and they are overwhelming attended by white hairs.

Do I think that wide spread use of pot will decrease political activism by a large number of young people? No, I think that computer games has already done that. Turns out a play station is the opiate of the masses not religion. If underage pot smoking becomes endemic I think it will have an impact on the number of hours adolescents play "Call of Duty".

Can you imagine if somebody like Trump tried this shit in 1976? There would be massive and constant demonstrations, not because we are better than today's generation but because we were woken up by Vietnam.