Social Marijuana legalization is inevitable. How will it effect society?

[BreatheSherBro]

I am in favor of legalization, but this thread isn't about whether or not marijuana/cannabis/weed should be legal.

Whether or not it should be legal, legalization fully appears to be inevitable in the US and in other parts of the world. The only thing that could reverse it would be very heavy handed action from the federal government that would go against the wishes of the voters.

Ohio just voted to legalize it yesterday. They are the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana. Basically half the states have legalized it, and many of the states that have legalized it are high population states which means there are a lot more people living in areas where it is legal than there are not.

This map isn't entirely up to date, but it gives you a good visual for why legalization is inevitable. Soon, every state where it is not legal will be bordered by states where it is legal. Even if they don't want it in there state, it will be impossible to keep out. Also, from an age demographics standpoint, younger people regardless of party affiliation support it and the older people that are most likely to be opposed are dying out.

What are the implications to this? What kind of policy decisions will be needed to address it?

To me, this biggest imediate thing to adress will be preventing people from driving impaired. Also, what to do about children having access. I think realistically you won't be able to keep it away from teens.

From a long term standpoint, I wonder if if legalization will lead to America becoming more liberal or will you eventually still have a lot of social conservatives, but they will be social conservatives that use weed.

 

[Loiosh]

Got a deal on edibles today, I'm going to be baked for weeks.

 

[Get To Da Choppa]

I am in favor of legalization, but this thread isn't about whether or not marijuana/cannabis/weed should be legal.

Whether or not it should be legal, legalization fully appears to be inevitable in the US and in other parts of the world. The only thing that could reverse it would be very heavy handed action from the federal government that would go against the wishes of the voters.

Ohio just voted to legalize it yesterday. They are the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana. Basically half the states have legalized it, and many of the states that have legalized it are high population states which means there are a lot more people living in areas where it is legal than there are not.

This map isn't entirely up to date, but it gives you a good visual for why legalization is inevitable. Soon, every state where it is not legal will be bordered by states where it is legal. Even if they don't want it in there state, it will be impossible to keep out. Also, from an age demographics standpoint, younger people regardless of party affiliation support it and the older people that are most likely to be opposed are dying out.

What are the implications to this? What kind of policy decisions will be needed to address it?

To me, this biggest imediate thing to adress will be preventing people from driving impaired. Also, what to do about children having access. I think realistically you won't be able to keep it away from teens.

From a long term standpoint, I wonder if if legalization will lead to America becoming more liberal or will you eventually still have a lot of social conservatives, but they will be social conservatives that use weed.

Probably better for the society. Stoners are usually too unmotivated to commit crimes. It would be a boon for the snack industries though so load up on those Frito Lay stocks

 

[jk7707]

I don't think it will change all that much. It'll be good that people don't have their lives ruined by getting caught with some weed. And as far as kids go, weed has always been easy to get. Even when it was illegal everywhere, everyone knew kids at school to buy some off of.

I will say, potency and especially edibles need to be regulated. Those things are on another level when it comes to how fucked up they'll get ya.

 

[Loiosh]

Probably better for the society. Stoners are usually too unmotivated to commit crimes. It would be a boon for the snack industries though so load up on those Frito Lay stocks

 

[panem-et-circenses]

It should be legal, but it will affect society in a negative way, at least overall, imo.

The proliferation of weed stores has been, without a doubt, a negative for communities. Eyesores all around. Moreover, like you said, it’s going to be difficult to keep teenagers from smoking, because of the ease of access (the research on adolescent cannabis users is pretty compelling). But you wanted to talk about implications and what we can do about it, right?

States/municipalities can already limit the amount of licenses they dole out; yet it appears that money over planning has ruled the day. I would be fine with a one store every twenty miles rule, or something (don’t attack me, potheads). Driving while high isn’t given an exception simply because of the new weed law, only I don’t know how enforceable the existing laws are (@nhbbear @Protectandserve @deadshot138). Like, you can’t blood test for weed lol, right?

 

[BreatheSherBro]

It should be legal, but it will affect society in a negative way, at least overall, imo.

The proliferation of weed stores has been, without a doubt, a negative for communities. Eyesores all around. Moreover, like you said, it’s going to be difficult to keep teenagers from smoking, because of the ease of access (the research on adolescent cannabis users is pretty compelling). But you wanted to talk about implications and what we can do about it, right?

States/municipalities can already limit the amount of licenses they dole out; yet it appears that money over planning has ruled the day. I would be fine with a one store every twenty miles rule, or something (don’t attack me, potheads). Driving while high isn’t given an exception simply because of the new weed law, only I don’t know how enforceable the existing laws are (@nhbbear @Protectandserve @deadshot138). Like, you can’t blood test for weed lol, right?

I think the number of dispensaries will eventually decrease, but it will be due to weed one day being available everywhere like at grocery stores and Walmart. There won't be a need to have as many dispensaries. You will still see them, but they will be more in the hood like you see with liquor stores.

 

[aerius]

I don't think it will change all that much. It'll be good that people don't have their lives ruined by getting caught with some weed. And as far as kids go, weed has always been easy to get. Even when it was illegal everywhere, everyone knew kids at school to buy some off of.

I will say, potency and especially edibles need to be regulated. Those things are on another level when it comes to how fucked up they'll get ya.

Yup. We legalized weed around 5 years ago where I live, the only thing that's really changed is people are more open about their weed use and will talk about it in casual conversation the way they talk about drinking. Almost everyone who wanted to smoke weed was already doing it before legalization, it's not like the stuff was hard to find even 30 years ago when I was in high school.

As for potency, that's going to be nearly impossible to regulate since we don't really understand weed well enough yet. All the weed where I live is tested for THC levels among other things but there's not much correlation between THC percentage and how baked I get after smoking a spliff, I have some 23% THC weed that hits way harder than stuff that's rated at 30%. Then we have to account for differences in human physiology, if my wife & I both smoked an Indica she'll be a lot more stoned than I am, but if we go with Sativas then I'm the one who's gonna be struggling.

 

[MichiganMMA1978]

I will say, potency and especially edibles need to be regulated. Those things are on another level when it comes to how fucked up they'll get ya.

That's a weird situation though. It all depends on the user and how their liver breaks it down. I know people who get fucked up off a 20mg gummy, I know others(my brother) who need 500mg just to feel anything. Where as I need 100mg to feel a buzz. And we all smoke roughly the same amount per day. I tell people to start with 10mg and work up from there.

 

[Pliny Pete]

We legalized it in California and now we got homeless camps on literally every street corner in the state and 1 bedroom apartments costing a million dollars!
Its gonna doom the entire nation next

 

[BreatheSherBro]

That's a weird situation though. It all depends on the user and how their liver breaks it down. I know people who get fucked up off a 20mg gummy, I know others(my brother) who need 500mg just to feel anything. Where as I need 100mg to feel a buzz. And we all smoke roughly the same amount per day. I tell people to start with 10mg and work up from there.

With gummies, I find certain brands to be more potent than others even if the listed mg amount is the same. It makes me question the accuracy of everyone's advertised potency. There probably needs to be some kind of standard for measuring that.

 

[Protectandserve]

It should be legal, but it will affect society in a negative way, at least overall, imo.

The proliferation of weed stores has been, without a doubt, a negative for communities. Eyesores all around. Moreover, like you said, it’s going to be difficult to keep teenagers from smoking, because of the ease of access (the research on adolescent cannabis users is pretty compelling). But you wanted to talk about implications and what we can do about it, right?

States/municipalities can already limit the amount of licenses they dole out; yet it appears that money over planning has ruled the day. I would be fine with a one store every twenty miles rule, or something (don’t attack me, potheads). Driving while high isn’t given an exception simply because of the new weed law, only I don’t know how enforceable the existing laws are (@nhbbear @Protectandserve @deadshot138). Like, you can’t blood test for weed lol, right?

At least here if we believe anything other than alcohol we do a blood draw.

 

[HereticBD]

With gummies, I find certain brands to be more potent than others even if the listed mg amount is the same. It makes me question the accuracy of everyone's advertised potency. There probably needs to be some kind of standard for measuring that.

Do edibles have different strands, like hybrids, sativa, etc? Might explain the difference.

Anyways, as to the OP, it's been legal up here for a while. Other than every town having 20 pot shops, there really hasn't been any noticeable societal impact. I believe more people have tried it, than before it was legal, but I don't think there's been any spike in regular users.

 

[jx820]

It'll have minimal impact on society as a whole. Most people who would consume marijuana products already do/did. Those people will continue their lives almost exactly as they did before.

• Some people who didn't want to deal with the legality issue may decide to try it or try it again.
• DUIs will probably increase as that seems to be a trend in states that have legalized.
• Adolescent consumption may decline as a few studies have showed that pattern (presumably the blackmarket dries up and they cant get it as easy legally)
• Booming business for uber eats

 

[fedorthegoat777]

When I was a kid, smoking weed was illegal so people did it and were able to do something fun and break the law.

My concern, since smoking weed is no big deal now, they will need to turn to the next illegal thing to get that edge.

 

[Otto!]

Got a deal on edibles today, I'm going to be baked for weeks.

Stock up on munchies!

 

[HereticBD]

When I was a kid, smoking weed was illegal so people did it and were able to do something fun and break the law.

My concern, since smoking weed is no big deal now, they will need to turn to the next illegal thing to get that edge.

Nah, that's silly. People wouldn't turn to hard drugs just to break the law and stick it to the man. That wasn't really a reason anyone smoked. At the end of the day, the kids would still be breaking the law anyways, as they're not allowed to buy/use it, unless they're of age. There would be the same "thrill" as there is if you're drinking underage. I don't a scenario where kids are all "Aww man, weed isn't cool anymore because it's legal. Let's go score some smack."

 

[Gutter Chris]

I am in favor of legalization, but this thread isn't about whether or not marijuana/cannabis/weed should be legal.

Whether or not it should be legal, legalization fully appears to be inevitable in the US and in other parts of the world. The only thing that could reverse it would be very heavy handed action from the federal government that would go against the wishes of the voters.

Ohio just voted to legalize it yesterday. They are the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana. Basically half the states have legalized it, and many of the states that have legalized it are high population states which means there are a lot more people living in areas where it is legal than there are not.

This map isn't entirely up to date, but it gives you a good visual for why legalization is inevitable. Soon, every state where it is not legal will be bordered by states where it is legal. Even if they don't want it in there state, it will be impossible to keep out. Also, from an age demographics standpoint, younger people regardless of party affiliation support it and the older people that are most likely to be opposed are dying out.

What are the implications to this? What kind of policy decisions will be needed to address it?

To me, this biggest imediate thing to adress will be preventing people from driving impaired. Also, what to do about children having access. I think realistically you won't be able to keep it away from teens.

From a long term standpoint, I wonder if if legalization will lead to America becoming more liberal or will you eventually still have a lot of social conservatives, but they will be social conservatives that use weed.

Nothing changes at all. Weed is already everywhere. If it was legalized tomorrow there is no noticeable difference in the country.

Also teenagers been getting stoned for generations now and they almost all grow up alright. There is no need to invoke think of the children they are fine.

 

[Gutter Chris]

When I was a kid, smoking weed was illegal so people did it and were able to do something fun and break the law.

My concern, since smoking weed is no big deal now, they will need to turn to the next illegal thing to get that edge.

Your concern is fn retarded. Kids aren't going to do fenty to rebel. Those other drugs aren't on the same level at all

And I don't know about you but we didn't do it to break the law we did it because it was fun. I think that's most people. You also really overestimated these kids and their spirit of rebellion. They don't even have friends to party with. They aren't going to start blasting heroin just to do something illegal.

I swear to God people come up with the stupidest shit in regards to drugs and it makes actual good policy all but impossible to implement

 

[Sinister]

More chill, less addicted to opioids, job creation.