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Canada’s legal pot is going well

reuters.com

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Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#41

Post by dagw »

DKnoll wrote: post #16
DanBC wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One of the rare people We have no idea of the prevalance of this kind of person. There's no research. (I am in favour of legalisation.)

It's honestly hard to believe there were people who didn't smoke simply because it was illegal, even though getting charged for personal amounts of cannabis in the GTA was about as common as being struck by lightning. That said I applaud them. That's a very respectable level of restraint and community-mindedness (I swear that's a word).

It's honestly hard to believe there were people who didn't smoke simply because it was illegal

That was me. Although not because I was afraid of getting caught, but simply because the effort and logistics of attempting to get ahold of a consistent supply of quality weed without getting ripped off was not worth it.

Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#42

Post by ape4 »

DKnoll wrote: post #2

This doesn't echo public sentiment at all. Many are critical of the way implementation has happened, whether for or against (at least in Ontario, the most populous province and the one I base everything that follows on). Those who are 'for' are upset about the supply issues that have occurred with the legal supply being limited (long delays), more expensive and often poor quality (moldy). Those who are indifferent ar…

There are complains but its generally going fine. Supply issues will be worked out.

Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#43

Post by quickthrower2 »

andai wrote: post #24
gnulinux wrote: post #9

Legal pot is not going good anywhere around the world except very few places like Colorado. This is because politicians insist on not paying attention to scientific studies and keep doing irrational things. Look at Massachusetts, one of the first states to legalize cannabis, still handful of legal shops, only 1 in Boston area. What changed is now a few mega corps (US) or the government (Canada) are your drug dealers,…

Long time coffee and cannabis user here, I'm curious in what ways you'd say cannabis is safer than coffee?

Well, if you spill hot coffee on you it can hurt a bit.

Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#44

Post by portroyal »

sintaxi wrote: post #3

No it isn't. Weed went from a thriving grey market to a black market. What changed is the government is now acting as a cartel for a very small number of companies who are allowed to sell legally. The legal companies are not meeting demand in any way comparable to pre-legalization. Prior to legalization we had a thriving free market the government wasn't getting a cut so there was no incentive for the laws on the boo…

> What changed is the government is now acting as a cartel for a very small number of companies who are allowed to sell legally.

What's unfortunate in theory, and funny in practice, is that "cannabis clinics" are essentially public on-boarding centres for this entrapment. The people working there aren't any more knowledgeable than a google search and take advantage of people naively thinking this "Medical Marijuana License" is anything other than a permit to get scammed by licensed producers (or cartel members, in this case). A part of the consultation is being taught how to buy from these LPs online as if one has never used amazon.com -- pretty funny to experience while playing dumb.

Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#45

Post by GavinAnderegg »

Here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, we’ve had publicly run cannabis stores since October 1, 2018 and things have been going quite well. Initially there were massive supply shortages, but those have evened out. The remaining complaint is that there aren’t enough brick-and-mortar stores in more rural areas of the province (because only select government run liquor stores can sell cannabis), but online sales make this less of an issue. The whole thing turned from being a spectacle to being quite normal very quickly.

Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#46

Post by piva00 »

tluyben2 wrote: post #30
DanBC wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One of the rare people We have no idea of the prevalance of this kind of person. There's no research. (I am in favour of legalisation.)

I wonder how much data there is from countries where it has been legal for a long time, like the Netherlands. When I grew up it was as normal as normal smoking and drinking. Mushrooms were(and are, but they banned some of them I think) also legal but that was not very normal to use, at least not in my circles. All my friends and many of their parents smoked a spliff or 2 in the weekend. Same as they drank some beers.…

Toleration/decriminalisation and harm reduction policies are really important, to give you a parallel: look here at Sweden [0] that despite being really socially progressive in regards to gender and social equality still has some of the most strict drug policies in the developed world. It's not only illegal to trade drugs but also to consume them, if you are caught, for example, during a raid on a rave by the police and they test you for drugs you will get fined and can go to court for it (being imprisoned isn't happening though). You will still have a record for about 5 years even though you had no drugs in your possession. Also, needle exchange programs are fucked up as there is not national policy, it's left to the kommuner and so these programs vary wildly between cities, addicts die because of this paralysis of the system.

Portugal is the most common example of how harm reduction policies help to decrease mortality and usage, a better informed population where drugs aren't taboo makes their usage be lower and more responsible.

I have some Dutch friends, most don't really smoke weed as often, usually on a special occasion. Harder drugs usage is also more responsible, most of them test their drugs before consuming, don't overdo it. Openness and information invites responsibility.

[0] https://i.imgur.com/bqfprnj.png

Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#47

Post by red75prime »

DKnoll wrote: post #16
DanBC wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One of the rare people We have no idea of the prevalance of this kind of person. There's no research. (I am in favour of legalisation.)

It's honestly hard to believe there were people who didn't smoke simply because it was illegal, even though getting charged for personal amounts of cannabis in the GTA was about as common as being struck by lightning. That said I applaud them. That's a very respectable level of restraint and community-mindedness (I swear that's a word).

> It's honestly hard to believe there were people who didn't smoke simply because it was illegal

For me it is completely easy to believe. Cannabis is not addictive enough for me to go to the trouble of getting it illegally.

Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#49

Post by throwaway287391 »

DKnoll wrote: post #13
rocky1138 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect this is some form of reverse survivor bias: the people who are happy with the service (like me) are not out on the streets cheering. It's fantastic, it's just not something that we talk about due to the stigma. I smoked exceedingly rarely before legalization (3 times in my entire life) and now I smoke often. I'm happy to pay the paltry prices for the amount of enjoyment I get from it, and I know that the we…

> I smoked exceedingly rarely before legalization (3 times in my entire life) and now I smoke often. You are the boogeyman to the people who oppose legalisation. One of the rare people who didn't smoke simply to obey the law and are now getting stoned because it's legal. :P I think the people who rarely smoked are the most happy, because they are not worried about a minor price increase but also appreciate the conven…

> You are the boogeyman to the people who oppose legalisation. One of the rare people who didn't smoke simply to obey the law and are now getting stoned because it's legal. :P

As a pre- and post-legalization smoker, I always thought this was a naive view. Having to deal with a sketchy flaky street dealer (not to mention finding one to begin with) is absolutely going to turn a lot of people off of smoking. And speaking from experience, waiting on an empty street corner for 20-30 minutes for your dealer to show up (because he's always late) gives you a lot of time to introspect and question your choices...

It is really nothing like walking into a clean retail store with regular business hours, display cases, and pretty young cashiers. The street dealer situation makes you feel like a lowlife piece of shit who has a lot of growing up to do; the legal retail situation makes you feel like a yuppie walking into an Apple Store. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this new option led to 2 or 3 times as many people smoking. And to me, that's completely fine (really, good for me since it makes it more socially acceptable).

I think the smokers who believed that legalization didn't offer a more appealing purchasing option for a ton of people must be the 24/7 stoners who only have other 24/7 stoners as friends and can't imagine not having immediate access to weed.

Re: Canada’s legal pot is going well

#50

Post by IMTDb »

rocky1138 wrote: post #7
DKnoll wrote: post #2

This doesn't echo public sentiment at all. Many are critical of the way implementation has happened, whether for or against (at least in Ontario, the most populous province and the one I base everything that follows on). Those who are 'for' are upset about the supply issues that have occurred with the legal supply being limited (long delays), more expensive and often poor quality (moldy). Those who are indifferent ar…

I suspect this is some form of reverse survivor bias: the people who are happy with the service (like me) are not out on the streets cheering. It's fantastic, it's just not something that we talk about due to the stigma. I smoked exceedingly rarely before legalization (3 times in my entire life) and now I smoke often. I'm happy to pay the paltry prices for the amount of enjoyment I get from it, and I know that the we…

And this is exactly why widespread legalization is a bad idea.

Take really care about that dude. Just like few drinks here and there, few cigarettes once in a while or even pain medication when you really need are not dangerous, continuous use just because "It's easy to get and it feels good" have major long term impact on you health.

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