How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
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Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#2Colorado, probably. Washington, not yet.
The Washington Liquor Control Board, in its infinite wisdom, only authorized about 25% of the total amount of legal pot-growing necessary to satisfy demand in the state, which means that the black market here in Washington is still flourishing: http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/07/08/how-wash...
Thankfully, it sounds like the LCB started changing its tune about pot production on Friday, but given how slow they seem to be in implementation of things like this, who knows how long it'll be before there's enough legal supply for the state's demand. http://www.komonews.com/news/local/State-may-allow-more-lega...
But, this still doesn't address the other fundamental issue here: the number of places where you can legally buy marijuana in Seattle is currently 2 (not a typo).
Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#3The U.S. has done the prohibition experiment twice now, and it was an unmitigated disaster both times. The data are unambiguous: prohibition doesn't work, never has, never will. And yet we're still arguing about it.
Funny thing, though, we've done a similar experiment with tax cuts for the wealthy three times now: once in the 1920's, once starting in the 1980s, and most recently in Kansas. The results have been similarly disastrous all three times. And yet we're still arguing about that too.
Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#4The U.S. has done the prohibition experiment twice now, and it was an unmitigated disaster both times. The data are unambiguous: prohibition doesn't work, never has, never will. And yet we're still arguing about it. Funny thing, though, we've done a similar experiment with tax cuts for the wealthy three times now: once in the 1920's, once starting in the 1980s, and most recently in Kansas. The results have been simil…
It is not unambiguous that Prohibition didn't work. http://www.nber.org/papers/w3675.pdf
Whether or not it was worth the cost is a separate issue; I think it's pretty clear that it wasn't. But the argument can be made that it did "work" in reducing alcohol consumption.
Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#5The U.S. has done the prohibition experiment twice now, and it was an unmitigated disaster both times. The data are unambiguous: prohibition doesn't work, never has, never will. And yet we're still arguing about it. Funny thing, though, we've done a similar experiment with tax cuts for the wealthy three times now: once in the 1920's, once starting in the 1980s, and most recently in Kansas. The results have been simil…
It is not unambiguous that Prohibition didn't work. http://www.nber.org/papers/w3675.pdf Whether or not it was worth the cost is a separate issue; I think it's pretty clear that it wasn't. But the argument can be made that it did "work" in reducing alcohol consumption.
I didn't say that it didn't work, I said it was an unmitigated disaster. A program can achieve its ostensible goals and still be disastrous. Jim Crow "worked" too.
Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#6The U.S. has done the prohibition experiment twice now, and it was an unmitigated disaster both times. The data are unambiguous: prohibition doesn't work, never has, never will. And yet we're still arguing about it. Funny thing, though, we've done a similar experiment with tax cuts for the wealthy three times now: once in the 1920's, once starting in the 1980s, and most recently in Kansas. The results have been simil…
It is not unambiguous that Prohibition didn't work. http://www.nber.org/papers/w3675.pdf Whether or not it was worth the cost is a separate issue; I think it's pretty clear that it wasn't. But the argument can be made that it did "work" in reducing alcohol consumption.
Sorry. The link isn't working for me. Does the study properly account for percent alcohol by volume? Studies I have read showed people just switching beer for whiskey. The consumption difference was negligible once normalized.
Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#7The U.S. has done the prohibition experiment twice now, and it was an unmitigated disaster both times. The data are unambiguous: prohibition doesn't work, never has, never will. And yet we're still arguing about it. Funny thing, though, we've done a similar experiment with tax cuts for the wealthy three times now: once in the 1920's, once starting in the 1980s, and most recently in Kansas. The results have been simil…
Alcohol prohibition is an apt historical lesson, especially regarding violence and black markets, but there is a significant difference: the intended targets. Alcohol was outlawed primarily to target men, particularly the violent and alcoholic, and was a stand-in for women's issues. It was the first time domestic violence began to be (indirectly) talked about, and was a major driver for women's suffrage and activism.
Cannabis prohibition, on the other hand, has historically been targeted explicitly at minorities (and later expanded as a way to scare young people out of counter-cultures). In a sense, it has been extremely effective at its intended goal: systematic oppression of The Other. (The fact that early demonization of marijuana was intertwined with fears of white women being seduced by jazz culture or raped by "reefer madness" also signals an evo-psych component: removing competitor males from the gene pool by locking up as many black men as possible.)
In addition to reducing undue U.S. interference with other countries' affairs, legalization is badly needed at home to reduce the prison population and address the racial injustices of the legal system.
Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#8I’m wondering to which extent this is simply a temporary effect because the overall population is pleased with this decision. I don’t believe it’s only that but I could imagine that it contributes with a low two digit percentage.
Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#9The legal implications of these changes are only one (important) side of what's happening.
I, for one, am looking forward to the renaissance that a more accepting attitude towards marijuana and psychedelics may herald. Both have the potential of transforming society, culture, and politics for the better.
Witness the great ferment of the psychedelic and cultural revolution of the 60's and 70's.
I hope I may live long enough to see the fruit of the next psychedelic revolution.
Re: How marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington is making the world better
#10Colorado, probably. Washington, not yet. The Washington Liquor Control Board, in its infinite wisdom, only authorized about 25% of the total amount of legal pot-growing necessary to satisfy demand in the state, which means that the black market here in Washington is still flourishing: http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2014/07/08/how-wash... Thankfully, it sounds like the LCB started changing its tune about pot…
And as a result the price of legal recreational pot in WA is around $35 a gram which is over three times the going rate for medicinal pot and illicit pot.