If legalizing Marijuana in your state is on the docket...

[DarkSideR]

Where I call home Medical Marijuana has been nothing but a ruse. Doctor’s advertise their clinics in local papers. I’d hazard a guess that half the people in the four surrounding counties have a Med card. There have been no rules or regulations governing the growing of said medicine. Not to mention any recommended dosage for what allegedly ails you. The clandestine operations throughout have gotten out of control with infusion of cartels from south of the border pillaging and plundering the federal land (U.S. Forest) with chemicals to kill wildlife and enhance growth of their plants. Many locals simply want to fly under the radar with their medical card and not make a big splash. Others, however, have completely taken advantage of the non-regulated medical operations. The past several years our small town of about 1500 population is inundated with trimmigrants (immigrant “trimmers”) during the growing season.

They come from all over the country and from other countries to work in the clandestine operations as field hands. The hairballs look like the scourge of the earth, all appearing and smelling like they live in a hollow stump someplace in the hills. When not trimming in the hills they linger around town in clusters under the shade trees that line the downtown section. They all bath in patchouli oil to mask their B.O. The patchouli oil by itself smells like liquid dirt. That on top of body odor makes one want to gasp for air and puke all at the same time. Downtown is like an open-air freak show during the summer – playing various musical instruments, smoking weed, kicking the little leather ball around, and begging for money all at the same time. Recently the county drafted and enacted an ordinance to legally grow – with county oversight – to sell to dispensaries. Now the gold rush is on to get permits from the county and till the land in time for the season. The truckloads of soil amendments, plastic pipe, water tanks and related agricultural equipment going up and down the roads this year is unprecedented. A collection/processing plant is being built very near town at an old mill site. Word on the street is it will have 24/7 security with armed guards. How much of a harvest will go through the processing plant with a paper trail and tax I.D.? I suspect a fraction amount.

The demographic of this area is rapidly changing. Old timers who have lived here for many years are moving away. The face of this town has changed dramatically in the past five years. Glad my kids are grown and gone before this scene grew into the monster it is. Glad my kid & family moved from Colorado a couple years ago as my grand-kids become teenagers. I don’t know where society is headed. I don’t like the looks of it, the feel of it, or the smell of it, or the caliber of people and the resultant crime that comes with it.  Humboldt County, CA, where the redwoods meet the sea. This area isn’t what it use to be. Its no longer about the trees the rivers and the ocean. Its all about the weed. Sad but true.  I’ve been in this county for forty-five years. I’m ready to move on and leave it and the all hairballs in the rear view mirror.         

You have described Pueblo, CO. to a 'T'. Except 85k live here so multiple your problems times 60, and our illegal grows are happening in hard working people's rental properties and destroying the houses in the process. It use to be a 15 minute town to get you wherever you needed to go. Now is nothing but idiot drivers and traffic jams.

[Simmy74]

I have three people dear to me that have terminal conditions,  one has been fighting prescription drug addiction for years, one has frequent seiesures due to a brain tumor, one also is stage 4.  These are the people I had in mind when I voted for it here in Michigan.

I love a good cigaweed as much as anyone, but as a society I don't think we are mentally equipped to handle the fallout.   Like most half-regulated industries, the black market and irresponsible opportunist types will likely ruin it for the ones who actually need it.  I like it, but I don't NEED it.  Neither do most of the people I've met here with mmd cards.

I agree with the decriminalization argument,  but  not with the cottage industry side effects.
 Sucks that another potentially good thing is being botched by sloppy execution. ...again.

[DarkSideR]

I have three people dear to me that have terminal conditions,  one has been fighting prescription drug addiction for years, one has frequent seiesures due to a brain tumor, one also is stage 4.  These are the people I had in mind when I voted for it here in Michigan.

I love a good cigaweed as much as anyone, but as a society I don't think we are mentally equipped to handle the fallout.   Like most half-regulated industries, the black market and irresponsible opportunist types will likely ruin it for the ones who actually need it.  I like it, but I don't NEED it.  Neither do most of the people I've met here with mmd cards.

I agree with the decriminalization argument,  but  not with the cottage industry side effects.
 Sucks that another potentially good thing is being botched by sloppy execution. ...again.

Colorado's own governor said it was a mistake and that we rushed into it. Agreed, properly implemented and it could have been a good thing.

[Momz]

Recreational Marijuana is a good thing for us older folks. Why? We know our limitations, I don't drink and drive nor do I get stoned and ride. Most pot users that I know will also make that statements.

I am disabled and it helps to calm me down, it helps my wife when she gets stressed (she has M.S.); life can can you as you age. I'm not suggesting that it is for everyone, just as alcohol is a perfect recreation for others either. Our bodies, and more specifically our metabolism changes as we age and thus we may need to use substances to regulate bowel movements, free up arthritic joints, help with sleep disorders, control production of excess stomach acid, etc.

That is my take,.....I believe in Freedom and Common Sense. Yes, .....you can;t fix (or regulate) stupidity.

[DarkSideR]

I think your statement should be revised to "it can be good for some of us older folks". My Grandfather died at the age of 93. A WWII Veteran who served in Nazi Germany. He saw such horrific things he never spoke of them when he returned to anyone, ever. He had arthritis, bad knees, and in the end died of a broken heart when his wife (my Grandmother) of 63 years passed away 4 months before him. He never smoked, never said he felt the need.

[sheets]

Me, I have no qualms with legitimate MM. It’s the sub and counter culture, and the related criminal element that comes with it is what I take exception to. I have friends and acquaintances who partake, but you’d never know it unless they share that bit of information. They lead a normal mainstream life without looking like a zombie from the living dead movie. Medical M has been a fact of life in Cali since about `98. How the medicinal aspect has morphed into the monster it currently is in that time defies description. In the beginning the legislation allowed 99 plants per card holder. I don’t follow the scene so I don’t know if that is still accurate. I have growers on three sides of me. One I can see from my kitchen window. With plants the size of tall (10 ft.) thick bushy Christmas trees, just how much medicine does one need to cope. Does a person really need 99 plants? For every cardholder in the house, add another 99. I have a brother who is a 215 cardholder. He has some legitimate issues. I don’t think any less of him for it. If it helps him cope, so be it. Somehow he manages with two plants. With the new county ordinance you can be a certified grower if you have a minimum of five acres of land. I don’t know if the ordinance defines a number of plants but I can only imagine. The past five years our downtown area looks like a staging area for movie extras filming a sequel to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. In that same span of time we’ve had home invasion crimes, both mini-mart gas stations and the one and only grocery store has been robbed at gunpoint. Last year we lost a legitimate business due to fire. One of the walking dead transients decided to build a fire under a covered area behind the store. The store burned to the ground. As the world turns – in my neck of the woods. Yrmv,             

[DarkSideR]

Me, I have no qualms with legitimate MM. It’s the sub and counter culture, and the related criminal element that comes with it is what I take exception to. I have friends and acquaintances who partake, but you’d never know it unless they share that bit of information. They lead a normal mainstream life without looking like a zombie from the living dead movie. Medical M has been a fact of life in Cali since about `98. How the medicinal aspect has morphed into the monster it currently is in that time defies description. In the beginning the legislation allowed 99 plants per card holder. I don’t follow the scene so I don’t know if that is still accurate. I have growers on three sides of me. One I can see from my kitchen window. With plants the size of tall (10 ft.) thick bushy Christmas trees, just how much medicine does one need to cope. Does a person really need 99 plants? For every cardholder in the house, add another 99. I have a brother who is a 215 cardholder. He has some legitimate issues. I don’t think any less of him for it. If it helps him cope, so be it. Somehow he manages with two plants. With the new county ordinance you can be a certified grower if you have a minimum of five acres of land. I don’t know if the ordinance defines a number of plants but I can only imagine. The past five years our downtown area looks like a staging area for movie extras filming a sequel to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. In that same span of time we’ve had home invasion crimes, both mini-mart gas stations and the one and only grocery store has been robbed at gunpoint. Last year we lost a legitimate business due to fire. One of the walking dead transients decided to build a fire under a covered area behind the store. The store burned to the ground. As the world turns – in my neck of the woods. Yrmv,            

This thread is kind of taking a turn and I would like to get it back on track. This thread isn't to cast down those who choose to use Marijuana. My best friend of 18 years smokes recreational daily. This thread is to give light to negative impact that the legalization of Marijuana has had on Colorado. It has corrupted the government, it has infested the state with shady people who beg, panhandle, steal, etc. The promised tax revenue that was supposed to make everything better hasn't surfaced because the government and law enforcement are so burdened with regulating the legal and still illegal aspect of it. Our children think it's medicine that will fix everything. It's infested the schools. 1 in 3 children are having permanent brain damage. Crime has risen. Cost of living has risen. Bad, bad, bad, bad. Which is really sad because if you add up the people who really benefit from from the medical aspect is would be less than 1% of the population. Why should the 100% have to deal with all the crap for the benefits of less than 1%?