Prop 64 passes Colorado election

[Tusk]

MJ legalisation also passed in Washington
I posted this in Casey's thread:

I'm Casey and I just got stoned?

Casey Abrams ‏@IAmCaseyAbrams
Weed is now legal in Colorado and Washington?!?!? Party time!!!!!!!!

Finally a reason for him to come up here and perform...and maybe bring Haley along too

(BTW...it's still illegal Federally, so it's a 'pipe' dream ATM, pardon the pun )
Although it has been decriminalised, put on lowest priority, the outgoing Governor refused to allow washington state employees to be involved in any of the process of distribution for medicinal use.

She said it puts her employees at risk of federal prosecution, which is true, because the feds did raid a bunch of dispensaries in this state and got hold of their customer lists.

While I'm one that believes it has been unconscionable how much wasted resource and how many lives have been ruined because of the over reaction to the 'dangers' of marijuana by the government (not to mention all the jail space taken up by small time weed offenses that could be used for much more violent criminals ex. rapists, pedophiles, gang bangers, some who get early release because 'we have no space in our jails')

I can't help but believe that many will get a rude awakening when the day of 'legal' marijuana consumption comes.

-Even though the DA in WA st has moved MJ possesion to it's lowest priority before this, It is still federally illegal

-most jobs ban it and will test for it

-There will be idiots who can't handle it or take it to the extreme and will be used as examples for why it 'was a bad idea'

-They will come up with a test for it for DUI offenses. Marijuana can stay in your system for weeks up to a month (they can test it even in your hair). That means even if you're no longer under it's influence, if you are pulled over and are tested for it, there's a good chance it will still be in your system, therefore, even if you are no longer 'high' you can get popped for a DUI. Alcohol washes out of your system relatively quickly compared to MJ.

-Even though the feds said they would lower its priority on it, they still acted to raid dispensaries in Washington, got their 'client list' and now have a handy dandy list of people who 'use' for further investigation. Even though it is legal now, it may get federally over turned in the future, which means there is a record of you purchasing that might be investigated in the future. Even though in civics class, we are taught our founding Fathers created a government 'for the people', that is not the government we have now, almost 300 years later. Big Brother is indeed watching. (This is not a comment on the current administration or any political party, this is just a reality of the Federal mindset in the 21st century/'post 9/11 America', regardless of political affiliation.)

-The alcohol industry is a big contributor to political parties and the 'political process' and will not take being 'demonized' in the public, while, pot is celebrated. Don't be surprised if they take part in criminalizing it again.

-Even in Amsterdam, they have pulled back their stance on MJ. Like Gambling, alcohol or any vice, there will always be a criminal aspect to MJ as long as it's still illegal elsewhere. They have found that criminals go there to get the MJ to sell it where it's illegal, thus creating a criminal underground pipeline. They have had to revisit their opinions and are moving towards stricter regulations and rules in selling it for commercial or tourism purposes because of the criminal element/industry that has grown around it. Unless MJ is completely legal everywhere, there will still be criminal activity attached to it....even in Holland.

-Local government will likely be as 'hands off' as possible in it's distribution, also for the taxes they collect in fear of federal penalties that they still have to abide by. Meaning, their employees would be subject to federal laws covering distribution of a banned substance (like what happened in Washington)

There are other things that make this not as great a victory as one might think, but these are what I can think of, off hand. I get a 'cheese in the mousetrap' feeling to this...lure in the unsuspecting with the 'MJ is finally free of prohibition' cheese, then spring the trap, a way to get the MJ users to show themselves in the light, for easy gathering .....

One interesting, and at the same time, worrying thing about this go around of legalizing Pot in Washington, there was minimal, if any, opposition to the vote. For some reason, this time, the anti-pot people spent hardly any money at all, I don't know that I saw an ad against it...which makes me wonder if they have a 'larger' plan, and also strengthens my sense that this is a 'cheese in a mousetrap' situation.

One good thing that comes from this...if more states legalize it, the federal government will eventually have to 'come clean' as to why they are pushing so hard to suppress the weed's use. MJ has been one of the least officially studied, 'natural' herbs, mainly because of the classification and ban that the government has put on it. Just like many natural and organic plants that have been successfully used for medicinal purposes for 1000's of years in orient, there are Pharmaceutical interests with deep pockets that would prefer you to use their product which BTW has TONS of side effects which they happen to also have a pill for.

Pharmaceuticals don't take kindly to cures for mild ailments that you can just grow in your back yard. They'd much prefer you use their fabricated cures, that cost ridiculous amounts, that create more ailments as side effects that they can also 'help' you with. For example, think about the side effects of a 'sleep aid' like Ambien, when you can just take a hit of MJ and the worse you might get is the 'munchies'
...it's all about sustaining the market for their drugs

MJ is a threat to many BIG interests, Pharma, Alcohol/Tobacco and the Federal prison system to name a few (which is also connected to the disproportionate number of African Americans and Latinos jailed for it, compared to caucasians...a subtext to racial profiling)

The legalisation in CO and WA is just a blip...the fairly large conservative population are more willing to listen to their government about the 'evils' of MJ and ignore the more 'evil' and significantly more destructive, health-wise, but legal, Alcohol and Tobacco industries, and will likely help in the push back to quash these advances, unfortunately.

I wish it could be as easy as "MJ is Legal"....but experience has shown me that it's never as easy as it seems...