[Alter-ed]

Glad to hear both Colorado and Washington have passed it for recreational use. As a poster above stated, we really just need to wait and see how it works out for two or three states and others will follow.

As someone with, ahem, some experience, I can honestly say that I have never done anything I regret while a little stoned. I CANNOT say the same about alcohol (I VERY very rarely drink). For me, it helps me relax and is the best sleep aid I can get my hands on. And I trust it 100x over any prescription sleep drugs that doctors have tried to push on me for my long-term insomnia.

As long as it's used RESPONSIBLY (which is key!) it IS safer than alcohol.

[skydy]

It will be fascinating to see how the federal government deals with this situation.

[Noms]

OK I am moving to Colorado, I will definitely need a lot of weed to get through the next 4 years of this BS economy.

[chillydc]

Glad that it passed! I don't use it, but I think this is a win-win. States get more money, growers/dealers get more money, less money wasted on law enforcement and plus people get to have a good time. The less the government is involved in a person's personal life the better, IMO.

[dani0303]

My apartment complex issued a letter to all residents restating that this is an illegal drug free facility

[Natalie A]

My apartment complex issued a letter to all residents restating that this is an illegal drug free facility

Ha! Fine with me, as long as people smoke far away from me! I have lung problems and pot smell is not conducive to breathing

[GraceLikeRain]

I am really against this but not because I am morally opposed to pot. If people use pot in moderation in their homes it couldn't bother me less. What does bother me is that we have no way of preventing people from getting baked off their butts and driving. With alcohol we have legal parameters and a reliable way to test if someone is over the limit and has impaired judgment. With pot will the discretion be left up to the arresting officer? Is the definition of impaired the same as with alcohol? Is there a test that can be administered on the side of the road?

Perhaps I am behind the pot laws and this has already been addressed. If so, it really negates the majority of my concerns and I hope it can be a source of revenue for the state.

[skydy]

Since medical marijuana is already legal here,Colorado currently has laws that address that issue and has established a blood level for the drug, over which, driving is illegal.

I don't know the answer to the question of the availability of a "roadside" test.

[drmgncolor]

What does bother me is that we have no way of preventing people from getting baked off their butts and driving.

We also have no way of preventing people from getting drunk off their butts and driving. Or what about prescription pills? Whats keeping someone from popping one (or one too many) and driving?

There is really nothing that can prevent people from "driving under the influence" beyond their own person responsibility. You can educate and create laws that punish the behavior, but you cannot keep people from doing it.

Heck, we still have so many people behind the wheel with out a driver's license anyway. Legalization is not going to start a rash of crazed stoner drivers anymore than prohibition would keep drunks off the road.

Perhaps I am behind the pot laws and this has already been addressed. If so, it really negates the majority of my concerns and I hope it can be a source of revenue for the state.

I sincerely hope this moves forward. What a great way to cash in on an industry that is already alive and well in this country. Legalize it, regulate it, and TAX it. The demand is there and that demand certainly isn't going to DECREASE by keeping it illegal.

[jetsmom]

Heck, most people when stoned, have no desire to go anywhere and do anything. They just want to sit around, listen to good music and eat.
I'd rather be around a bunch of people that are high on pot than drunk on alchohol. You don't get the bar fights, domestic abuse, teens comitting vandalism on pot, like you do on booze.

[BasqueMom]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Pot use in teenagers has been proven to do not nice things to developing brains. And kids will get ahold of it...they do everything else.

Friend's son-in-law who is almost 50, two kids and SAHM smokes nightly, along
with swigging his beer. Meanwhile, he won't pay the additional premium for
family coverage through his employer so Mom has none and the kids are covered
under the SCHIPS program. They make just a little too much for Mom to get covered under Medicaid.

As a former pilot, peeing in a bottle was routine and without notice. You want the person in the left seat of the cockpit to have "relaxed" that morning or the night before? Truck driver jobs are going begging (at least in W. Texas) because most can't pass a drug test. You want a driver in a big rig to not be at his best? Like pilots, truckers have to pass regular medical exams. There are other occupations where being at your physical and mental best are important.

[Simkie]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Pot use in teenagers has been proven to do not nice things to developing brains. And kids will get ahold of it...they do everything else.

Friend's son-in-law who is almost 50, two kids and SAHM smokes nightly, along
with swigging his beer. Meanwhile, he won't pay the additional premium for
family coverage through his employer so Mom has none and the kids are covered
under the SCHIPS program. They make just a little too much for Mom to get covered under Medicaid.

As a former pilot, peeing in a bottle was routine and without notice. You want the person in the left seat of the cockpit to have "relaxed" that morning or the night before? Truck driver jobs are going begging (at least in W. Texas) because most can't pass a drug test. You want a driver in a big rig to not be at his best? Like pilots, truckers have to pass regular medical exams. There are other occupations where being at your physical and mental best are important.

Legalizing it, regulating it and taxing it changes any of this HOW, exactly? People who want it now get it now, everywhere. Teenagers who want it get it. Your friend's son-in-law gets it. And any pilot or truck driver who wants it gets it.

Legalizing it will add regulation and oversight to the industry, provide some tax dollars and ease the burden on the cops and courts. People who want to smoke pot will smoke pot, and people who don't want to smoke pot won't smoke pot...exactly like they do NOW.

[Sacred_Petra]

Personally, I have a strong moral problem with them legalizing pot. I understand the arguments that taxation will bring in more revenue to the state, and all that, but I still have a problem with it. I'm very disappointed in my state.

[BuddyRoo]

THe new lawas have blood limits too last I knew. So there will still bea way to "test". However, with so much variation i the strength of the drug, people should just plan to stay home.

I am really against this but not because I am morally opposed to pot. If people use pot in moderation in their homes it couldn't bother me less. What does bother me is that we have no way of preventing people from getting baked off their butts and driving. With alcohol we have legal parameters and a reliable way to test if someone is over the limit and has impaired judgment. With pot will the discretion be left up to the arresting officer? Is the definition of impaired the same as with alcohol? Is there a test that can be administered on the side of the road?

Perhaps I am behind the pot laws and this has already been addressed. If so, it really negates the majority of my concerns and I hope it can be a source of revenue for the state.

[DieBlaueReiterin]

Personally, I have a strong moral problem with them legalizing pot. I understand the arguments that taxation will bring in more revenue to the state, and all that, but I still have a problem with it. I'm very disappointed in my state.

i'm almost afraid to ask, but...i'm dying to know what kind of a moral objection you could have to someone smoking weed??

[TheJenners]

Is there a test that can be administered on the side of the road?

Yes. Drivers high on marijuana will still fail field sobriety tests. They are then taken for a blood draw...

[dani0303]

Industries like airlines and trucking will still have to pass the DOT and OSHA regulated drug test.

My SO drives a truck in the oilfield. Regardless of its legality, if he fails a piss test he loses his job. This will not change with it now being legal.

[volvo_240]

Yes. Drivers high on marijuana will still fail field sobriety tests. They are then taken for a blood draw...

Simple as this.

As long as alcohol and tobacco (both much nastier substances in my experiences) are legal I cannot fathom a logical reason pot isn't. Other than the financial threat a legal marijuana industry would pose to the big business that provide us our beer and butts.

[TheJenners]

Well, it's NOT really that simple. Right now the law is such that any amount of THC is illegal (in a very simplified sense). But to compare it to alcohol-related DUI is peas and carrots. Same food group, different animal.

Legal limit for driving is 0.08 grams of alcohol per 210 liters of breath. That is LAW. However the law reads (in this state and most others) that it is .08 PER SE. Meaning, me being a light weight will 100 percent fail FSTs and yet blow under the legal limit. I can still be convicted of a DUI, because I was definitely impaired. Joe Blow the bar fly can get stopped for a brake light, pass all FSTs but nystagmus (involuntary twitching of the eyeball), be walking/talking/answering questions and still blow a .2. He will also be convicted of DUI for being over the legal limit.

What will be the legal limit for THC present in the blood?

[SmartAlex]

i'm almost afraid to ask, but...i'm dying to know what kind of a moral objection you could have to someone smoking weed??

Yes, as opposed to say.... tobacco?