Whaaa?

[_subgenius]

In the years since, Colorado has seen an increase in marijuana related traffic deaths, poison control calls, and emergency room visits. The marijuana black market has increased in Colorado, not decreased. And, numerous Colorado marijuana regulators have been indicted for corruption.

https://www.knoxnews.com/story/opinion/ ... 536010001/

Surely senator booker has all the facts

Whaaa?

[_Maksutov]

William F. Buckley and Ron Paul also favored legalization. Hey, when people exercise their rights it's not without risks. Just ask gun owners.

A good libertarian would favor drug legalization. Booker or no Booker.

[_The CCC]

Mary Jane isn't good for you, particularly the modern stronger strains, but prohibition is worse.

[_subgenius]

Mary Jane isn't good for you, particularly the modern stronger strains, but prohibition is worse.

how so? the stats in the OP seem to define "worse" differently than you define "worse".

[_subgenius]

William F. Buckley and Ron Paul also favored legalization. Hey, when people exercise their rights it's not without risks. Just ask gun owners.

A good libertarian would favor drug legalization. Booker or no Booker.

Agreed, and perhaps reviewing Booker's consideration for gun rights is relevant.

[_Gunnar]

Mary Jane isn't good for you, particularly the modern stronger strains, but prohibition is worse.

how so? the stats in the OP seem to define "worse" differently than you define "worse".

Punitive prohibition only adds to and exacerbates the very real evils and damage done by the drugs themselves. It also tends to enhance the "forbidden fruit aura" of the drugs, which is a large part of what attracts precisely the kind of fools who are most likely to experiment with drugs in the first place. The only real beneficiaries of that approach are organized crime and the army of bureaucrats, and law enforcement officials needed to administer and enforce that approach, not to mention the private, for profit prisons whose profits depend on how many people are incarcerated.

[_The CCC]

how so? the stats in the OP seem to define "worse" differently than you define "worse".

Prohibition is worse because it puts it all underground much like the Volstead Act did for alcohol. It also makes treatment for emotional dependency problematic. It also give police departments an incentive to profit through asset forfeiture. It also puts whole generations of young primarily black young men (Blacks and whites have virtual identical Pot use patterns. But Blacks receive 5 times the punishment. it fills our for profit prisons) with a permanent underclass of those unable to vote, receive financial help to go to school, get food asssistance when needed, use public housing when needed, and because simple possession is a Felony limited job prospects. That is what I mean by worse.

[_Kevin Graham]

Yes, to get the facts on Marijuana in Colordao, we must read an "Opinion Contributor" from effing Knoxville Tennessee.

[_Jersey Girl]

Yes, to get the facts on Marijuana in Colordao, we must read an "Opinion Contributor" from effing Knoxville Tennessee.

Representing Colorado Christian University. I know that probably no one here knows what that is, but it's worth saying.

Why isn't anyone up in arms over alcohol and opioid abuse?

[_Kevin Graham]

In the years since, Colorado has seen an increase in marijuana related traffic deaths, poison control calls, and emergency room visits. The marijuana black market has increased in Colorado, not decreased. And, numerous Colorado marijuana regulators have been indicted for corruption.

Well when the general use of marijuana has doubled then obviously anything that happens is going to be more "marijuana related." More marijuana related volunteering at the soup kitchen, more marijuana related dancing, movie going, pie eating contests, etc. But what is "marijuana related" anyway? The guy writing this article wants us to believe "marijuana caused."

The 166-page report released this month analyzed the effects of legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use in Colorado spanning the time period from 2006 to the present. Along with the state of Washington, Colorado is considered as something of laboratory in which the effects of legalizing marijuana use can be studied. The study showed that the number of drivers testing positive for marijuana increased 100 percent from 2007 to 2012, with marijuana-related fatalities doubling from 37 to 78. Traffic fatalities total around 500 a year in the state. - https://www.rt.com/usa/316148-marijuana ... ies-study/

But this doesn't say the number of all traffic fatalities has increased as a result. It only says more people involved in the usual number of traffic accidents are testing positive for marijuana. It doesn't say whether they're actually "high" or whether the accident happened because of that. Now if there was a sudden spike in overall fatal traffic accidents during the legalization period, then you'd have an actual case. But that's just not the case. If anything, the number of total crashes has gone down gradually and it has been lower every year than what they were in 2005.

As far as the black market goes:

The state has tried its best to crush the black market since legalization, slashing plant counts and upping black- and gray-market enforcement of unregulated medical and recreational grows. All of that home-grow hatred and a maturing cannabis industry has undoubtedly cut into black-market sales. According to Arcview Market Research’s latest study on the nation’s cannabis industry, Colorado had the smallest rate of black-market cannabis transactions by far compared to other states, at just 27 percent of total spending. Compare that to a 51 percent rate in Washington and 49 percent rate in Oregon — and a 100 percent rate in prohibition states — and Colorado looks pretty clean. Some cannabis consumers, especially those who consumed heavily before legalization, still prefer the black market because they distrust the industry and/or hate commercialization. A Cannabis Consumer Coalition study in which 84 percent of the respondents identified as daily users asked where they bought their pot. Fewer than 12 percent said they bought cannabis from a recreational dispensary, while nearly 46 percent said they still buy off the black market and 15 percent said they grow their own.- http://www.westword.com/marijuana/color ... it-9280870