California votes to legalise recreational marijuana.

Well California, Massachusetts and Nevada voted overnight to legalise recreational weed. California will now be by far the largest pot market in the US. The 'war on drugs' strategy will no doubt be questioned going forward. Its a complete failure IMO, and definitely needs to be looked at in its entireity.

The_Valeyard

Well, might calm them down after last night.

fizzypish

Can't help but read California in the Arnie's accent

biko

Good for them.

cherryghost

A Democrat state that voted to legalize weed?

They should totally secede.

Winterlong

They are going to need a lot of weed to get thru the next 4 years.

pure.conya

Winterlong wrote: »

They are going to need a lot of weed to get thru the next 4 years.

anybody can apply for a licence to grow for a nominal fee that allows them grow up to 99 female plants a year in a climate that can easily have a plant grow/blossom up to 3m x 3m so trust me they have more than enough top quality weed to go around

Hazys

People can grow a certain amount of weed in their homes in Massachusetts as of December 15th but it won't be available in Retail stores until 2018.

ScumLord

Legal recreational cannabis might conflict with the new conservative America.

PopePalpatine

ScumLord wrote: »

Legal recreational cannabis might conflict with the new conservative America.

Yep, I'm waiting for Trump to empower every relevant federal agency to override California on this, because "economic anxiety".

toptom

Laughing stock of the world now they are.

jimmycrackcorm

I'll be very curious to see how they manage to deal with stoned driving and whether accident stats show a decrease in DUIs replaced with an increase in drug related.

Rory28

Hopefully it catches on over here too.
Won't hold my breath tho.

stimpson

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I'll be very curious to see how they manage to deal with stoned driving and whether accident stats show a decrease in DUIs replaced with an increase in drug related.

Can't imagine it will change much

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo11SqLmuGc

Commotion Ocean

Will we get a vote on it here?

toptom

dfeo wrote: »

Will we get a vote on it here?

Why ? Theres no appetite here for it to be legalised, It would be defeated as most of the druggies here dont vote anyway.

Winterlong

toptom wrote: »

Why ? Theres no appetite here for it to be legalised, It would be defeated as most of the druggies here dont vote anyway.

A referendum would not be needed as 'no weed' is not in the constitution.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

toptom wrote: »

Why ? Theres no appetite here for it to be legalised, It would be defeated as most of the druggies here dont vote anyway.

Ah there is though.

srsly78

It was only made illegal here when Ireland signed up to a (US sponsored) - UN Narcotics convention in the 60s.

So if even the United States is abandoning this silly prohibition, why is it still illegal?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs

Water John

We should tie it in to the proposed Water Referendum. I'd say Joan Collins wouldn't mind. A sort of a pork belly job.

Gbear

It's irritating how blasé people are about drug legislation, as if the Gards aren't talking about going on strike and we're coming off the back of a massive recession but not only eschew the potential tax revenu (a billion dollar industry in the similarly-sized-to-Ireland state of Colorado), but spend presumably something in the region of tens to hundreds of millions of euro enforcing those laws.

Jayop

dfeo wrote: »

Will we get a vote on it here?

Nah, if it ever is legalised it'll be in dribs and drabs by the government, not by public vote.It also won't happen here until almost every other country in the world does it because we're pretty backward about this type of thing.

Jayop

srsly78 wrote: »

It was only made illegal here when Ireland signed up to a (US sponsored) - UN Narcotics convention in the 60s.

So if even the United States is abandoning this silly prohibition, why is it still illegal?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_Convention_on_Narcotic_Drugs

The mass goer vote. Simple as that.

dundalkfc10

toptom wrote: »

Laughing stock of the world now they are.

People do laugh at us Irish and our people voting in the same 2 parties who helped destroy our economy but there's many countries worse

Jayop

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I'll be very curious to see how they manage to deal with stoned driving and whether accident stats show a decrease in DUIs replaced with an increase in drug related.

One way would be to check the stats for Colorado where it's been legal for recreational use for ages.

I've been unable to find stats purely relating to driving under the influence of weed because it wasn't a separate offense prior to legalisation however crime in general has gone down as per this set of stats...

http://www.rogersandmoss.com/blog/14-criminal-law-articles/56-two-years-later-has-the-legalization-of-marijuana-affected-crime-in-colorado

And here's the info about drug driving from the year it was first legalised...(I know the source is questionable but they used stats provided by Denver PD.

http://www.thecannabist.co/2015/05/21/colorado-marijuana-crime-stats/29784/

Comparing statistics for stoned driving in Colorado is another matter. The number of DUID citations involving marijuana in 2013 is not known because separate tracking of marijuana-related DUIDs by the Colorado State Patrol only started in January 2014 with the advent of recreational sales.

As previously reported by The Denver Post, in 2014 CSP issued 5,546 citations for driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or both. Among them, 354 DUID citations were issued in which marijuana was the only suspected substance (6 percent). The 12-month average for marijuana-related citations was 12 percent of the total DUI/DUID citations. The agency did not report DUI/DUID numbers from local police or sheriff’s departments.

So 12% of all DUI offenses were marijuana related. Hard to compare it to anything but it's a low average and you'd imagine their detection rate would be better than non legal states.

Then in 2015 a year later the number of driving stoned detection's dropped too which was a surprise.

http://www.denverpost.com/2016/02/11/fewer-people-charged-in-colorado-with-driving-while-high-in-2015/

Overall, the number of people cited for marijuana-related driving under the influence of drugs dropped 1.3 percent between 2014 and 2015, the report said. In 2015, 665 impaired drivers had marijuana in their systems, compared with 674 in 2014.

personally I'd see driving after a joint as more dangerous than driving after a few beers. Your motor skills might be better but your concentration levels are completely gone.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

The PSAs about drug driving Colorado did were pretty good

Jayop

That first one is excellent

newacc2015

ScumLord wrote: »

Legal recreational cannabis might conflict with the new conservative America.

Even red states voted to legalise medical marijuana, which is just recreational marijuana but you need to get a 'doctors recommendation' for anything from period pain to insomnia. Florida and North Dakota just legalised medical yesterday.

Most American realise that marijuana is not that bad and legal pain killers that are opoiate based are a serious concern. They realise there is no point banning relatively safe marijuana when thousands are dying of legal drug addiction yearly. There is also the fact if you legalise marijuana you are taking massive amounts of revenue from violent cartels and creating jobs and tax dollars in the US

Manic Moran

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I'll be very curious to see how they manage to deal with stoned driving and whether accident stats show a decrease in DUIs replaced with an increase in drug related.

California Highway Patrol opposed the ballot. No standards for impairment were set, neither is there a 'breathalyser' for marijuana making at-the-time assessment difficulty even if a standard exists.

AAA put out a report earlier this year. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/05/160510103131.htm
"Fatal crashes involving drivers who recently used marijuana doubled in Washington after the state legalized the drug, according to the latest research. New research also shows that legal limits for marijuana and driving are arbitrary and unsupported by science, which could result in unsafe motorists going free and others being wrongfully convicted for impaired driving."

Trump's position is that marijuana should be a state level issue, and has stated a willingness to downgrade it to a Category 2 drug. (i.e. acceptable for medicinal purposes). https://www.merryjane.com/news/want-marijuana-legalized-then-donald-trump-is-your-best-option

Its a great idea as long as it treated like drink driving make it legal but with random drink and drug testing in work situations particularly doing anything with machinery.

That puts the responsibility back on the person, not the state banning which doesn't work.

srsly78

mariaalice wrote: »

random drink and drug testing in work situations particularly doing anything with machinery.

This already happens.

Jayop

In one of those articles I linked it said Denver PD are trialing 5 different breathalyzer devices for weed. Not sure if that will pick up edibles or do false positive for the likes of the oils which wouldn't impact driving ability as far as I know.

Wolf Club

toptom wrote: »

Why ? Theres no appetite here for it to be legalised, It would be defeated as most of the druggies here dont vote anyway.

Yeah Ireland will probably be one of the last countries to legalise it. At the same time, you're assuming it's just the "druggies" that would vote to have this past. There are people who don't smoke cannbis but still think others should have the right to if they please, who would vote to legalise it.

brianregan09

It should definitely be legalized and taxed and for maximum profit Ireland should try and be one of the 1st to do it to capitalize on it fully while other states are still in the mulling it over phase , Weed Tourism is a real thing ask anyone why they go to amsterdam for god sake

Lovely city but I guarantee 95% of the tourists going there are coming from places where weed is illegal and going to smoke weed.

Tobacco and Alcohol has much worse health affects and are legal all over the world it boggles the mind really

wakka12

brianregan09 wrote: »

It should definitely be legalized and taxed and for maximum profit Ireland should try and be one of the 1st to do it to capitalize on it fully while other states are still in the mulling it over phase , Weed Tourism is a real thing ask anyone why they go to amsterdam for god sake

Lovely city but I guarantee 95% of the tourists going there are coming from places where weed is illegal and going to smoke weed.

Tobacco and Alcohol has much worse health affects and are legal all over the world it boggles the mind really

Tourists go to amsterdam because its beautiful more so I would say. The weed is just a fun unique secondary aspect..its not like its hard to get weed in Ireland ..

brianregan09

I know its not hard to get , But in Amsterdam you get the proper stuff you can buy edibles which takes ages to cook properly , Would love to be able to do that here walk into a shop and buy a bag or packet of weed brownies .

Joe prim

brianregan09 wrote: »

It should definitely be legalized and taxed and for maximum profit Ireland should try and be one of the 1st to do it to capitalize on it fully while other states are still in the mulling it over phase , Weed Tourism is a real thing ask anyone why they go to amsterdam for god sake

Lovely city but I guarantee 95% of the tourists going there are coming from places where weed is illegal and going to smoke weed.

Tobacco and Alcohol has much worse health affects and are legal all over the world it boggles the mind really

I've registered the name "Wild Atlantic Weed" just in case 😈

dr.fuzzenstein

wakka12 wrote: »

Tourists go to amsterdam because its beautiful more so I would say. The weed is just a fun unique secondary aspect..its not like its hard to get weed in Ireland ..

I'd say that when they clean out the lab and sweep the floor from weed and hash production, that stuff is sent to Ireland. That and tons and tons of soapbar, stuff that contains engine oil, brake fluid, hairspray and catsh*t, but only 5% of actual marijuana. You go to Amsterdam to get the proper stuff, stuff you can pick from a menu, where there are several different varieties of weed and hash, not just "yeah, got some hash there bud, dunno, never heard of this " Mexican gold" you're on about, you wanna buy it or wha?"

Rory28

Rory28 wrote: »

Hopefully it catches on over here too.
Won't hold my breath tho.

Yer S'POSED to hold it, for a short while anyway...

JohnRock

Joe prim wrote: »

I've registered the name "Wild Atlantic Weed" just in case 😈

hhahahaha

Jayop

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

I'd say that when they clean out the lab and sweep the floor from weed and hash production, that stuff is sent to Ireland. That and tons and tons of soapbar, stuff that contains engine oil, brake fluid, hairspray and catsh*t, but only 5% of actual marijuana. You go to Amsterdam to get the proper stuff, stuff you can pick from a menu, where there are several different varieties of weed and hash, not just "yeah, got some hash there bud, dunno, never heard of this " Mexican gold" you're on about, you wanna buy it or wha?"

Almost all weed sold in Ireland is produced here now so we don't get anyone's scraps anymore.

dr.fuzzenstein

Jayop wrote: »

Almost all weed sold in Ireland is produced here now so we don't get anyone's scraps anymore.

Ah, good to know it improved, it used to be dire.

cantdecide

Winterlong wrote: »

They are going to need a lot of weed to get thru the next 4 years.

Snacks too.

Jayop

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Ah, good to know it improved, it used to be dire.

You rarely ever see hash anymore. It was the crap we used to get in the 90s. Now it's all home grown weed, put there's big problems with how it's produced here thanks to our laws. Rental properties are destroyed and ripped apart to enable high volume hydroponic growing and a lot of the people who look after the crops are people who were trafficked into the country.

Legalize it and those issues disappear like most issues.