Hooray for today’s first legal recreational pot sale in Washington State! But it’s not like there aren’t already four medical marijuana “co-ops” on the same two-block stretch of Rainier Avenue South, or like medical marijuana “prescriptions” aren’t already a joke. And even when its sale was illicit, it’s not like normal people hadn’t been smoking pot, like, forever.
So for those who decry marijuana legalization as some sort of unraveling of civilization… chill out. It’s our societal attitude toward marijuana that is changing, not our actual behavior. And arguably, a society tends to be more civilized when its attitudes and behaviors are more closely aligned.
Exactly! do we expect this ponderous legal change to change the population of marijuana users in anyway significantly? nah.
The optimistic view of today’s change is that we can stop foolishly arresting people for doing something that is proportional recreational compared to having a drink in a bar. Plus we can channel some of the activity into useful revenue.
Here’s my suggestion for adding to that revenue stream. you know how you can’t smoke in public, and if you rent your place it might not even be permitted on your balcony? let’s establish some ‘off-leash’ marijuana ‘gardens’/zones in our parks where for a smallish cover fee you can go in and smoke. they’d be fenced and screened so “think of the children!” could be controlled. it worked in the seattle center for that brief trial, it could be made permanent feature in the proper location.
At no time in my adult life have I been unable to obtain it if I wanted it. In the last decade I can count the number of times I’ve wanted it on one hand.
The first time I walk by one of the new stores, yep, I’ll buy some. Probably find a time to use it. Then when it is crusty and stale I’ll probably throw the rest away. Same as I did with the last little bit I bought illicitly.
And the Earth will continue to spin.
Try using that same argument with homophobes (or the American Taliban)
Best reporting on this story I have seen. The change I hope to see is people who are successful being open about their usage. For too long the perception of anyone who partakes is a stupid slacker. This is not an accident the US pays television and movie producers to perpetuate this myth. Truth is that many people that are high all the time are building houses, running companies, repairing cars, etc. I like what Norm Stamper used to do. He would ask a Law Enforcement Officer that was opposed to legalization “When was the last time you were in a physical altercation with a stoner?” The LEO would scratch their head and try to think of a SINGLE time that happened. Then he would ask the same question but with replacing stoner with a drunk. The LEO would say 15 minutes ago!
Fucking Hippies.
Proud to have never once smoked pot. Proud to have never used pot in and form.
Proud to be part of the minority of voters in this state who are not pot heads. Because only a pot head is dumb enough to support pot being legal.
You are calling all the Republicans (like John McKay) and all the libertarian leaning voters who supported legalization”dumb”..
You are one miserable always wrong wing SOB. It sure does suck for you that the world changes inexorably under your clay feet.
I do not support pothead Republicans like McKay. Just because the world is changing does not mean change for the better.
@6 Um, so, if you’ve never smoked pot, how do you know it’s so dumb to smoke it?