Growing marijuana on the cusp of legal in NYS

You claim to have knowledge you can’t support, but what you seem to have is fear of change and you want the state to enforce your desire to halt change, and it doesn’t matter if the war on drugs actually reduces drug consumption as long as those who behave in a manner you disapprove of are arrested and their lives are destroyed, often, along with their families.

Human beings find themselves in a world and society not designed for their mental well being, but to make its most powerful rich and sustain a system that assuages desperation enough to prevent destructive revolution. Maybe alcohol is acceptable to you because it dulls the senses while marijuana is capable of stimulating creative thought and ideas that might help lead to social change.

Of course, it is wildly optimistic to imagine any drug (or religion, for that matter) might change the way human beings collectively treat each other, but it is also a complete lie to imagine that alcohol, the most common drug we use to deal with the awkward existence we find ourselves in, is not a drug that sometimes inspires terrible violence in our species. The fact is that marijuana is at worst, neutral in this regard.

I wonder why you think you have special knowledge of the behavior of pot-heads. All of us have either been there at some point in our lives or know plenty of people who have. You have no special knowledge on this subject because the issue is so transparent- except those who live extremely provincial or isolated lives, all of us have volumes of observations on the affects of marijuana. You may have a different opinion but you do not have special material we cannot see on this issue.

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Who claimed it is harmless? I never have… Many things are harmful when abused. That doesnt mean it should be criminal.

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It may not be harmless, but since Willie Nelson just turned 90, I will place my bets:) some think that Everybody must get stoned… but I haven’t made my mind up on that one!

Reefer Madness

Mike there have been a zillion polls about marijuana use. Most show that about half of adults in the US have tried it. It’s incredible to me that someone with “40+” years of experience would think that 99% of a group of people on any forum would be clueless about it. It’s been legal in a few states for many years with very little effect on anything other than tax revenue.

It’s been legal in the Netherlands since 1976. How much longer do you think it will take the Netherlands before it catches up with them?

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I don’t smoke weed, never have smoked weed, and will never smoke weed.

And how much time have you spent in society where they smoke weed at a constant pace and that you have to deal with the effects and the after effects of the weed?
I do not care how many “polls” are out there. Having an opinion about weed and dealing with people that use, deal, and the effects with and to their families, friends, and their neighborhood is a totally different story.
Tried it is different than using it on a regular basis. I would imagine most of the US had tried an alcoholic beverage as well.
Being a professional firefighter and in the healthcare end of this you see a lot different outcomes that just doing a joint here and there. So yes I would say 99% of the people on this site have no clue as to what it does to a family, person, and neighborhood. Unless you are some sort a police officer, firefighter, EMT/Paramedic then I would say you do not have the experience to relate to what I have seen and had I had to deal with. Not making a slam on anyone just making a factual statement of what experiences I have had in my career(s).

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Many people if not most people always claims " It’s only pot" meaning it is harmless. Did I mention you by name?

I have to think hard to think of people that I know that do not use cannabis. Yes many daily. They have families, friends, professional careers, and no chaos. In my business I deal with clients that run medical facilities, lumber yards, and big tech. Cannabis has done nothing for them except let them relax.

I have grown cannabis since I was 12 and first tried it when I was 17. I double majored in college and have my own business. The worst grades I ever got in college was the quarter I tried to not smoke. About a decade ago I was hit by a city bus on the freeway. Rear ended in traffic. Cannabis is the only thing that makes my chronic tight neck and brain fog go away. The doc tried to load me up on pills and I said no thanks. I use it many times a day. Still have a thriving business, loving wife and family, and supportive friends. No chaos just peace and focus.


I guess we are saying the same thing. We just have had drastically different experiences related to cannabis. I bet we would get along great as long as we stuck to apples my friend.
Happy growing :scream_cat:

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And to you as well my apple growing friend!

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pot is one of the least harmful drugs available, but that doesn’t mean it is harmless… you shouldn’t assume that is what people mean.

also, you are on a public forum, if you want to have private discussions, this isn’t the place for it. if you say something silly, expect comments on it…

I am sorry, but I do not understand what profession you can be talking about. I have friends who are professional fire fighters and one who went on to become an investigator of arson, but I don’t think any firemen engages close enough to the people they protect to have some special insight into their demons and especially the consequences related to drug consumption. You have failed to explain how your occupation makes you qualified to be above the rest of us in gaging the effects of pot on society.

Please explain how your job provides this special insight that apparently goes beyond those whose professions involve dealing with the consequences of addiction directly on a daily basis.

You have never even explored the consequences of pot by smoking it yourself. For a decade I smoked pot from morning to night believing it helped me creatively in my music. When I decided it wasn’t helpful I quit without a hitch. I’ve known people who feel they are addicted, but the consequences of their addiction certainly didn’t threaten their lives, as does my wife’s addiction to nicotine, which she seems unable to shake.

In any case, this thread is not about the merits of marijuana as a drug so much as the affects of legalizing it. Obviously, the consequences so far haven’t been terribly dramatic and are open to interpretation. One thing is for sure, it has drastically brought down the price. Less money involved probably means less crime far beyond those linked to possession of pot- especially when folks just grow their own instead of going to some violence protected corner in the inner city to score.

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All the firefighters here are crossed trained as EMT’s. I know Ohio is that way to. That’s a pretty close relationship to the people they serve. NY might be different but my Nephew is a firefighter in Ohio and a few friends are here. They see all the people they serve close up and personal.

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its like every other legal drug. use in moderation. i like a whiskey or 2 at night and have used weed to sleep or cope with arthritis pain. so does my wife but we only use it occasionally. i have family that likes to get high at night. they are all professionals. they dont use during the day, at work but if you go visit on the weekend they may be a little high but you can barely tell. they’ve been doing this for many decades with no ill effects.

i have a few friends who work in emergency response and it is understandable why they have a skewed view on the world. they consistently see the worst of our society and over time it affects their perception of things like drugs.

they don’t interact much with the vast majority of cannabis users who use it responsibly and have no negative side effects. they are continuously exposed to the severe addicts (who often have many more issues than pot use), and the damage they do to society. instead of blaming those individuals, some decide its the fault of the substances they are abusing.

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I understand this is a public forum. You state your opinion as I do. I am not saying anything silly. If you want to sit around and smoke pot all day do it. Just do not get out and try driving or operating any heavy machinery. Your opinion is your opinion. If you say something that sounds like you do have no idea about the subject then expect to be called out on that as well.

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If ANY substance is made available some people are going to abuse it, not all but a lot will. I would not want my anyone I would work with to have taken a " hit" or two and maybe just a joint to " relax".
True we do not interact with some that are just doing it to " relax’ BUT the ones that do go over the top with using it will eventually have interactions with the other parts of society. Stealing, robbing, auto accidents, fights, knife and gun play, assaults, car jackings. So when you make something illegal all of a sudden legal you get any and all wanting to try it and thus that is where the first responders, law enforcement , lawyers, and the court system get involved. Insurance companies LOVE when they can raise rates on things that are suddenly “legal”.
The people abusing these substances wouldn’t probably be doing these things is these substances weren’t involved in the mix somewhere.
So again, those that want to " enjoy" these things that are legal have at it. Just not my cup of tea.

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Do explain how being involved with emergency health crisis is going to put you in contact with potheads? I’m sorry but it seems very unlikely that a firefighter in Ohio is going to be doing a lot of face to face interaction with pot smokers unless they smoke it themselves. In my entire life I’ve never even heard of a specific medical emergency related to pot in any place I’ve lived

The only thing I can think of that might involve a firefighter responding to a medical emergency is if the pot someone smoked triggered something like a schizophrenic episode and I don’t expect that would happen often enough to be very enlightening towards the usual consequences of being a pot smoker.

I feel that I am a lot more qualified to discuss the effects of marijuana and the effects on families that are involved with those that use these drugs. I went to their houses, car accidents, work places, etc that had some sort of emergency situation that needed our help. I also worked in an emergency room and a health care facility that people came for addiction treatments and counseling. I guess your qualifications of smoking marijuana daily for those many years makes you more of an expert at this than just me.
So yes, I do feel like I have " special insight" as to the effects of pot and numerous other legal and illegal drugs. Unless you feel like your skills at smoking pot for all those years gives you a gold star of insight. Just my life experience vs your life experience.
I am not sure what cities your professional firefighters were at nor how many runs they had to situations connected with pot and drugs.
I was in the busiest engine house in our city of 275K people. So I had a LOT of interactions with these types of situations. For the most part police and fire usually do not have a lot of interactions with just everyday lives of people. WE get called when things are bad or worse.
So again, enjoy the pit being "legal " in your state but my advise is just that advice, what can happen even when drugs are legalized. It doesn’t make it necessarily better for anyone. Just more access and more chances for the non criminal to becom one of their victims.
So have at it Alan. Smoke all you like.

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You just are not very up with what kinds of things happen in the real world. I can give you example after example of issues relating to pot. Just because you smoke it to just “chill” doesn’t mean it is so harmless. Driving while high- causing auto accidents, I had numerous calls for people on pot falling over house railings, walking through glass doors, drowning in pools of water etc. So sorry you live in such an isolated world that all you see is sunshine, rainbows, and pink ponies.

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