I think the idea of a “joint” as a delivery device is all but over. It is a relic.
What they are selling in dispensaries and retail outlets is so powerful that smoking a joint is incredibly wasteful (no pun intended) as a way to get high, unless you are with a dozen other people or you mix it with tobacco. My daughter graduated [del]this[/del] last year from the University of Colorado and in four years of visiting her in dorms and student housing I never saw people smoking joints. Pipes seem to be the most common smoking device and bongs are so unsanitary that people freak out about using them.
In terms of THC content, smoking one joint in 1984 is equivalent to a single hit from a pipe in 2014.
When I was using drugs, I always used a vaporizer, which I hear is quite popular. My cousins out in Colorado used one, too. On the other hand, most of my friends in NJ seemed to favor pipes, with only one joint smoker who was 35+. Medical grade is, from what I understand, very strong, but street quality really isn’t the superweed it’s made out to be.
The first ever legal sale or recreational pot was an eighth for about $60. That’s was I remember paying in college for ‘good stuff’. I’d happily pay $75 for good and legal stuff.
Are there any controls at all? Can I get off of a plane in Denver, take a cab to the nearest dispensary and buy an ounce?
What about public consumption? Can I fire one up in the parking lot? In my car (as a passenger, or a driver so long as I’m not over the limit)? Can I walk down the street toking? What about bars or restaurants; do the laws against smoking tobacco also apply to smoking MJ? How about an outdoor deck attached to the bar?
I was paying 300 for an ounce, which comes out to under 40 dollars an eighth, but it wasn’t amazing stuff. Which, now that I actually did the math doesn’t seem as expensive as I had initially thought. I guess I can’t easily visualize and eighth.
I believe I read that it has to be in a private place…so a house, not even a hotel that you rented.
To the best of my knowledge, any one can buy it but you can’t legally travel across state lines with it.
I am unaware of drug control laws anywhere that discriminate on the basis of residence, can I walk across the border to Canada and legally buy codeine products yup.
If you are over 21 and from out of state, you can buy up to a quarter ounce per store. Colorado residents with ID can buy up to an ounce. In all surrounding states, it is still illegal, so even if you bought it legally, you can be busted if you wander across state lines.
The theme of the legalization campaign was “treat marijuana like alcohol.” The Legislature wrote the statutes with this in mind, so if it illegal for alcohol, it also is for marijuana. No open containers in public or in cars (it is sold in sealed containers so you can drive home from the store with it.) You can use it openly on your property, even if you are visible on the front porch and you live across the street from an Elementary School.
There is an equivalent of an illegal BAC for THC per ml of blood.
You can’t smoke (anything) in bars in Colorado, but the idea of social clubs is under discussion while there is a moratorium on them.
The rule of thumb is that if it’s illegal for alcohol, it is as well for marijuana.
Did they figure something out for that? For as long as I’ve ever known there’s no way to test for THC, only the metabolites. But since the metabolites stay in your system for so long you can’t tell if a person is high, just if they’ve managed to get THC into their bloodstream in the last 8 weeks or so. I hope they figure something out for that. The better Colorado (and WA and Uruguay) does with this, the better it’ll work out for the rest of the country. I’m hoping it’ll be a more or less uneventful year for them, at least WRT anything that could cause problems. Hopefully no one gets high and does anything stupid. Just let the drunks keep doing that and the heat will stay on them.
When I was constantly high,* $60 an ounce (do they still call those lids?) had to be rare, mind-numbingly good, and was always beyond my reach, unless we divvied up buying it. Which as noted above was light years from what is around now.
*Stuyvesant High School, 1976.
ETA: The cigarette companies no doubt have been looking into this for years. I’m sure their eventual entry will certainly change the conversation.
I don’t really know, but I do know that simply testing over the limit isn’t enough for a conviction. Many states have laws that say a person is guilty of DUI if they have any residue in their blood, no trial required. Colorado requires a minimum level of THC that is higher than zero (don’t know what it is) and other signs of impairment (maybe driving 30 mph in the left lane of a 65 mph limit Interstate highway.)
Got a cite for the “no trial required” bit? Hospitals and drug testing labs don’t generally have any criminal jurisdiction, so I’d expect there to be a judicial proceeding in an actual court…
And that is sad. Those who are obsessed with getting the strongest bud are missing out on the sublime pleasure of rolling a doobie from mostly leaves, and enjoying a mild buzz that doesn’t wreck you for hours. I had a roommate in the late 70’s who worked as a cartographer in the county assessor’s office, and his morning ritual was eat a bowl of Grape Nuts, do the Word Jumble, smoke a joint and go to work. He did that every day for the two years we lived together.
What do growers do with leaves these days? Hard to believe they just waste a good product just because it isn’t primo bud.
