# How will legal pot be sold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2002, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596 "2002-10-23T22:58:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hayduke\_Lives](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Hayduke\_Lives](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hayduke_Lives)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/1 "2002-10-23T22:58:02Z")
If weed ever becomes legal, how exactly would it be sold? In packs like cigarettes, in bags like pipe tobacco? And, would there be regulations on strength? Would the product have to contain so much percentage THC? Would there be a THC limit? How could THC contain be controled? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2002, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/2 "2002-10-23T23:54:51Z")
I’m certain it would be sold in both forms. By really large companies with brand recognition and massive marketing budgets. And it also wouldn’t surprise me if the THC content were regulated. I think marijuana laws will closely parallel current tobacco laws. At least at first. ---
**Author:** ![raisinbread](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8491ac/32.png) [@raisinbread](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raisinbread)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/3 "2002-10-24T00:20:07Z")
NITPICK: If weed ever becomes decriminalized. I’m sure they’ll think of something like the Marlboro man or some kooky mascot. I may seem naïve but I think most folks will just grow their own rather than buy into some image. ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/4 "2002-10-24T00:45:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raisinbread \* > \*\*NITPICK: > > If weed ever becomes decriminalized.\*\* Could you clarify the difference? I have no legal background and wasn’t aware that there was any. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/5 "2002-10-24T01:12:36Z")
I think raisinbread is just stating the fact that it’s not definate that pot will be decriminalized. But there is a bit of a difference to it being legal and decriminalized. Decriminalized just means that the laws _against_ it will be dropped and you won’t get in trouble for using it. The most likely will be that use will be decriminalized but not the laws against selling or specific laws will be against selling (like I cannot go into a store and buy cigarettes for someone who is underage because that is illegal). Legalizing it will mean that laws will be created stating that people can use it under these circumstances and not under these (see drinking laws). I wouldn’t doubt that THC levels would be controlled and as to the mascot why not that green hedgehog smoking a joint that you see on shirts and such already? ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/6 "2002-10-24T01:18:42Z")
I think raisinbread is just stating the fact that it’s not definate that pot will be decriminalized. But there is a bit of a difference to it being legal and decriminalized. Decriminalized just means that the laws _against_ it will be dropped and you won’t get in trouble for using it. The most likely will be that use will be decriminalized but not the laws against selling or specific laws will be against selling (like I cannot go into a store and buy cigarettes for someone who is underage because that is illegal). Legalizing it will mean that laws will be created stating that people can use it under these circumstances and not under these (see drinking laws). I wouldn’t doubt that THC levels would be controlled and as to the mascot why not that green hedgehog smoking a joint that you see on shirts and such already? ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/7 "2002-10-24T02:12:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Obsidian Flutterby \* > \*\*But there is a bit of a difference to it being legal and decriminalized. Decriminalized just means that the laws _against_ it will be dropped and you won’t get in trouble for using it. > \*\* This isn’t exactly correct. Marijuana use/possession can be “decriminalized” and you can still get into trouble for having it. It’s called an “ordinance violation”, meaning it’s a local (city/village/town/county) offense, not a state/federal offense. An ordinance violation (at least here in Wisconsin) is not a crime, but you will be arrested for it, and fined up to $2,000. And it will stay on your permanent record, meaning anyone (i.e. a potential employer) can find out about it. So, even though possessing small amounts of pot here is “decriminalized”, it can still land your ass into plenty of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/8 "2002-10-24T02:21:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by raisinbread \* > NITPICK: > > If weed ever becomes decriminalized. Marijuana is a Schedule I drug, regulated by the federal government. Any approach to make it readily available so that it is sold like tobacco would require a change in the federal drug laws, regardless of any state drug laws. Under the current Administration and almost-Republican Congress, not anytime soon. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/9 "2002-10-24T03:35:22Z")
Okay, thank you pkbites, I wasn’t exactly certain on that and going by my meandering knowledge. I don’t know a whole lot about the law (you’d think I’d learn by osmosis considering half my relatives are lawyers). That would explain why the laws here are a bit more lenient… you get caught with a little bit and it’s just taken away and you get warned but that’s about it. Other circumstances though and it will come and hit you. ---
**Author:** ![Snugglebear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snugglebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snugglebear)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/10 "2002-10-24T04:45:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hayduke Lives!! \* > \*\*If weed ever becomes legal, how exactly would it be sold? > \*\* By the truck load…Bwah ha ha ha ha !!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/11 "2002-10-24T06:50:31Z")
People’d just grow their own. Unlike tobacco it’s pretty easy to have some in the garden. Or so I’ve been told… ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/12 "2002-10-24T14:23:30Z")
Probably, they would sell it just like they did medical marijuana in SC, California. You visit them & they have a big sign board behind the counter with a list of what varieties they have & how much they cost. You pay for it, they weigh it & your on your way. They showed this on tv once 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/13 "2002-10-24T15:03:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silentgoldfish \* > \*\*People’d just grow their own. Unlike tobacco it’s pretty easy to have some in the garden. Or so I’ve been told… \*\* However easy it might be to grow your own, I’d imagine it would be easier to stop by CVS on the way home from work, and the product sold in stores would have a guaranteed level of quality. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/14 "2002-10-24T15:10:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duckster \* > \*\* > > Under the current Administration and almost-Republican Congress, not anytime soon. 🙂 \*\* If I understand your use of the smiley, this makes you happy. I’m very glad for you. :rolleyes: That thanks to the current administration and Congress, the government can bust people and put them away for years if they have a couple of marijuana plants in the back yard.:rolleyes OK, now let’s address the OP. I think that if pot ever becomes legal, it won’t be widely sold or marketed, but rather under some kind of behind-the-counter/over-the-counter arrangement. You wouldn’t need a prescription, but it would be kept behind the counter and you would have to ask for it. I guess it would be somewhat similar to the way cigarettes are sold today. I’m pretty liberal about pot but I wouldn’t want to see it advertised openly; just made quietly, but legally, available. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/15 "2002-10-24T15:37:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by javaman \* > \*\* I think that if pot ever becomes legal, it won’t be widely sold or marketed, but rather under some kind of behind-the-counter/over-the-counter arrangement. \*\* It might be sold behind the counter, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be widely sold or marketed, in the same way that tobacco is widely sold and marketed. In fact, legalization of marajuana would be a dream come true for the cigarette companies. Their profits are hurting with the anti-tobacco legislation and the anti-smoking sentiment, and it wouldn’t be too expensive for them to switch partly over to marajuana production. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/16 "2002-10-24T18:48:25Z")
> [@](#): > > People’d just grow their own. Unlike tobacco it’s pretty easy to have some in the garden. Or so I’ve been told… Is tobacco really that hard to grow at home? I mean, it’s farmed all over the East. Would a small garden patch be so difficult? Come to think of it–are there regualtions on tobacco growing? Could I start growing and air-curing my own tobacco for personal use? In general, I agree with Capt. A–hardly anyone would grow their own pot. People don’t grow a significant portion of their own veggies now, even. It would become a novelty or niche, like homebrewing or hand-rolled cigarettes. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2002, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/17 "2002-10-24T22:03:39Z")
I think not only would it be sold as cigarettes and raw plant for pipes but other products would advertise new offerings made with marijuana (although not necessarily THC). Painkillers, anti-nausea drugs, paper products, clothing, soaps, and anything else they could brand as a hemp product. The demand is certainly there, if the government chose to regulate the supply, marijuana would be a big money industry. And just like regulated alcohol didn’t do away with moonshine, people would still grow their own. Pot is one of the easiest plants to cultivate, it will grow in the soil and climate of every state in America. It is a weed after all. People don’t like to admit it but pot is one of the safest and most beneficial natural drugs we know of. It wasn’t illegalized because its dangerous, it was illegalized to repress Mexican workers after the Great Depression hit, and there weren’t enough jobs for white people (or at least that’s what an A&E special once told me). I’m hoping it will be 20 years tops before we see major reversals of marijuana laws. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/18 "2002-10-25T00:25:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duckster \* > \*\* > > Marijuana is a Schedule I drug, regulated by the federal government. Any approach to make it readily available so that it is sold like tobacco would require a change in the federal drug laws, regardless of any state drug laws. > > Under the current Administration and almost-Republican Congress, not anytime soon. 🙂 \*\* Maybe in theory, but not necessarily in practice. The federal government doesn’t have time to chase down casual pot smokers and sellers. If a state were to remove their pot laws, the feds wouldn’t start arresting folks for simple posession – at least, according to precedent. It’s illegal, according to federal law, for any sort of medicinal marijuana program to exist – and yet they do, in a couple of states. Federal law prohibits it, state law doesn’t. While the federal authorities could step in, it might cause a fairly ugly incident. The states like to protect what little autonomy they have, and the feds generally respect this to a certain point. ---
**Author:** ![occ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8c91f0/32.png) [@occ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/occ)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/19 "2002-10-25T00:34:20Z")
Oh, and I seriously doubt most folks would start growing their own. It takes a few months to grow a crop, and I suspect its easy to fuck it up. Then you have to pick it, dry it, remove all the seeds and leaves and crap, etc. Or, to put it another way: how many people make their own soap? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2002, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596/20 "2002-10-25T00:36:01Z")
The feds have busted medical pot stores all over NoCal. I’ll find a cite. Peace, mangeorge [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-will-legal-pot-be-sold/133596.md?page=2)