Colorado - pros/cons of legalized marijuana

[JCricket]

Hey Folks,
I thought I would share some observations of the affect of legalized marijuana. These are my observations. I have not been able to find any reliable data to confirm or deny them. Probably because it is still just too new to have good data.

Pros:
Tax revenue for pot is substantial - I believe in the $125 million range
Tourism is way up - I wonder why
Lots of new jobs

Cons
Illicit use by minors is through the roof. School kids appear to have unlimited access despite laws to prevent it.
We now have a large population of homeless kids(presumably run aways) who have come here from other states

neutrals
Kids use more pot in lieu of alcohol
Our population is growing at about 10% annually now - not sure if(or how much) this has anything to do with it

My personal concerns are the use by the kids. I took one night a few days ago and researched online as much as I could. I limited my research to strictly medical studies. Ones that were peer reviewed and published. Ones that used medical tests like MRI' and PET scans.

There is a lot of information out there. Some pro, some con. Bottom line, I would revoke the legality of pot if I could, just based on the harm it is doing to our kids. I have never been a user so I cannot comment first hand. Also, I would be suspicious of comments from a user as I believe it is very possible that a persons perception is altered by the use of the substance.

Thoughts???

[MrPots]

I would say that pot needs to be controlled just like booze. Kids have access also to booze but we accept that as part of our freedoms. I would say a difference is pot is used medicinally which may make it seem more benign than booze and thus treated in a more lax manner by some.

I'm of the opinion though that there are too many folks in this country trying to take away my freedoms (and oddly no troops protecting me from them...we divert those troops for corporate profits) and not enough trying to protect freedom.

[catswiththum]

Legalize, regulate, and tax it. We could use the money and free up resources now used to prosecute marijuana offences.

In S.C. distilled spirits are sold only in "ABC" stores (Alcoholic Beverage Commission) - they could easily be designated controlled retail outlets for pot as well.

Also, if it is legalized, I predict a drop in drunk driving deaths/arrests - half the people smoking dope would say, "screw it - let's just stay in, order a pizza, and watch Dr. Who."

[barbara]

Don't know what is going on in Colorado, but I do know that the California legislators are gearing up for recreational marihuana to become legal in California.
The plan, as I've been told, is to funnel a lot of the revenue made from taxes into social services similar to the way they funnel the cigarette tax to social services.
My department has been told to get ready to write those grants to get a piece of that pie.
They must be confident it will pass come voting time.