Can we make this more acceptable for adults and less likely for kids to try?
Aren’t the fears of “demon weed” overblown? Can’t we deal with this safely?
Is there really an opportunity for growers in our region?
Aren’t the fears of “demon weed” overblown? Can’t we deal with this safely?
Is there really an opportunity for growers in our region?
Try to picture a world in which recreational marijuana is
legal. Unfortunately, it’s hard to see – like a giant paint-by-numbers
picture without any colors.
The 11 legalization initiatives aren’t helpful, and proponents of the two (maybe four) most likely to reach the ballot are competing for support, making it even more difficult. Perhaps the best way to fill in the colors is to ask questions.
Why is recreational use of marijuana illegal?
Marijuana had been an intoxicant in America at least as far back as the 1860s, when big-city customers smoked “hashish” in public bars. Cannabis was first classified a drug in 1906, then declared habit-forming in 1914. The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act made it illegal, pushing marijuana underground. It resurfaced in 1996 as California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis.
Is it harmful?
Even sugar and salt are harmful if used in excess. Cannabis has positive uses, from relieving pain due to chemotherapy and rheumatism to alleviating seizures from some forms of epilepsy.
Like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana can be habit-forming and some people become “chronic” users and suffer cognitive dysfunction. Marijuana smoke contains many of the same chemicals found in tobacco smoke, contributing to the same heart and respiratory issues.
Since legalized in Colorado and Washington state, emergency room visits from “cannabis poisonings” have more than doubled and at least a third of victims are children under age 8 who have gotten into their parents’ stashes. One person ingested too much and either fell or jumped from a balcony to his death. Others, driving high, have crashed their cars, killing themselves and others.
In that regard, it’s probably no more (or less) dangerous than alcohol. The overwhelming majority of users do not become addicted and most leave it behind by middle age.
Can we simultaneously make it more acceptable for adults while urging those under 21 to stay away?
That’s a multibillion-dollar question. By a 2-to-1 margin, teens find it more acceptable to smoke marijuana than tobacco; marketing will only exacerbate the effect.
Research shows marijuana affects developing brains – those under age 25 – more profoundly than older brains. There has been little research into vaping, young people’s favorite way to smoke. Some e-cigarette devices superheat materials to more rapidly deliver the drug into the bloodstream. None of the initiatives address marijuana as a health hazard, even though two studies by the University of California, San Francisco, show the dangers.
Medical dispensaries have mushroomed in larger cities, but are often in out-of-the-way places. Won’t capitalism force marijuana merchants to find better and sexier ways to advertise?
Absolutely. While the two most likely propositions to reach the ballot restrict advertising, entrepreneurs in this $5 billion business will begin pushing limits quickly – just as they have done in Colorado and Oregon. That’s why it is critical that the public understand the physical and psychic dangers involved in overuse. The more they understand, the better they can resist the alluring advertisements.
Considering the widespread use for at least three generations, are the fears overblown? Can’t we just deal with it?
Proponents insist cannabis is not harmful; some even calling it a wonder drug. While it’s no magic elixir, it is likely that people who carefully calibrate use will find it no more harmful than alcohol. For a region with some of the largest wineries in the world, we must take the position that responsible use will be the norm and abuse the outlier.
Still, like alcohol and narcotics, cannabis can be abused. Cannabis-poisoning cases have risen in Colorado from 61 to 151 in two years. While the only deaths attributed to marijuana had underlying factors – psychosis, accidents, etc. – hospitalizations rose from 6,715 in 2012 to 11,439 in 2014. In Washington, the number of hospitalizations was down slightly, from 6,887 to 6,863.
Are the monetary promises – tax revenues up to $1 billion a year – realistic?
No. If the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, with its higher taxes and fees, passes and use is comparable to that in Colorado, we could possibly collect up to $750 million. For that figure to rise, so must use. As use goes up, so will the accompanying problems and their costs to society.
The AUMA would allow local jurisdictions to opt out, just as 15 of Oregon’s 36 counties have done. But such areas could become islands, with residents traveling to nearby jurisdictions to buy marijuana then bringing it home. If a few of those users run into problems, it would be up to their home counties to deal with them without having collected any additional taxes for the purpose.
Isn’t this an opportunity? We are, after all, an agricultural community.
The Northern San Joaquin Valley is blessed with water, sunshine and some of the finest soils (and farmers) in the world. But there are obstacles to becoming a cannabis paradise.
First, experts say, it’s harder to grow than it appears.
Second, is it any more profitable than almonds, walnuts and grapes? Properly grown in a regulated environment, that’s unlikely. And once supply catches up to demand, prices are likely to drop. Before making a costly switch, growers might first experiment with small patches.
Third, security issues are real. One group is considering growing in the vacant prison near Chowchilla. Most growers would use warehouses or greenhouses, not orchards.
Fourth, while many fear big growers will move in and squeeze out small farmers, others say small-scale growers will continue profitably – including growers in our region. Just as they are doing today.
Those farmers saw an opportunity. The rest of us are just trying to see what this will look like and whether we can support it.
The 11 legalization initiatives aren’t helpful, and proponents of the two (maybe four) most likely to reach the ballot are competing for support, making it even more difficult. Perhaps the best way to fill in the colors is to ask questions.
Why is recreational use of marijuana illegal?
Marijuana had been an intoxicant in America at least as far back as the 1860s, when big-city customers smoked “hashish” in public bars. Cannabis was first classified a drug in 1906, then declared habit-forming in 1914. The 1937 Marijuana Tax Act made it illegal, pushing marijuana underground. It resurfaced in 1996 as California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis.
Is it harmful?
Even sugar and salt are harmful if used in excess. Cannabis has positive uses, from relieving pain due to chemotherapy and rheumatism to alleviating seizures from some forms of epilepsy.
Like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana can be habit-forming and some people become “chronic” users and suffer cognitive dysfunction. Marijuana smoke contains many of the same chemicals found in tobacco smoke, contributing to the same heart and respiratory issues.
Since legalized in Colorado and Washington state, emergency room visits from “cannabis poisonings” have more than doubled and at least a third of victims are children under age 8 who have gotten into their parents’ stashes. One person ingested too much and either fell or jumped from a balcony to his death. Others, driving high, have crashed their cars, killing themselves and others.
In that regard, it’s probably no more (or less) dangerous than alcohol. The overwhelming majority of users do not become addicted and most leave it behind by middle age.
Can we simultaneously make it more acceptable for adults while urging those under 21 to stay away?
That’s a multibillion-dollar question. By a 2-to-1 margin, teens find it more acceptable to smoke marijuana than tobacco; marketing will only exacerbate the effect.
Research shows marijuana affects developing brains – those under age 25 – more profoundly than older brains. There has been little research into vaping, young people’s favorite way to smoke. Some e-cigarette devices superheat materials to more rapidly deliver the drug into the bloodstream. None of the initiatives address marijuana as a health hazard, even though two studies by the University of California, San Francisco, show the dangers.
Medical dispensaries have mushroomed in larger cities, but are often in out-of-the-way places. Won’t capitalism force marijuana merchants to find better and sexier ways to advertise?
Absolutely. While the two most likely propositions to reach the ballot restrict advertising, entrepreneurs in this $5 billion business will begin pushing limits quickly – just as they have done in Colorado and Oregon. That’s why it is critical that the public understand the physical and psychic dangers involved in overuse. The more they understand, the better they can resist the alluring advertisements.
Considering the widespread use for at least three generations, are the fears overblown? Can’t we just deal with it?
Proponents insist cannabis is not harmful; some even calling it a wonder drug. While it’s no magic elixir, it is likely that people who carefully calibrate use will find it no more harmful than alcohol. For a region with some of the largest wineries in the world, we must take the position that responsible use will be the norm and abuse the outlier.
Still, like alcohol and narcotics, cannabis can be abused. Cannabis-poisoning cases have risen in Colorado from 61 to 151 in two years. While the only deaths attributed to marijuana had underlying factors – psychosis, accidents, etc. – hospitalizations rose from 6,715 in 2012 to 11,439 in 2014. In Washington, the number of hospitalizations was down slightly, from 6,887 to 6,863.
Are the monetary promises – tax revenues up to $1 billion a year – realistic?
No. If the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, with its higher taxes and fees, passes and use is comparable to that in Colorado, we could possibly collect up to $750 million. For that figure to rise, so must use. As use goes up, so will the accompanying problems and their costs to society.
The AUMA would allow local jurisdictions to opt out, just as 15 of Oregon’s 36 counties have done. But such areas could become islands, with residents traveling to nearby jurisdictions to buy marijuana then bringing it home. If a few of those users run into problems, it would be up to their home counties to deal with them without having collected any additional taxes for the purpose.
Isn’t this an opportunity? We are, after all, an agricultural community.
The Northern San Joaquin Valley is blessed with water, sunshine and some of the finest soils (and farmers) in the world. But there are obstacles to becoming a cannabis paradise.
First, experts say, it’s harder to grow than it appears.
Second, is it any more profitable than almonds, walnuts and grapes? Properly grown in a regulated environment, that’s unlikely. And once supply catches up to demand, prices are likely to drop. Before making a costly switch, growers might first experiment with small patches.
Third, security issues are real. One group is considering growing in the vacant prison near Chowchilla. Most growers would use warehouses or greenhouses, not orchards.
Fourth, while many fear big growers will move in and squeeze out small farmers, others say small-scale growers will continue profitably – including growers in our region. Just as they are doing today.
Those farmers saw an opportunity. The rest of us are just trying to see what this will look like and whether we can support it.
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