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posted by LaminatorX on Thursday July 02 2015, @01:20PM   Printer-friendly
from the just-say-"OR" dept.

Oregon ended marijuana prohibition at midnight Wednesday, joining Colorado, Washington state, Alaska and the District of Columbia in legalizing recreational use of the drug.

The new law means Oregon likely will reap benefits that appear to have followed legalization elsewhere: Reduced crime, from a legal industry supplanting a black market; higher tax revenue, once weed is legal to sell; and police forces and courts unburdened by droves of misdemeanor pot offenders.

Oregon voters in November approved Measure 91 with 56 percent of the vote. As of now, adults 21 and older can legally possess up to eight ounces of marijuana inside their home and up to one ounce outside. Adults can grow up to four plants per household, out of public view.

Sign of the times.


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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by LoRdTAW on Thursday July 02 2015, @04:50PM

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Thursday July 02 2015, @04:50PM (#204310) Journal

    Not solely puritan or republican but all stemmed from alarmist propaganda and bullshit.

    Since drugs are illegal, it is a crime to use them. It is also a crime to steal and murder someone. All crime is bad for society. So if you use drugs, you are a criminal in the same way a murderer or thief is a criminal. You willingly broke the law! Would you want criminals working for you? Of course not! If they can't be trusted to obey the law, how can they be trusted to obey the rules of your work place and follow instruction?

    So the image of the drug user is that of a criminal. And if they have no problem breaking the law when they use drugs, what stops them from breaking other laws? So hey if they have no problem smoking that joint, then I can also safely assume that they would have no problem stealing. The image is that of someone who is completely untrustworthy, irresponsible, reckless and without morals. That image has been maintained over the years ensuring that anyone who uses drugs is an very undesirable employee. Someone who smokes a bit weed every now and then is just as untrustworthy as a murderer.

    Even adults who experimented or abused drugs in their youth outright denounce their use and often use the phrases "I was a dumb kid" or "I matured/grew up".

    "BUT WAIT!" Your thinking. I'm talking about good ol marijuana. Not shooting heroin!
    Since pot is listed as schedule I right up there with crack, heroin and meth, it carries the same "immoral weight". So your employer sees no difference between you smoking a bowl and pondering an algorithm or a jonesing heroin addict who gunned down a mother in front of her child for 20 bucks. But that is thankfully changing as more and more people wake the fuck up and realize that marijuana is a safe drug for recreational and medical use. That thinking is also opening up new research which is helping to clear the smoke (pun intended) surrounding the legitimate use of marijuana.

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  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday July 03 2015, @01:34PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Friday July 03 2015, @01:34PM (#204699) Journal

    I don't smoke pot. I've tried it a few times, some were fun, some were meh, some were paralyzing. But it doesn't appeal to me the way a good old fashioned beer does. As such I haven't spent much time thinking about the subject.

    I do wonder whence all the hysteria about it. Was it timber and paper companies wanting to knock hemp out of the market? Was it "Reefer Madness" and its coded racism? Pot's effects are so innocuous, and the plant's benefits so many, that it makes no good sense that it should have been banned. Employing it as an alternative source of fiber to prevent deforestation alone is worth legalizing it.

    The meaning I see in marijuana legalization is not because I personally want to smoke it but because it is an outbreak of reason and hope that reason may win through in these pre-revolutionary times.

    --
    Washington DC delenda est.
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by LoRdTAW on Monday July 06 2015, @12:15AM

      by LoRdTAW (3755) on Monday July 06 2015, @12:15AM (#205425) Journal

      I used to hate it as well as my first few times were spent completely stoned. Then I smoked with an experienced friend who showed me that there were different strains of weed which have different effects and potency. Like alcohol, you don't smoke a bunch all at once. I gained a better appreciation for it once I knew my limits. Now, I smoke once in a while. This past 4th of July weekend I smoked 3 days in a row. But I only took a single pull or two every few hours. Best part is you don't wake up with any hangovers. Though, you sometimes feel groggy if you smoked a lot but that is manageable by pacing yourself. And the munchies makes everything taste better when your are high. From candy to fruit, its all amplified. I once devoured six cups of various fruit yogurts and a few oranges and an apple after a few pulls to cap a hard days work.

      Does it replace alcohol? No, as you I don't get that sleepy, relaxed state from it. But man, I do get wicked hangovers from it if I don't pace myself.