Question for those of you living in a country where marijuana is legal. What are the positive sides, what are the negatives?

If you could go back in time, would you vote for legalising again? Does it affect the country’s illegal drug business , more/less?

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
    2·
    13 days ago

    Having lived in both, absolutely legalize.

    I don’t personally care for it and I get annoyed by the public smells, the tacky and run-down stores that make neighborhoods feel trashy. But that’s all personal preference.

    The one legitimate issue is that it is very difficult to regulate and enforce impairment. Someone driving or operating machinery high is just as dangerous as someone driving drunk. With alcohol, there are a number of different tests and impairment is well correlated with BAC. For marijuana, there is no quick and accurate way to assess how high someone is at a given time.

    • snooggums@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      13 days ago

      Impairment is impairment and being tired or distracted by phones/technology is often even worse than being intoxicated or high but we tend to love using BAC because it is easy to measure. Locations that legalized weed didn’t have an increase in impaired driving last time I checked, because most people don’t go out driving when they are high while people often drive intoxicated after drinking at bars.

      • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
        1·
        13 days ago

        BAC is also well correlated with impairment. Obviously it varies from one individual to another, but it is related strongly related enough to have fair and consistent enforcement.

        AFAIK, blood tests that measure the presence of marijuana are relatively cheap, but measuring the concentration is slightly more difficult and is not well correlated with impairment. That means enforcement is problematic and subjective.

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      0·
      13 days ago

      run-down stores that make neighborhoods feel trashy. But that’s all personal preference.

      The dispensaries around me are really nice looking and always spotless

      • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
        2·
        13 days ago

        Look, I feel the same about liquor stores and mattress stores, to name a few. There are some nice examples, but most I don’t like to see.

        Again, that’s my opinion and does not deserve any legislation. I’m glad other people feel differently. Businesses serve the needs of a community, not the feelings of internet randos. OP asked for our honest opinion and that’s just mine.

        • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          1·
          12 days ago

          I’m sure it varies by location, but I mean like literally every single one I have ever seen in my state has been really nice. None of them look like liquor stores. It’s much closer to walking into a high-end jewelry shop, no joke. And I do not live in a great area by any stretch.

          The ratio is the opposite of what you’re saying. A spotless liquor store is the exception, not the rule. Same goes for a grimey dispensary (assuming any exist at all in my state).

      • sunbrrnslapper@lemmy.world
        1·
        13 days ago

        I live in suburbia and the cannabis stores cater, in part, to suburban moms. They are clean, well lit, and the staff are very approachable. It’s fascinating to see.

    • Krono@lemmy.today
      11·
      13 days ago

      Someone driving or operating machinery high is just as dangerous as someone driving drunk

      You have a source or anything to back this idea up?

      I delivered pizzas in downtown Seattle for a couple years, and most of my coworkers were constantly stoned. Many weren’t just hitting pens or joints, they would hit a fat dab with a torch lighter and then hop in their vehicle and make a delivery.

      Both years I worked there, our delivery team got an annual award for having 0 vehicle accidents.

      Obviously this is anecdotal, but if you run this same situation back with alcohol instead of weed, I am confident there would have been many accidents.