Chicago decriminalizes pot!

It all depends how it works in practice. Cannabis supply needs to be taken out of the hands of criminals. There needs to be places where cannabis can be purchased legally, (and taxed) at a price that undercuts the dealers.

The politicians there will go broke. never happen.

Your right. Most of the chicago pols are probebly being paid of by the drug lords.

Cannibus will never be legally available until it can be put in a Big Pharma Pill



Rap

I don't see the point.
The pols in Chicago now see weed as harmless enough to fine (to make more money of course), and yet keep it illegal.

I wonder when they do make it legal, would they make the minimum age to smoke 21, like alcohol, cause it somewhat impairs perception and reaction time?

It is decriminalized in California. One is likely to be solicited while leisurely strolling Venice Beach. You're in and out with your license faster than it takes to get a pizza to go. I think the age requirement here may be 18.
If you've ever visited Venice Beach, you know many are "impaired"
regardless of age.

Interesting.

I haven't been there since November 2009 one daytime, walking with my niece. I'm essentially from Venice Beach - it's my home area even though I live now in New Mexico. (Don't get me started). First I had a studio, and then lived, at Windward and Ocean Front Walk. After that, I lived something like ten or twelve blocks away from the ocean from '74 to late '98, and still semi follow what is going on through a website, yo venice, or some name like that - not looked just recently.

I've walked the beach on the beach or the ocean front walk, or jogged it, a huge number of times, I'd say thousands. It changes by the hours passing, or at least used to, plus by the days of the week and the months.

Last I was paying attention, they were shutting the walk down in late night hours.
Haven't checked how that is working or not.

I've a thread here on a2k about some guy who lived a few blocks from us who was a key distributor, article in the NYer if I remember. I'd have to look up the link, very interesting article.

I think we will go through another bunch of phases where pot is restricted generally but some places are fine with it, and thus get overwhelmed as destiny places.

I hope you did not take offense at my "impaired" comment. Although there is certainly an eccentric element, I love it. It's my favorite place to take out-of- town visitors. It's the best place to people watch in L.A.
Seems the younger folks, full of beer and testosterone, ruined the peaceful evening hour strolls. Best to stroll to your car before sunset, especially around the Muscle Beach area.

WHAT will happen, if it is not taken out of their hands???







( By the way . . . that 's robbery, right ??????? )

What will happen is that criminals will get richer and probably bolder. They will use the channels that are easily established to sell other narcotics, the impact of this may be felt elsewhere, like Columbia, or Afghanistan.

Your English system for dealing with addicts is admirable.
I saw on 60 Minutes an ex-heroin addict of some 20 years duration,
a successful small businessman who said that tho he had been
getting an Rx of pure heroin each week
(with no predatory violence to finance it),
he simply lost interest in the heroin.

His addiction wore off.

I expect to go to Chicago in October for HalloweeM,
but I intend to suck in NO dirt into my lungs.





David

It varies from region to region. A doctor in Liverpool prescribed heroin to all his addicts. Petty crime in the area dropped dramatically, and a lot of them were able to get jobs. Deaths from overdoses and other adulterated chemicals dropped, not to mention HIV/AIDS.

Heroin is actually quite cheap, it's only the illegality that jacks up the price. You can argue that people shouldn't need a chemical walking stick to get through life, but if they do then it shouldn't affect the rest of us.

WELL SAID, Izzy! Hear here !





David

It can only be successful if the state police and the Feds decide not to enforce the law. That's a major problem with medical marijuana laws in those states where medical pot is legal. Sometimes the federal law enforcement agencies still try and mess around with the process even though these sales are legal in those states. Remember there are still state and federal laws that trump city and local laws.

Makes sense to me at least. I assume most people would have to be stoned to want to live in Chicago one way or another.

Hazy.

No, no, no offense. From my reading, the place has deteriorated lately. Up until I last read that blog, people who live along the ocean front walk are (or were) beside themselves about the situation.

On best to the car before evening, that's long been true on summer weekend nights, particularly Sunday. But, I take it, worse recently.

Just a link to the whole blog, not the articles/posts I had been reading - when, dunno, a few months ago: http://www.yovenice.com/