Current Events – The Third Drug

The appetites of our animal natures ought to be kept in rigid subjection. These appetites were given us for important purposes, for good, and not to become the ministers of death by being perverted and becoming warring lusts. … An intemperate man cannot be a patient man. The almost imperceptible indulgence of the taste will create an appetite for stronger stimulants. … Call to your aid moral power, and abandon the use of tobacco [ and marijuana ] forever.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 244.

Colorado began allowing the sale of recreational marijuana on January 1, 2014, to anyone age 21 or older.

Residents can now buy marijuana like alcohol—except the cannabis purchase is limited to an ounce, which is substantial enough to cost about $200 or more.

It’s a big moment: Colorado became the first state in the nation to open recreational pot stores and became the first place in the world where marijuana will be regulated from seed to sale. Pot, by the way, is the third most popular recreational drug in America, after alcohol and tobacco, according to the marijuana reform group NORML.

www.cnn.com/2013/12/28

Amsterdam has long been known as the most weed-friendly place in the world, but with the passage of Colorado’s new law legalizing the sale of marijuana to adults 21 and over, Amsterdam will have to take a back seat to Colorado’s capital city.

Here are five ways Denver is more weed-friendly than Amsterdam.

  1. You can buy way more weed legally in Denver than you can in Amsterdam.
  2. You can legally grow weed in Denver. In Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands, that’s against the law.
  3. Denver city law lets you blaze on your front porch or in your backyard. In Amsterdam, that’s a no-no.
  4. You can legally buy weed brownies, magic cookies and cannabis lollipops in Denver. In Amsterdam, that’s illegal.
  5. You can gift your friends up to 1 ounce of weed in Denver, but not in Amsterdam. www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/08

Is Colorado’s newly-enacted cannabis law creating a new war between the states?

On January 1, 2014, Colorado legalized the recreational use of marijuana for adults. And while supporters of cannabis have hailed the move, there are signs the new law has created some ill will in the seven states bordering Colorado, and beyond.

Despite the new laws, and the growing number of states that have legalized marijuana for medical use, cannabis remains illegal under federal law. Federal law also governs all civil aviation, so Colorado airports are cracking down and prohibiting cannabis on their grounds. www.cbsnews.com