Wondering what my friends south of the medicine line feel about this?

Will it affect tourism?

That is a good question Karl. It is not as though they have not been plenty of dope smokers for a long time.

I think it may have increased it here.

It has in some places in Colorado. I work for the BNSF but I know quite a few people that work for Amtrak, and they drop a lot of people off in Trinidad who are traveling to Colorado specifically for pot. We also have a lot of people who have moved out here just because we legalized recreational marijuana.

Increased it for sure out here. Lots of folks come out just for the novelty of buying weed in a legal pot shop. Trouble is the junkies shooting heroin that also seem to show up with the pot heads.

Seeing people banging heroin while sitting in a puddle of urine on a street corner, moments before they die, isn’t so good for tourism.

Hard to believe people would travel very far to buy it legally. It's so easy to get everywhere and even where it's illegal it's not a big deal in most places so long as you have a small enough amount that they figure it's for personal use and you're not dealing. For instance, here in NY it's just a violation punishable by a fine so long as you have less than 7/8 of an ounce in your posession. I'm not a pot smoker myself but even as a non smoking middle aged man, I know and am friends with enough people who do that I'm sure I could get some tonight with a phone call or two if I wanted it.

Opioids and weed is like comparing alcohol and caffeine. They are all drugs and addictive, but not the same.

BH- I think it’s just the novelty of walking into a legal pot shop and seeing all the different products available. For sure it is super easy to get everywhere.

Clyde- not comparing them so much as just making the observation that cities with legal marijuana also have a big problem with opioids. They seem to have a more lax attitude about it that leads to its use in open public.

The whole thing pizzez me off big time!
They are legalizing an illegal substance but introducing legislation aimed (No pun intended) right at the most law abiding folks in Canada, gun owners/hunters/collectors.
I [bleep] despise Liberals of all types.

As an law abiding Canadian who travels regularly Stateside to visit family, I anticipate crossing into the US is going to become a nightmare.

All this is going to do is buy Trudopey votes, at least he hopes it will. If we are lucky, maybe they will all be too stoned to make it to the polls!

Rye whiskey and beer caused me a lot of problems so 30 years ago I gave up drinking--prior to that I probably tried smoking pot maybe 5 or 6 times. Pot just wasn't my thing. I don't think there is anything wrong with a toke or a good stiff drink if you can handle it--I just happen to be one of those people who can't handle it so I really don't have a dog in this race.

Over the last year I have traveled several times to Minnesota and Wisconsin--a 50th high school class reunion, a family reunion and most recently deer hunting in Wisconsin. On these trips a number of people and not just young guys either, have questiond me about Pot in Ontario. I get the impression a lot of fishermen would like to use pot if it were legal to do so. None of these guys would dare cross the international border with pot in their possession nor are they going to look for a dope dealer here locally.

I live next door to an Indian Reserve and we have had a major opioid problem here for the last 10 years or so. I just don't see pot being that big a problem and probably not near as bad as alcohol abuse.

Just the musings of an ole peckerwood who lives on the lake with too many guns.

I didn’t notice a thing, or even a smidge... the folks that smoked, continue to smoke. Junkies are still junkies. Funny driving by the shops, lotsa 60-70 yo folks coming and going. I’m sure they didn’t just start smoking because it’s legal. Grin

This peckerwood lives on a river.. but don’t have troubles with alcohol that many describe. It works just fine for me, though I hear you all the same. Others seem to get along with weed too. I don’t, but it’s not all about me. Opioids seem to destroy just about everything and everyone they touch. Never have met a functioning user, or one I would hire or trust

Boy, I missed the point a country mile. I thought Karl was asking if the dope would keep people out.

One thing is for sure... You never hear about a guy smoking a joint and then going home to beat his wife and kids!!! Just Sayin'

Murder trial going on in Whitehorse right now. A guy in his 30s killed his dealer because he had no money. His story is he started smoking pot in his early teens. As time went on he needed stronger stuff and ended up hooked on crack. Then there was the study done by the Carcross RCMP. Carcross is a tiny village. The police kept samples from each drug bust over a 12 month period. Then they sent the samples in to be analyzed. 100% of the pot was laced with other drugs. Some of it was nasty.

To see where were headed all one has to do is look at what has happened in the Netherlands. They legalized pot 25 years ago. The most worrying thing about that experiment is how student test scores have suffered...

all of these illegal drugs do is anesthetizes your brain and train of thought....

what possibly could go wrong?

and yeah, I DON'T do drugs, I don't smoke ( never once) and don't drink alcohol...

basic because I don't need to anesthetize my brain or train of thought..

it makes a lot of people stupider than they already are...

I was asking the exact opposite Richard--will it result. In an increase tourists?
And I'm not talking about Ontario as a whole--I have no idea what goes on in Toronto--only this small portion of Northwestern Ontario.
My conversations with residents of Minnesota and Wisconsin revolve mainly around hunting and fishing. While I might not partake I know that Makers Mark is a well thought of bourbon.
Questions I have been asked about Pot legalization have 3 main points--rules, availability and price.

Price--I only know what I have read or heard thru the CBC and it looks like the retail price is going to be around $10 per gram. From my sources locally that's street price here if you are buying small amounts like 5 gram bags. Larger quantities like an ounce I've heard anywhere from $200 to $325.

Availability--where are you gonna buy it? It's not gonna be at the local liquor store, which would make the most sense to me. Evidently there is going to be a store in Thunder Bay and everyone else can order on-line. I get the impression many people would like to go to a shop just to look at what's available. With our shipping options locally on-line ain't gonna work and T-Bay is over a hundred miles away.

Rules-- Can I smoke up in the boat while fishing? Absolutely Not. Only in a residence--just like beer or booze. I assume this one will be unversialy ignored just like drinking beer in the boat is now--with a number of people being charged for it every year.

I think it's going to be interesting.

You never hear about the women who get beaten on because they won't spare some coin for a six-pack either. Sure can't say that about weed.

I just don't understand why it's become such a big issue. Legality won't have much effect on use and may actually decrease the use of far more dangerous drugs like alcohol, tobacco and opioids. It will also make it safer and move money from the criminal element to the state in the form of taxes. I have used it during treatment for Leukemia and it's not something that I would partake of before going out of the house and certainly not driving or doing any tasks that require a clear head. I am sure folks do, just as they use alcohol and barbiturates, but you can't outlaw everything stupid or dangerous and expect 100% compliance. Cannabis is a useful herb for lots of medical and psychological issues and legalization will make it available to more people who might otherwise use opioids or alcohol to self medicate, which we all agree are much more dangerous all around.
I'll play the Devils Advocate and argue that Marijuana should be contue to be illegal but also add alcohol and tobacco products just to keep us all safe and lower our insurance prices.

Have you heard of the Volstead Act? That did not work well.

Yeah well, the war on drugs ain't been working so well either.

What probably bothers a lot of us is that our nut of a prime minister thinks that dealing with pot is a more important issue than say the national debt, for example. Typical Liberal!

Jim

Bill C-45 (pot legalization) passed the House of Commons today. 200 yea 82 nay. Now the ole boys in the Senate can kick it around for awhile but it looks like a done deal.
Pretty broad minimal rules federally 1ounce (30 grams) in possession in public--no sale or possession under the age of 18, 4 plants per household.
Provincial boys gonna dream up a whole bunch of rules too, some of which have been proposed are pretty stupid.
Alberta--no outdoor growing no plants higher than 1 meter.
New Brunswick--personal pot will be stored in a locked container in a locked room.
Manitoba --will allow stores for retail sale but province will distribute
Ontario--gonna open 20 stores in 2018 and have 150 stores by 2020

Thunder Bay is supposed to get 1store next year--I think it better be a big one!

Are you for, or against it Karl?

Wonder how the RCMP will deal with drivers under the influence? Or industry for that matter. Drugs are already costing industry big bucks in damages and rehabilitation, can't imagine this will help.

I read somewhere that Justin couldn't legalize it because of some treaties Canada had signed??
https://globalnews.ca/news/3157924/why-a-56-year-old-un-treaty-stands-between-you-and-legal-pot/

Potaine will become the most valuable commodity in your country.

Of Course I'm for it.

Richard, the Volstead Act was a complete failure and that was apperant from the get go but it took 11years to repeal it. The 'War on Drugs' is no different.

As a bit of a libertarian I would advocate for decriminalization but once the politicians realized the potential for revenue generation full legalization was the way to go. No stopping that train.

I, by design, have lived for the last 46 years in a low-population economically depressed backwater. I can think of several of my friends and aquaintces who have died as a direct result of alcohol addiction--car accidents, hangings and shootings included amongst them. Recently a friend of mine's son was shot and killed by a cop, and it happened because the young man was drunk. I don't particularly like that cop but I can't condem him for what he did. Alcohol and being drunk in your own home is perfectly legal but it can still get you killed right smartly.

For too long, we as a society, have expected the police to deal with what is essentially a medical problem--it doesn't work and we can't blame the police for that.

I know a lot of dope smokers here locally, they are hell on potatoes chips and don't seem to get much done but don't seem to get in much trouble either.

What Iam most surprised about is the number of people--my own age--who have admitted to using Cannibis on a regular basis. This as a direct result of recent discussions about legalization.

Smoke em if you got em, bum em if you don’t!!

I haven't seen any difference in Oregon since it went legal! As far as tourist issue, if they are coming from the Western States no issue, they can buy it in Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada in stores!

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