Results of Colorado Marijuana Legalization 4 Years Later

[kidd]

I start radiation in a few weeks, 33 sessions to be exact. The doc said I’d be given oxy for the pain. What are the thoughts here on short term, medicinal use? Narcotic pain pills scare the shit out of me. We actually know a couple of people who got hooked while undergoing cancer treatment and I don’t need that to look forward to.

I've just finished my 13th session of chemo.

Pot might be useful for nausea, but there are more effective drugs that can be tailored to the level of nausea. I don't see the harm in medical pot, but there are better choices. Pot would be nearly useless to combat radiation treatment pain.

I use oxycodone 1-2 times a week for pain in my feet and anus (from all the diarrhea). I haven't had to use any oxycodone in over a month. There is no high from the oxycodone, but it does help me sleep, when needed. But I do try to NOT use it and will not use it during the day. At my low level of usage there is no addiction, but there is the temptation to tell yourself that "it helped me sleep before and I'm not addicted (so why not take another?)".

The strategy is to learn how to tolerate level 5 pain. Do physical chores - watching TV or mental chores didn't work for me. You can easily fall asleep with level 3 pain, and if tired enough, level 4 pain. Tylenol can help bring level 5 pain to level 3 pain. Keep a log of when you take the oxy.

But if you simply cannot sleep past the pain (perhaps after more than two hours of trying other strategies), you shouldn't be afraid to take it.

[Oceander]

I start radiation in a few weeks, 33 sessions to be exact. The doc said I’d be given oxy for the pain. What are the thoughts here on short term, medicinal use? Narcotic pain pills scare the shit out of me. We actually know a couple of people who got hooked while undergoing cancer treatment and I don’t need that to look forward to.

Good luck and may God be with you.  Just my personal preference here:  narcotic painkillers scare me as well. I have never taken them, although I have had a doctor recommend them once for some surgery i underwent. It really does depend on your tolerance for pain and your willingness to accept the limitations of non-narcotic painkillers.  Perhaps try with something non-narcotic first, and if you just can’t bear it, then be honest with yourself and your doctor and consider the next step.

[corbe]

   Other than my past bad experience with pain meds I am somewhat bias because my Mother (85yo) has not recovered from stent placements and refuses to take pills because of her scare of addiction brought on by massive media concentration on the addicts and other troubled people, it hurts me to see her in such pain. 
   Maybe I should stop stealing all her pain meds she hides in her pillow case while she sleeps (just kidding). 

[NavyCanDo]

Here is a personal observation from WA who passed recreational use after Colorado. The house across the street as well as two house down from it was bought with cash by a Chinese Drug Cartel who set up a very discrete but massive grow operation. Never knew it was happening other that the occasional whiff of something we thought was a skunk. From time to time a Uhaul Truck would be parked there for several days with nothing you could see going in or out of the truck. Then one afternoon SWAT raided the home, along with 55 other homes in Puget Sound. 16 large boxes of pot were removed.   Detectives told us the cartels are buying up homes and it has been happening sense it was legalized.

The house has been sitting empty for 8 months and because of the contamination will have to be taken down to the studs.   Shame. It was a nice home.

[roamer_1]

I have potent ADHD. Weed slows me down which helps me focus. The other option to help with focus is stimulants like Adderall and Ritalin. I don't really like that stuff.

Yeah right... I have heard that one before. Many times.

[mountaineer]

Yeah right... I have heard that one before. Many times.

People certainly can come up with excuses in an attempt to justify certain irresponsible behaviors, can't they? My alcoholic brother insists he has to drink because he's depressed. No matter that drinking to the point of passing out or getting arrested for DUI tends to make one more depressed. A vicious cycle, to be sure.

[Dexter]

People certainly can come up with excuses in an attempt to justify certain irresponsible behaviors, can't they? My alcoholic brother insists he has to drink because he's depressed. No matter that drinking to the point of passing out or getting arrested for DUI tends to make one more depressed. A vicious cycle, to be sure.

It seriously helps me. It helps other people too. Ritalin and Adderall are what the doctors would prescribe me and that stuff is literally a cousin of methamphetamine. The shit these doctors are peddling is way more dangerous and addictive. Also alcohol is a depressant and your brother needs an intervention.

[mountaineer]

It seriously helps me. It helps other people too. Ritalin and Adderall are what the doctors would prescribe me and that stuff is literally a cousin of methamphetamine. The shit these doctors are peddling is way more dangerous and addictive. Also alcohol is a depressant and your brother needs an intervention.

Yeah, he thinks the alcohol helps him, too.

 Just for the record, we've done an intervention. He's been in detox and rehab several times - and immediately on his release, heads straight for the beer store or a bar every time.

[Dexter]

Yeah, he thinks the alcohol helps him, too.

The difference is different kinds of drugs really can help different people in different situations. Marijuana has medicinal uses. Without pot I'd never get anything done because every cloud and butterfly would distract me from my objectives.

Just for the record, we've done an intervention. He's been in detox and rehab several times - and immediately on his release, heads straight for the beer store or a bar every time.

I hope he figures his life out. Alcohol addiction is horrible for individuals and their families.

[GtHawk]

Here is a personal observation from WA who passed recreational use after Colorado. The house across the street as well as two house down from it was bought with cash by a Chinese Drug Cartel who set up a very discrete but massive grow operation. Never knew it was happening other that the occasional whiff of something we thought was a skunk. From time to time a Uhaul Truck would be parked there for several days with nothing you could see going in or out of the truck. Then one afternoon SWAT raided the home, along with 55 other homes in Puget Sound. 16 large boxes of pot were removed.   Detectives told us the cartels are buying up homes and it has been happening sense it was legalized.

The house has been sitting empty for 8 months and because of the contamination will have to be taken down to the studs.   Shame. It was a nice home.

There is also the argument that people like to use that pot is safer than alcohol and point to all the driving deaths related to alcohol, which is horrendous. The only problem with their argument is a an almost total lack of comparison data, the one thing we do know is that in the states where pot has been legalized vehicle accidents and deaths due to impairment caused by pot use is increasing. It be some time before enough data (lives lost) can be collected before someone can make informed comparisons.

[catfish1957]

In April 2014, 19 year old foreign exchange student Levy Thamba plunged off a hotel balcony and died after eating legally purchased marijuana laced cookies. After eating just one cookie, Thamba became agitated and ran out onto the balcony and over the edge, falling to his death. The pot-laced cookies were legally purchased by a 21-year-old present at the gathering.

You know, I am not pro-MJ, and have not been around the stuff for 40 years, but one thing I do remember.....   Folks don't get agitated when doing it.

[Oceander]

You know, I am not pro-MJ, and have not been around the stuff for 40 years, but one thing I do remember.....   Folks don't get agitated when doing it.

They can. It doesn’t happen often, but if it triggers a bout of paranoia, that could cause agitated behavior. 

[catfish1957]

They can. It doesn’t happen often, but if it triggers a bout of paranoia, that could cause agitated behavior.

You obviously know more than I do on this subject, but 40 years ago I remember more of the opposite...  relaxation, red eyes, things were funny, crazy hunger, and music was 10X better than normal.

[Dexter]

You obviously know more than I do on this subject, but 40 years ago I remember more of the opposite...  relaxation, red eyes, things were funny, crazy hunger, and music was 10X better than normal.

Most of the time smoking weed is exactly as you describe.

[corbe]

   There are certain 'strains' out there that make you paranoid when you smoke them.  I have thought that @Emjay wanted me dead on a few occasions.

[goatprairie]

You know, I am not pro-MJ, and have not been around the stuff for 40 years, but one thing I do remember.....   Folks don't get agitated when doing it.

Strictly anecdotal, but I remember talking to two workmates who admitted smoking a lot of weed in their younger days.
When I asked them why they quit, both said they started getting paranoid.
I also have two siblings who smoked a lot of dope in their younger days. Both  were always far more argumentative, on edge than my other siblings.
If smoking dope relaxes a person and makes them more agreeable and less irritating, it didn't work on my dope-smoking siblings. Plus, they were my two most hardcore liberal siblings.

[roamer_1]

People certainly can come up with excuses in an attempt to justify certain irresponsible behaviors, can't they? My alcoholic brother insists he has to drink because he's depressed. No matter that drinking to the point of passing out or getting arrested for DUI tends to make one more depressed. A vicious cycle, to be sure.

That's right - More's the pity - But, there but for the grace of God go I...
It usually takes something earthshaking to make someone aware that their 'normal' ain't normal.

[verga]

You know, I am not pro-MJ, and have not been around the stuff for 40 years, but one thing I do remember.....   Folks don't get agitated when doing it.

@catfish1957 I have to disagree, I have seen some people get very paranoid and agitated while using. My Ex's cousin was a frequent user and she would get very paranoid. She was a total Beyotch and after a while, it became a game to me to mess with her while she was stoned. I would go up a window and sneak a peek outside like I was watching for something or out of the blue ask "Did anyone else hear that?" I could have her climbing the walls in 15 minutes or less sometimes. Ahh, the good old days.

[corbe]

    That's downright cruel @verga and you should be sentenced to the maximum allowed for screwing with Stoners while Straight!

[txradioguy]

    That's downright cruel @verga and you should be sentenced to the maximum allowed for screwing with Stoners while Straight!

I knew someone back in my teens that when she'd get stoned she would start tugging on our shirts and look at us very seriously and say "They know..."

[jmyrlefuller]

John fell to his death while high.

Rob fell and cracked his head open.  He lived, but with no memories.

Bob killed his best friend John in a van accident.

Aaron killed Chad in car accident.

Wayne died in a truck accident.

Chris and Chris drowned.

Mark got run over by a van.

But hey, pot's not dangerous.

Eight cherry-picked examples in a state of over five million people.

[Jazzhead]

I strongly support recreational marijuana legalization and know from experience what both it and alcohol can do.  Each can a true pleasure when used in moderation.  Each can be abused,  and in this regard I'm convinced that booze is far more susceptible to harmful abuse, both to the individual and to the community at large, than weed.   Generally speaking,  I'd rather deal with a stranger who's stoned than dead drunk.  So would most cops, if you ask them.   

That said,  I have one major issue with marijuana legalization the way it has developed in Colorado.   I think marijuana should be smoked, not ingested as part of cookies,  brownies, etc.   It is almost impossible to "overdose" on smoked marijuana;  smoking permits effective titration/regulation of dosage.   Not so with edibles - it takes experience to know how much to consume.   Most of the examples of bad reactions to pot have been in the context of over-ingesting.   And how much useful information is provided with pot edibles regarding how powerful each item is?    My guess is little or nothing.   

If I were in charge of regulating marijuana,  I would ban edibles and limit legal sales to smoke-able or vaporizable pot. 

[catfish1957]

@catfish1957 I have to disagree, I have seen some people get very paranoid and agitated while using. My Ex's cousin was a frequent user and she would get very paranoid. She was a total Beyotch and after a while, it became a game to me to mess with her while she was stoned. I would go up a window and sneak a peek outside like I was watching for something or out of the blue ask "Did anyone else hear that?" I could have her climbing the walls in 15 minutes or less sometimes. Ahh, the good old days.

I am hearing a lot anecdotal feedback that some have seen non-mellow stoners.  If that is the case, pot must have changed a lot in 40 years, because I never saw that side of the coin.

[goatprairie]

I am hearing a lot anecdotal feedback that some have seen non-mellow stoners.  If that is the case, pot must have changed a lot in 40 years, because I never saw that side of the coin.

Well, again it could be a correlation is not causation situation, but the time my siblings who smoked a lot of dope when they were younger did it, were doing it forty years ago. 
I have no idea what kind of dope they smoked, but both were prone to confrontations, shouting, screaming, etc. One, a younger brother, threw punches when agitated.
Unfortunately, my younger brother died a few years ago. He had gotten over a lot of his youthful  problems as he aged.
But both him and an older sister were still highly argumentative and loss of temper prone well after their teens. All I had to do to get my brother started was to mention Reagan. And I was still a Democrat at the time but liked some things Reagan was doing. I told my brother I didn't think Reagan was evil, and my brother threw a fit over the phone.
Would they have been like that without the heavy dope use? Maybe. But smoking dope certainly didn't calm them down.

[Cyber Liberty]

I start radiation in a few weeks, 33 sessions to be exact. The doc said I’d be given oxy for the pain. What are the thoughts here on short term, medicinal use? Narcotic pain pills scare the shit out of me. We actually know a couple of people who got hooked while undergoing cancer treatment and I don’t need that to look forward to.

@goodwithagun

Oxy and Hydro are only addictive if you take them when  you don't have pain.  I had found it most useful to log my doses to make sure the amount was going down, not up, and when it's zero you can stop completely.