How many of our difficult child's will be moving to Colorado?

[DammitJanet]

I think Im moving to CO! If I cant get good pain management, I just may move. And no I dont smoke now but I am about a month or so away from not having a pain doctor.

My theory on today's pot vs the old pot is that some of today's pot is worse and some is not as good. Growing your own is the best way to go. At least you know what your getting.

 

[Signorina]

I don't have the answer on legalization. I find it ironic that we live in a society that puts increasing restrictions on cigarette smoking at the same time it is legalizing pot smoking. Where does secondhand pot smoke come into play? What about a child or infant subject to a contact high? We can say all we want about secondhand smoke causing lung damage... but a contact high? How about pets?

There are also numerous studies linking male pot use to learning disabilities and behavioral disabilities in offspring. Just what we need - more difficult children.

And then there's the whole OWI/DUI thing...even blood tests are not quantitative for marijuana use. It stays in the bloodstream long after the high is gone. So a "sober" driver who caused an accident could be convicted even if they were last high nearly a month ago. Or even worse, a high driver who caused an accident can (successfully?) argue that they were high weeks ago...

And pre-employment screenings? Or workers comp insurance requests that we screen workers who drive and operate machinery for drugs and alcohol - post job offer and pre start date. Again, marijuana stays in the system unlike legal and illegal drugs. We screen everyone because we don't want to draw a distinction that could lead to a discrimination claim. And we don't hire (or we fire) anyone who tests positive. Will legal pot smokers create a second class of workers?


and I also wonder the safety of a drug that's measurable in the bloodstream for 30 days or more...

just musing aloud...

 

[BusynMember]

Sig, that's the thing. It's harmless now because it's not legal and we don't really know what it causes. I do know that, as a teenager, I would go to parties where everyone but me was smoking pot and I'd get high from the fumes and have to go outside. Obviously the smoke affects those around the person. And what does it do to our lungs? Nothing? Suuuuuuuuuure. That's what we once thought about cigarettes.

 

[DammitJanet]

Sig, I wasnt hired for a job even though I tested positive for legal prescription drugs that I current, valid prescriptions which I told the employer about before the drug test and attempted to give to the people who were doing the drug screening but they wouldnt take them. No one would accept my copies of my current printed prescriptions showing that I was only taking legally prescribed drugs. I had been conditionally offered the job based on passing the drug screen and a background check which they said would only go back 7 years. After my drug test came back they claimed it wasnt the drug test but the fact that I had a bad check 14 years prior to this job offer. Now come on. I didnt forge a check, I wrote an insufficient funds check during a hurricane and I didnt find out about it for several months because the business got closed down due to the hurricane. As soon as I found out about it, I paid it in full. It was for all of 30 dollars including the fees. No way they could have held that against me considering they only were supposed to go back 7 years. I think once they saw the drug test they started digging into my past knowing that somewhere along the line most people have written at least one insufficient funds check at least once in their lives even if its 20 to 30 years ago. Oh and the only reason mine ended up not going through was because the business went out of business. I had assumed it went through and my money always cut so close I didnt watch for that check because it was only for like 10 bucks. They just happened to hit me at the end of the month when I was broke a year or two later. I thought it went through when I wrote it.

 

[rubyq]

I have personally never knows anyone that it has happened to. I can't imagine drug dealers would be willing to give away extra inventory with sales of pot, either. Now if someone laces it themselves with something...well....

But even better a reason for it to be legalized and sold in stores - it would be safer!

This is very true. There are multiple reasons why it doesn't make sense for pot dealers to lace their pot with other drugs. The first is price, no one would take a cheap drug and lace it with an expensive drugs. Selling weed laced with cocaine would be like a restaurant selling a bowl of twenty cent ramen noodles topped with a 1/2 lb lobster tail. The second is that even if a dealer was fine with the idea of wasting money like that there are very few other drugs that can be smoked in the same manner as marijuana. Marijuana can be dipped in PCP and that's about it. When you smoke weed with cocaine you have to smoke it in a very specific way otherwise the cocaine will be largely inactive. Meth is smoked in an oil burner, heroin is smoked on foil, crack is smoked in a glass tube because that is how addicts are able to feel the effects. If any of these drugs were just mixed in with weed and smoked in a weed pipe the user would only feel the effects of the weed. The people who smoke weed laced with PCP or crack pay extra for that weed because of the cost of those drugs and smoke their weed differently to get the effects of both.

When I was in high school it was incredibly easy to get any drug, except alcohol. Legalizing weed will have that same effect and make it very difficult for children to get. Dealers won't be selling it because there will be no profit to be made, just like how there are no bootleggers today. When something becomes legal it takes the demand away from the black market. Will kids still be able to get weed? It's very likely, just as kids are able to find people to buy them alcohol or are able to sneak it away from their parents. But will it be much harder for children to get weed? Yes, because there will be no black market for them to buy it from. Plus the taxes collected from the legal marijuana will help fund programs that focus on prevention and safety. We're basically taking the money from dangerous dealers and gang bangers and investing it in our children and their future.

As for the cartels ramping up production of other drugs because of this, it's only happened in two states so far. If, in the future, more states legalized marijuana I still don't see them upping the production of other drugs in an attempt to make up for it. The amount of drugs the produce is determined by the number of people they have to buy their product. If they suddenly bring over 100 lbs of meth a day instead of just 1 lb all that would happen is the street price would decrease because there would be too much supply and not enough demand.

However, and I think this is even worse than the idea of the cartels upping their production of dangerous drugs, what I do see happening is the cartels will be forced to make money elsewhere. That elsewhere I predict will include business ventures like kidnapping, extortion, murder for hire, and software pirating. These schemes are basically where the majority of the Los Zetas profit comes from because they don't have the smuggling routes needed to transport drugs like the other, older cartels have. But even though they are unable to transport any where near the amount of drugs as the other cartels they still make money. Once the other cartels are also unable to profit through drugs they will very likely copy the Zetas. I don't see any of the cartels simply throwing their hands up and moving on to legitimate business once their drug profits begin plummeting.

 

[Nancy]

Rubyq, do you have a loved one who is addicted to drugs or alcohol? You seem to have quite a bit of knowledge about drugs but have not introduced yourself.

Nancy

 

[rubyq]

No, none of my family has any substance abuse issues. I have a lot of first hand knowledge, I was addicted to heroin before I was out of my teens. That experience with addiction is what motivated me to take an active role in the harm reduction movement, which is basically the idea that addicts shouldn't have to quit using in order to be protected. Needle exchange programs operate on this premise. The idea is to expose addicts to these services they otherwise would have been afraid to reach out to because so many of them say "if you aren't clean we can't help you." So if we can get to them, even if they aren't ready to quit, we can still teach them how to be safe, test them for HIV and Hep C, refer them to other services, etc. And then when the addict is ready to quit *(which often times happens much sooner when they do have access to these programs) we can help them get clean.

I accidentally came across this forum and reading these posts broke my heart knowing that I put my family through these same things. I thought maybe my experience as a wild child allows me to help them, so maybe my experience helping them could help their parents to help them?

 

[Marcie Mac]

Its not legal in Ca (yet but we did try) but if you have a hangnail thats bothering you, you can get a medical card for it. Gives you an ok for up to 8 ounces of dried, and you can grow your own, I think its 4 or 5 plants (mature) but up to 12 if not mature. They can fine you 100 if you have it on you without a card, but its not a "collectible" ticket - its not even put in the system.

Personally, I think it all depends on your personality as to whether or not you will will dabble in other drugs. Comming of age in the 60's I dabbled recreational use only cause I was working three jobs to support eldest and I, and just couldn't function if I was high. There were a few things I tried one time, but I don't like to be out of control, and knew it would be a problem if I ever did it again, so just didn't. I was one of the fortunate ones I suppose.

Needless to say difficult child gets his money's worth out of his mj card. But having said that, he has yet to miss one day of work, gets up on time, goes in, works all day and has his computer business on the side so it looks like he is pretty much a functioning pot head at this point.

I think they just need to legalize it so its not tainted with anything and sell it maybe at government run stores to lessen the likelyhood of the underage getting ahold of it, not that anyone couldn't if they hardly tried living here

Marcie

 

[Signorina]

Honestly ruby, I find this place a refuge to connect with other parents who are in a similar place . Something I can't do in my real life. Free from judgment from those on the other or opposite side. Not that I don't respect or value those who have been in my child's shoes....but THIS PARTICULAR PLACE is my difficult child free zone. I only speak for myself.

(FWIW, I think I read the article about Mexican drug cartels in Newsweek -- but I've been reading a lot if magazines while I convalesced, so I can't be sure)

 

[toughlovin]

I do think this board needs to be a place where parents can come and talk without fear of judgement.. heaven knows we get enough judgement about us because of our difficult children by society and other parents. However I have found that I can learn a lot and gain a lot of insight about my difficult child from those who themselves are in recovery from serious addiction. So I like getting that viewpoint and information as long as I am not getting judged in the process.


TL

 

[rubyq]

I wasn't judging anyone and I sincerely apologize if anything I said came off that way. I work with drug addicts and sex workers, judgement is not something that I can afford to posses I specifically looked for a rule as to whether membership was contingent upon being a parent. I completely understand that you guys come here for support and not information. My heart was in the right place. I'll refrain from posting but if anyone has any questions regarding addiction, treatment, etc. please feel free to email me and I will answer your question or provide you with the proper resources.

 

[Nancy]

I think that would be a very good way of handling it rubyq. We take our privacy very seriously here and there are many forum posts on other websites with your screenname and now your name is traced back to here. I don't know if you are the same person but it is imperative that we protect our members identity.

Nancy

 

[toughlovin]

Ruby - I did not mean to imply that you had said anything judgemental... because you didn't. That has happened in the past by others who were not parents who came on this list and so I was just indicating that this is not a place for judgement. I personally find your knowledge helpful to me, but again that is just me and where I am at.

Through my work I have also worked with some recovering addicts.... and although they dont know my story I have found understanding their history very enlightening to me.

TL

 

[ThreeShadows]

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2012-06-02/news/31989852_1_new-strain-side-effects-new-cannabis

 

[PatriotsGirl]

Rubyq - I just want to say I found your posts very informational and I don't think you came off as judgemental one bit. And that isn't just because I agree with you.

As for the screen name being traced back to here, I use the same screen name for a lot of places, too. There are tons of things that people post that can be Googled and traced back to here. The only way you are going to stop that, in my opinion, is to make this a private forum and not allow readers who are not members.

 

[dashcat]

That is laziness. I know people that smoke daily and maintain very successful lives.

PG ,
I have to respectfuly disagree with this statement. Some people cannot smoke pot and function in any real way. This is not an arguement for or against legalization, but a statement on we - as parents of difficult children - must be mindful of how different every person's situation is.
Dash

 

[InsaneCdn]

It also depends on "which" pot you smoke.
Some stuff - like the stuff coming out of a certain Canadian province - is extremely potent. Other stuff is fairly mild.

I find it really interesting that the type of pot that works for "medical" needs (we have a medical exemption here) is not the kind of pot that is highly potent. They don't know if it's because the substance involved only works at low dosages, or if it is something else in the plant that provides the medicinal benefit. SO maybe the people PG knows are smoking the mild stuff and therefore not as affected.

But it also does depend on the person. If legal medications can vary widely in how they impact an individual... surely all other drugs can, too.