FishyFred: Because they can't just buy huge machines to automate the process.

Well, good. I like the artisanal touches that go into illegal drugs. That little smiley-face stenciled on to each tab of ecstasy... the baroque charm of the bong you made out of your high school wood shop project... the little pinch of chili powder in your crystal meth. You'll miss these things when Nabisco™ takes over the industry and prices all the craft-drug makers out of business.

Happy Hours: And when weed is legal nationwide I'm sure there will be big corporate players like Nabisco, but there will also be small producers that provide the "artisinal touches" that you say we will miss.

Well argued. But I was just kidding around. It's probably the artisanal cold medicine I'm on that has me in such a cheeky mood.

When the glorious day of corporate-branded pot arrives, you and I can enjoy a celebratory Kraft^® Lunchables™ With Pot together. (It'll be a one-hitter and about fifty saltines).

MicroCephallic: Serious question here:

I've suffered from severe major depression for several years. It's so bad that I even had farking experimental brain surgery last year.

Several people have suggested that pot might provide temporary relief. I haven't found any relevant studies, and my squadron of trusted medical professionals have given me mixed opinions (ranging from extremely negative "it'll worsen your depression" to neutral-but-it's-illegal-so-don't.)

I live in severely conservative Georgia where it's still severely illegal, so that's a risk to consider, too.

Any thoughts about it, either way? Especially, any relevant experiences? 

/fwiw, a trusted close relative lives in Seattle, and has offered to help find a source.

I don't believe it's a cure-all, but if you went so far as to have experimental brain surgery maybe it's worth a try. Just because someone says they smoke pot all the time and they feel great doesn't mean it will help your depression.

I've been depressed too and as far as I can tell pot has had nothing but a very short-term effect on it and by "short-term" I mean as long as I was high. And getting high doesn't even always help. I've been very depressed before and smoked pot and the end result was that I was still depressed and just happened to be stoned too.

It's sort of like what Shelby Chong (Tommy Chong's wife) said once. She said pot really helps with PMS. She said her husband smokes it whenever she gets PMS and he says he always feels much better.

mekki: Phil Ken Sebben: Not going to lie. I've never tried it. Never had friends into it.
Now I'm older, live in Denver (only for 6 months. ) but I don't have a clue how someone with no true friends that do it, would even get started in buying it. I wouldn't trust anyone. And I certainly wouldn't ask my coworkers if any of them had a trusted source.

I'm not believing that "street dealers" are going to do as well once actual legal stores open.

From the looks of this thread, I don't know. Users have been going on and on for years saying that if the government legalized marijuana they would give up the illegal stuff and go for the legal stuff. But in the end, that doesn't seem to be true.

Users will only give up the illegal stuff if the legal stuff is stronger and cheaper than the illegal stuff. All the black market needs to do in order to keep going is to making a cheaper, stronger product. And given that legal weed will have additional overhead costs as well as being taxed, I don't see it ever being cheaper than the illegal stuff.

People point to prohibition as proof that the black market for moonshine went away once legal alcohol came back. But in all honesty, moonshine went away because it was an awful product to begin with when compared with other liquors. Unlike weed, most people, not all, but most like to drink alcohol because of the taste rather than just having something that gives you a buzz. Pot doesn't have that trait. It smells bad and it doesn't exactly taste like bacon. There is no legal pot that tastes like an expensive, well crafted wine. So, if the cheap, illegal stuff gets you a better buzz than the weak, overpriced legal stuff, how many people are going to give up their dealers?

I see the laws becoming more relax over time. You start with the "OMG only state regulated dispensaries in certain designated zones can sell". Then a few years go by and the people go "okay this is stupid, people aren't breaking the law or destroying the neighborhood because of pot shops being in the area" and laws get relaxed. We just in the last few years in Colorado allowed alcohol sales on Sunday. If you can get the laws to the point where pot isn't the only thing a shop sells, their prices will drop (less risk, other items chipping away at overhead). I don't know about other states, but the pot referendum in Colorado included being allowed to grow a certain number of your own plants. That will also reduce prices/push for better product.

Combo pot and wine bar? Combo pot & spa? Combo pot & artisan bakery? Pot shop & pizzeria. Or the most likely scenario: the 7-11 just knocks down the wall between them and the dispensary.

Now if Colorado will just allow full strength wine & beer in grocery stores and allow a liquor store owner to own more than one location so the really good stores can branch out.

wyltoknow: ... Come to think of it I don't know any dealers who had happy endings regarding that career choice.

I dunno - there always seems to be a fun and quirky last minute rescue here:

That's a strange claim to make considering Washington State won't be in that business for at least another year.

It's almost like they're paranoid or something...

olddinosaur: Sorry, full legalization will never happen.

Living up to your name I see.

Something tells me it's only a matter of time before you're all smoking Monsanto.

It's because of the union

Local 404 represent!