Medical Reasons

Marijuana isn't just recrational. It is also used for medical reasons. The arguement with that is does it work, does it not work. Good drug or Bad drug? FDA has many regulations set up for this. The drug is "problematic" so says the article "Up the Smake: Does Medical Marijuana Work?" by Consumer Reports in 2016. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says that hemp hold the mind-altering chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, and many other chemical compounds. It also has high amounts of THC. It is the most commonly used illicit drug in the US. There are a handful or short term and long term affects with the useage of Cannabis. (You can find these here: https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana ) 

But honestly that is a thing with every drug, what do you think?

Colorado Traffic and Housing Shift

            Colorado has gone through some very interesting changes in the past few years with some of them being a partial result of the legalization of marijuana. The result has had some significant impacts on Colorado highways in the Denver area in addition to rising housing costs.  It definitely has had an impact on my life as the cost of living has been too high for me to afford.

            I have personally seen a great rise in the housing costs for rent around the Denver area including outer lying suburban areas. A few years back, I saw rooms in apartments or houses in DU area for around only $400 a month. Now you are lucky if you can find one as cheap as $600 a month for a room. Prior to me moving out of the area, I use to live in the Whittier neighborhood of five points, just about a ten minute drive from Downtown. The cost of the rent for the house was a total of $2100 split three ways for each bedroom leaving it to around $700 each. It is crazy to me as I know people who are in school in other places who live on or near campus that typically pay between 300 and 500 at the most for rent with a good deal of space. No one is able to find anything that cheap that is close to any of the campuses in the Denver area.

            The traffic has been another ongoing issue with the huge influx of people moving to the state. There have been many times I have gotten stuck on the highway on the interstate while it’s not even near rush hour times. I have a friend who lives around 45 minutes from Downtown just past the Southlands in Aurora. Whenever we go downtown from his house it typically takes an hour or longer due to traffic. Many times we will be stuck in slow moving traffic from Arapahoe Road to all the way around Santa Fe on Interstate 25. 

Can anyone relate with the rising housing costs and influx of people on Colorado roads?

On the Legalization of Marijuana, and its Effects on Housing

When the Colorado Amendment 64 passed allowing the use of marijuana on November 6, 2012, I didn’t think much of it. I had never used it before and it had never had much of an impact on my life before. When it did pass however, the first thing I noticed was that my friends that did smoke occasionally were much more open in talking about it. Sure, you needed a legal medical marijuana card or at least a doctor’s recommendation, but that didn’t seem to stop them from getting their hands on the controversial leafy green anyway.

Over time, I noticed more and more out of state license plates filling the roads of I-25. Legalizing marijuana had a great draw for the people that didn’t have access to it, and it certainly showed with the amount of tourists that not only visited for the high altitude skiing, but an altogether different type of high.

Just recently my parents decided to sell their house where my sister and I had spent our entire lives in. That 22 year old house was a spacious thing built in the 70s that was surprisingly without asbestos. Located in the vicinity of an elementary school and a high school, it was the perfect place to raise us both. While taking the time to help my parents look for a house, I couldn’t help but notice another effect of what the legalization of marijuana had done.

Since it is legal now, some people have opted to move here. While this is great for the sales of marijuana, it also drives up housing prices. This includes anything from actual home to town homes and apartments as well. I decided to ask one of my friends Kris what he personally experienced since he was in the market for a new apartment. “I remember my rent used to be $400 a month with just another roommate, and the location was close to my work. Now I have to pay almost $750 and I’m nearly 45 minutes away from my job.” I noticed a trend when my parents had finally found their house. In a new neighborhood, far from any schools or parks this new house ran about $50,000. This house has two floors, and a smaller back yard than their current house, which is also two floors, and features a front and back yard with a comfortable space in between each house that it doesn’t feel clustered. For something almost $10,000 more than their current house, it really feels like they’re buying less for more.

What do you guys think? How has the legalization of marijuana affected your daily lives? Leave a comment below to let me know!

What I Have Noticed Since it Began

When the legalization of cannabis began there was a rather huge uproar between each side of the arguement. When I was very little my Uncle Mike had AIDS and he would smoke cannabis everyday and it kept him alive because he would finally eat. Now because of him I have pretty positive out look on weed and don't think many negetive things. However I have noticed a few things since then. Even though it is legal for 21 years and older, many younger people still smoke it very frequently. The arguements between why it should be legalized and should not be legalized has grown. People making up reasons why for each side back and forth like a middle school girl fight. I also have noticed it has helped the economy. I am honestly believe it is a good thing for us to legalize pot, but I believe it should be legalized everywhere in the states not just Colorado and Washington.

More Jobs, more money, more equality, more acceptance. We have to accept things to become greater as a whole, then reject what others want to make it a one man country.

What do you as reader think? What have you seen? Any personal experience?

Jonah Donaghy

         For myself the legalization of marijuana had very little effect on my life personally. Of course I grew up in the mountains where it was somewhat legal anyway and it wasn't like because it was legal more/less  people smoked, it stayed at the same rate I think it had for years. Maybe the difference was people didn't care whether others knew they smoked, for I did see more people smoking publicly.
         The big difference I did notice was in the cities or bigger town, when dipensaries started poppin up like weeds, they're where 11 in my town of 4,000 people. Of course my town Nederland was the second town to legalize it, but still 11 dispensaries was a bit much. The crime rate went up atleast from what it seemed, the police force nearly doubled in size with new equipment it seemed every month. I personally did not notice a drastic change in crime, though they're where a lot of people, but I think the extra cops where for illegal grow-ops.
          Now that is has been several years I can honestly say I think legalization has been a good thing. My only complaint would have to be influx of new people from other states and countries, who are changing the culture around Colorado makin it not as friendly a place as it used to be, but other then that it has created thousands of jobs and put millions back into the economy.

MJJ in Private buisiness

From Cafe to Coffee Shop- By-J Bishop

In Amsterdam specifically it is not uncommon to see both Cafe and Coffee Shops, but there is a key difference between the two. Cafe serves coffee and pastries, while Coffee Shops serve that and marijuana. There is a recent-ish legalization of the devils lettuces in Colorado, while it might still be illegal to smoke in public and in most businesses many Cafes are slowly transitioning into Coffee shops.
Something that remained out of the headlines was how pot friendly our business is. There was a coffee shop on South Broadway that worked around the illegal public consumption of pot by only allowing open pot smoking on the back patio, which was not technically on the same property as the Cafe. It was in fact owned by the tenants whom lived upstairs, which means it was on completely private property.

From there it was just custom to smoke pot in the back without a care, prior to the legalization of MJJ this may have been sketchy but no longer was it a concern.