Way to go, Canadia :salute:

Excellent news.

Canada becomes second nation in the world to legalize marijuana

I never thought I'd see such widespread legalization in my lifetime, but here we are.

Even the damned Republican Party of Texas has made decriminalization part of its platform, passing all the proposals overwhelmingly.

I'm still wondering what good comes to society for legalizing marijuana.

Your thinking is so one dimensional, you'd question why people think the world is round.

Sales of Cheetos up 478%!

It's useful dispensed in urban areas such as Chicago and Detroit.

FTFY

Better question for you, given that it seems to do little to nothing to alter usage rates, what are the benefits to society of spending law enforcement dollars on chasing and imprisoning users?

• Users get regulated doses, with information as to what is contained
• Regulations ensure children are not a target market
• Removes the incentive to generate legal alternatives, which are frequently worse for the user (and society - I suggest reading up on Spice in the UK, which just got worse after being criminalized)
• Removes the promotion of other drugs (unscrupulous dealers will give out free samples of other drugs in attempt to hook cannabis users on them to increase profits)
• Removes the incentive to create ever stronger types, with the associated issues (skunk for example)
• Turns addiction from a judicial issue to a health one, freeing up resources across the justice system
• Provides an additional source of tax receipts
• Decriminalizes those with a genuine medical need (a previous neighbour used it for pain relief for a bone condition)
• Removes the rebellious aspects of it that attracts teenagers
• Recognizes that its availability and use is of such scale, that keeping it criminalized simply makes the legal system look outdated and ineffective
• Allows for expanded legal research into medical uses of it and its by-products

We're at a point where maintaining it's criminality is actually more harmful.

Off the top of my head I can think of something that is "legal" yet pound-for-pound more deadly than weed: sugar
Yet here we are, consuming 150 pounds annually per person of that high-octane, addictive, zero nutrients yummy goodness. Just sayin'

Has any of that worked the same for tobacco or alcohol?

By and large, yes.

You go into a bar, you can be reasonably certain than your bourbon isn't flavoured methanol, the guy next to you doing shots isn't 14 years of age and the barman isn't handing you some free meth.

You're also unlikely to find ATF, FBI and local police crashing down your door because you've a six pack in the fridge.

You will always get exceptions, and if we used those to determine to general availability then you'd need a licence to buy glue (you might sniff it), bleach (can be used as a weapon) or a bread knife.

In the UK, the taxation policy has made illegal tobacco economically viable and, in some cases, alcohol. And we have started to see similar repercussions to criminalisation.

This isn't a sign that legalisation has failed, just that there is more than one way to effectively bar access to goods. And the fact people still find ways to get around it displays the futility of criminalising from a point of puritanism.

Plus, in weed-legal states, meth use goes down.
Y'know, the drugs sent up here by violent South American kingpins.
You want the violent side of the drug war to dry up, legalize weed.
You want the DEA to go out of business, legalize weed.
You want to ATF's mission creep to recede, legalize weed.

Yeah, adult use never should've been treated as part of criminal justice system, government policy instead designed to address social & health issues.

It might be better to think of marijuana as a healthier alternative to alcohol and tobacco. Healthier for the individual, healthier for society.

You aren’t wondering about it at all and instead being your usual intentionally ignorant and lazy self

It’s easy to see that legalization means more jobs, more tax revenue and a decrease in crime. Like anyone can come up with that if you give it 30 seconds of thought

Yay CANADA

That is awesome news.

The U.S. should follow suit pronto!

What about driving?

What about it? Plenty of people get high and drive in places where pot is illegal. Just like people still drive drunk, despite the fact that DUI laws exist.

What about it? Police have systems in place already to detect and identify high drivers and they'll be punished by the law.

Again, if you weren't so lazy you'd know this

Well, smoking is still bad, but there's also plans to legalize edibles and whatnot. As someone who currently lives downwind from a couple marijuana enthusiasts, I look forward to the day they're getting high with gummies instead of whatever cheap stanky trash they're smoking now.

In conclusion, yay legalisation.

Legalisation improves standards, keeps folk who don't really need incarcerating out of jail (though the Rent-A-Jail market hates that, as do cops who want easy arrest records) and brings in taxes.

Overregulation can be annoying. I got "carded" (well, not quite - an automatic checkout at the supermarket wanted human approval for the transaction) because I'd bought a can of Red Bull (highly caffeinated energy drink) and it's 16+ to buy in the UK. Fairly sure other supermarkets haven't stopped me in the past - the auto-checkouts I mean, no human mistakes me for less than 16 anymore unless I'm online and hitting 'em with dick jokes.

What rates of taxation for weed would most be okay with? Similar to that currently levied on tobacco and alcohol?

As a non-user of weed, I couldn't say. But taxes on booze and cigs in the UK haven't stopped folk drinking or smoking yet.

I suspect some homebrew (for weed read grow your own) to get around taxes but for the effort involved compared to the quality of the shop-bought product, the tax is a minor inconvenience.

I haven't looked into detail of taxation rates in areas where it has been legalised, but instinctively I would think that it would be cheaper to produce and distribute when done openly and legally. That being the case, a taxation rate that results in the legal product being just below current black market prices seems like it would do a good job of raising revenue while also removing incentive to go the illegally sourced route.

the guy driving 25 under the speed limit who starts signalling a turn three blocks in advance?

we've got a fairly free market of dispensaries around me.

generally they're charging about the same rates as street dealers for better quality and guaranteed counts. prices drop on certain strains as their best before date approaches to where it's cheaper than street weed. most of'em charge sales tax and report retail incomes.

that said, "private procurers" are still my preferred option.

In all honesty I have ducked my system up far worse on plain old sugar than any level if narcotic or legal drug that required id. Not to mention I actually find it much harder to avoid sugar and sugary substances than to avoid opiods, cocaine, alcohol, and even tobacco products. There is a reason sugar is in everything, and that is because it actually triggers our pleasure centers like a drug and causes changes in our metabolism that make us crave it even if we do not need it.

It is a drug that destroys many more peoples health than most narcotics.

Sugar is not a drug.