Washington state issues marijuana shop licenses

Sense at last.

Washington just wanted to wait and see what would happen in Colorado before they fully took the plunge. In one way I'm glad that instead of all the tokers running from other states to CO, they'll start heading towards WA too.

Assuming that demand for marijuana is a given, let's compare this legal trade with a kid selling ounces of weed on a street corner.

One entrepreneur runs a regular business, hires staff, pays taxes, controls quality. The other entrepreneur is prey to the unscrupulous, who are keen to graduate him and his onto more profitable substances.

Just as a brewer might service the demand for beer, both are simply satisfying demand, except that the shop doesn't have an escalator leading to harder drugs upstairs, and doesn't need the threat of violence to enjoy competitive advantage.

Which business model makes the more sense?

I wish that Pennsylvania would do the same thing Harrisburg doesn't know how much money can get by selling grass in stores.

The start of legal pot sales in Washington on Tuesday marks a major step. Washington and Colorado stunned much of the world by voting in November 2012 to legalize marijuana for adults over 21, and to create state-licensed systems for growing, selling and taxing the pot. Sales began in Colorado on Jan 1.

As it should be all over the world. The amount of money, crime and police man hours associated with illegal pot sales is astounding. Legalising pot will reduce the use of other more harmful drugs and eliminate that synthetic rubbish. The war on drugs has been going on for over a century and they are not winning. Too many people are getting rich at the expense of stupid government legislation instead of freeing up the cops to do real police work and taking revenue from the sale of it. It just makes perfect sense. We are talking about pot, which has been smoked for centuries. It's no where near as harmful as tobacco, but that stuff is sold everywhere.

This seems to be a controversial topic because not everyone supports recreational marijuana shops. Some feel that it is irresponsible and reckless. I understand the treatment, educator and law enforcement people are afraid of the consequences in terms of the social cost including the criminality. Some claim that in other parts of the world where this experiment has been tested it has failed time and time again. I would like to get some feedback on this issue. Why are some people so afraid of this in America? I'm interested in hearing the other side of the story.

Well, the Colorado residents have been more satisfied with their experiment:

http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-marijuana-legalization-in-colorado-2014-3

According to a new survey from Public Policy Polling, Marijuana has become more popular in the two months the law legalizing recreational use of the drug has been in effect in Colorado.

The poll found 57 percent of Coloradoans now say they think marijuana usage should be legal, compared with 35 percent who say it should not. The 22-point spread has widened from the 10.5-point spread by which voters passed the 2012 Colorado referendum legalizing small amounts of possession and growing in the state.

Much better would be to legalize growing one's own, like any other herb. But at least it's a step in the right direction... towards liberty!