This morning I went to the store and bought some great weed

[Ohio Joe]

I have a red card which has let me buy weed for the last year and a half or so... Last night I celebrated new years getting frighteningly wasted. I woke this morning feeling great and had a nice breakfast. Then I drove to a local store that now sells recreational weed and bought a gram of some Grand Daddy Purps and a gram of Strawberry Cough... Two of my favorites. I did not use my red card, so it cost about 30% more for the extra taxes but it was still cheap IMO ($20 and $15 respectively). It would have been far cheaper if I had just bought the legal allowed limit of an ounce or used my red card but... I really wanted to be a part of the history

[iemitsu]

1. Land of the free.

[Egnever]

2. Wow 15 bucks a gram

That is cheap. Is that after taxes or before?

[Ohio Joe]

6. Those are retail prices I paid today

It would have been a bit cheaper if I had used my red card.

[Egnever]

7. Did taxes come in after that?

or was it 15 out the door?

[Ohio Joe]

9. Yes, that was the price including taxes

They put it on at the register just like taxes for any other purchase.

[Egnever]

12. Sorry just wasnt clear for me

That is awesome and is less than or equal to street value here in Nevada.

[Ohio Joe]

21. No worries...

I think it's very reasonable... Especially since I just go to the store and buy it like anything else... It's even a much more pleasant experience then buying alcohol. You go in, show your ID, then discuss the various strains with the bud tender, who are usually very informed about each of the strains. Make your choice, they package it, you pat then go... It is really very nice.

[MindMover]

28. Nothing like buying your liquor from your local police officer ... who owns the store ...

[Ohio Joe]

29. I don't understand your comment...

Neither police not state personnel run the stores... If I recall correctly, police can't even moonlight as security at the stores. The stores have a set of laws they follow and it is enforced the same as alcohol laws so... I'm not sure what you are saying.

[MindMover]

30. Police in my neck of the woods own all the liquor stores ... I did not mean pot stores ...

nor did I say pot stores, I said liquor stores .....

[Ohio Joe]

11. And to give you an idea of how many stores there are to choose from

Check out this map:

https://weedmaps.com/dispensaries/in/colorado/denver-central

[Egnever]

13. Holy crap!

I need to move.

[ellie]

60. Yes!

Come to Colorado! It is beautiful here. And the recession didn't hit the state as hard as it did other places.

[TlalocW]

3. I understand that traffic accidents are already up

From Joe Rogan frantically driving as fast as he could to be first in line this morning.

TlalocW

[ChisolmTrailDem]

10. Well, in a contest between Rogan and Bill Maher to be first in line, my money is on Rogan. n/t

[DisgustipatedinCA]

4. You're in CO? How much do 1/8'ths cost at the recreational shops?

I'm in Northern CA, and here, the medical 1/8'ths run from $25 for outdoor to $55 for top-shelf. After the outdoor is gone for the season, the range for indoor is about $35-$50 at the dispensaries. How does this compare to the recreational shops in Denver, where I gather the competition is going to be more intense? Thanks.

[Ohio Joe]

8. I'm not sure... I don't usually buy less then a half ounce

You can get an idea on prices here though:

http://cannasaver.com/

[RebelOne]

22. Glad I do not smoke pot now.

I would not pay those prices. Years ago in the middle 1970s when I did smoke the stuff, I would pay $25 an ounce for some good Columbian pot.

[TroglodyteScholar]

25. Well, I'm guessing that stuff was nothing at all like this...

[Ohio Joe]

31. There is no comparison to pot from the 70's

Todays weed is far... Far better. If I were to rate the best weed I'd ever had from back them on a scale of 1 to 10... I'd have rated it a 9 before I came here and got my red card. Now... I'd rate that about a 4. The stuff I get here and now is so much better there is just no fair comparison to be done.

[spin]

5. I see no problem with drinking alcohol or smoking weed as long as you do it in a ...

responsible manner. Maybe we can finally cut back on our War on Drugs which we lost decades ago.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

17. I'd like to see alcohol use decline in favor of weed.

That would reduce a lot of violence.

[Cha]

26. Definitely!

[spin]

32. If that happened we would probably have fewer problems in our society. (n/t)

[Packerowner740]

14. If I needed it for medicinal purposes I could see smoking weed but

If it's just for recreational purposes I just don't see the need. It's like smoking regular cigarettes to me, it's just burning money. I don't smoke or drink, I just see it as a waste of money but to each his/her own.

[Ohio Joe]

15. Well... I don't smoke it much any more

I have a real nice vaporizer that works wonderfully. I also use edibles like Cheeba Chews and Blue Kudos... Great stuff, great stuff.

[bluestate10]

50. I am in the same corner. I voted to decriminalize pot under 2 ounces in my state and voted

for medicinal weed. Both passed and are now law. But, I will need to think long and hard about legalization. As much as I hate seeing them doing it, drivers don't get stoned while smoking a cigarette. If I could be sure that rec users of weed would only smoke it in their homes, not drive or smoke in public, I would vote to legalize, but I doubt that rec users would want to be restricted to use in their domiciles. The OP mentioned getting "wasted" the night before purchasing recreational weed, to me getting to that condition shows a fundamental lack of decision regulation - one poor decision could have resulted in death for innocent people.

[msongs]

16. did free-enterprise competition give you a low, low price?

or was the price artificially inflated by a monopoly?

[Ohio Joe]

18. There is no monopoly...

If there will be one down the line, I can't say but right now most shops are pretty small and there are lots of them. Take a look at this map:

https://weedmaps.com/dispensaries/in/colorado/denver-central

I think prices are cheap. You can get an ounce of shake for $70... This is the stuff that is at the bottom of all the jars a shop has, all put together at the end of the day and then sold the next day. Ounces of good weed go for anywhere from $110 to $180 and the top shelf stuff that will knock you on your ass with just a little bit goes from $200 to $280 an ounce (all of this will have 30% taxes added on, that is the medical price). Even with taxes, I think it's pretty damn cheap for the quality.

[reACTIONary]

19. One gram? Sounds like a small amount...

... how many "marijuana cigarettes" does a gram make?

[Ohio Joe]

20. I don't use it that way...

It would make a good 5 joints or so depending on how big or small you made them but I use a vaporizer and a gram lasts me about a week.

[TheKentuckian]

37. There are seven grams in a quarter which makes for 28 in an ounce.

What this adds up to are high end street prices, this will need to be greatly reduced to break the black market.

[Ohio Joe]

44. Well... Keep in mind, what I picked up was top shelf weed

This is not common street weed but rather some of the best weed I've ever had. Stuff closer to street level quality weed is far cheaper, $70-120 an ounce.

[TheKentuckian]

66. I was factoring for chronic. Cost needs to go down to cut out the black market.

[Egalitarian Thug]

23. Wow. Thankfully that price won't last. Enjoy! n/t

[Ohio Joe]

24. Why do you think that?

I've been buying for about a year and a half and they have not changed.... It is also my understanding they have not changed much since Medical became legal. There are tons of shops so lots of competition... I just don't see why it would change much any time soon.

[Egalitarian Thug]

27. The competition will drive it down. Restrictions like medical only, keep the prices

high at every stage in the process. Legalization opens it up, and in the end it is a weed that is harder to stop than to grow. At $7,000 - $9,000 a pound, there is nothing but room to undercut the competition.

The going rate in Oregon's gray market is about $2,400 a pound.

It's all good, though. The laws are going to spread, people are going to get some relief, and a whole new industry is going to form.

[B Calm]

33. Prices will drop when more states follow Colorado.

[mike_c]

34. best wishes....

It's a good day. We'll get there too, soon.

[Jamastiene]

35. Is it legal for everybody there now?

If so, where is an acre of land the cheapest there?

[Ohio Joe]

36. It is legal for anyone over 21

Resident and non-resident alike. The basics of the law is here:

http://www.colorado.gov/marijuanainfodenver

It's really not much different then alcohol.

I know a number of people who grow for personal use and they all do it in doors... They tend to use an unoccupied room, like a spare bed room.

[Jamastiene]

38. Will the new law allow people to grow it legally too?

I'm starting to fall all in love with Colorado.

[Ohio Joe]

40. Yes but there are limits

Adults can grow up to six plants (this is for recreational use, medical has different limits) each but no more then twelve per residence no matter how many adults live there.

[Jamastiene]

42. Wow, I'm surprised half the country hasn't moved there already.

That's great!

[NealK]

64. The last time I used it for recreational use was 14 years ago. Now I would need it for medicinal use

Too bad I'm living a light-year away from Colorado. But I see this as a good start.

[bluestate10]

51. Is it decriminalized for certain amounts for people under 21?

In my state, anyone caught with 2 ounces or less gets the stuff taken away, but walks free. I don't see logic in letting people over 21 smoke all the weed they want, while criminalizing the lives of those under 21 for using even an ounce.

[Ohio Joe]

56. I don't know

I'm 50 with no kids so... It is not something I've looked at... I'll see if I can get an answer about that from my brother, he has kids and probably knows.

[NightWatcher]

39. I hope that we get medical mj on the ballot here (Floriduh) this year

They need 700K signatures and the AG has challenged the "language of the bill".

So far they are over the 700K, but are working on enough to be safe after challenges to signatures.

If it passes, I will be getting a card (lupus, dermatomyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, mixed connective tissue disease, low dose chemo meds...)

[cherokeeprogressive]

41. I take it your employer doesn't subject you to urinalysis. n/t

[Ohio Joe]

43. No

In my line of work there can be drug tests to get a job but I've never worked anywhere that did random testing once you were hired in.

[cherokeeprogressive]

45. Lucky. My job requires me to maintain a commercial "Class A" driver's license w/ Hazmat endorsement

Would that I could smoke with impunity... I'd likely give up alcohol except for the occasional beer and New Years Eve bender.

[Ohio Joe]

46. Yeah... There are still some issues

I don't really understand the science of it at all but it seems to me that the THC stays in the system way longer then the effect lasts... I'm a little fuzzy on if there is no good way of testing or what but it's still an issue a lot of people are concerned about. I don't know what a good answer is and I don't know when a real solution will happen.

[Inkfreak]

47. I'm so fucking jealous of you...

in a good way.

I live in NY. I grow a lil in the summer. Not a lot. Just a few plants. I'm lucky in that I know a guy who delivers an oz to me wen I need. $200 will get me some nice green buds. I dream of a day when I wake up and do what you do. Have fun!

[Ohio Joe]

48. It is really pretty amazing

I grew up in NE Jersey, in Bergen county.

I've compared it to buying alcohol but it's not a very fair comparison... It is just as easy but a totally different thing at the same time. At most places, you walk into a small reception area where you are asked for ID (and also sign in and show red card if you are medical). You then go into the main area where the weed is sold. The only times I've ever seen anything even close to a line is on Black Friday (when they have awesome sales) and yesterday when it went legal... Otherwise I can't remember ever seeing more then one or two other people at a time.

The weed is kept in large jars... The size depends on the place you go to but generally 1/2 gallon to gallon size jars. It is clearly marked with the strain name, type and this weird THC rating that I've not completely figured out yet... The rating goes from a low of around 12 or 13 to a high of 25 or 26... The higher the rating, the more potent the weed. You can buy shake (or joint mix) but mostly they sell only buds... Never a seed to be seen and stems all well trimmed... Even the mid range stuff looks like shit I'd only ever seen in issues of High Times before.

The whole process is not rushed at all... The bud tenders will let you examine any of the strains you want to see or smell as well as tell you about the high it produces. Once you make your selection, the product is weighed out and packaged for take home. Packaging can vary greatly from standard plastic baggies (though still nice and thick bags with nice seals) to some really inventive and nice plastic tubs that are tinted and with screw on lids.

Ha! As I'm writing this, the morning news is doing a report on how the worst thing from yesterdays sales was that customers could not get enough of the high end weed and had to settle for the low and mid range stuff... heh, Awesome.

Anyway... There is also usually a section to display edibles as well as papers, screen and various pipes.

All in all, it is a very unhurried and very personalized experience.

[Romulox]

49. I'm not very happy about this!!!

[bluestate10]

52. Holder has been right on a lot of issues. But on the drug war, he is totally fucked up. nt

[Romulox]

54. He who pays the piper calls the tune. It's Obama's policy to accelerate the War on Drugs. nt

[blogslut]

53. I watched this and was surprised by my reaction to it:

I bawled like a baby.

I guess I've gotten so used to living w/out it that I've forgotten how much it helped me and how much I wish I lived in a state that at least offered medical marijuana.

Soon, please. Please, soon.

[Laffy Kat]

55. I overheard a couple of managers talking about surprise drug screens this week.

Cannabis can still get your ass fired. It doesn't make any difference if it's legal here now. Be careful Colorado DU'ers.

[Ohio Joe]

57. Yes... That is true

If a person works in a job that does drug testing, nothing has changed there and it can prevent you from getting hired or even fired if you are caught. Most jobs don't do drug testing once you are hired though (many. many don't even do it then), so it's not really that big of a deal to most people and those in a field that does drug testing are aware.

[Coyotl]

58. So now the prison guards can legally smoke it, then go to work and keep tokers confined.

Gotta love the USA!

[darkangel218]

59. No, they cant. Correction officers must pass drug screenings

[Coyotl]

61. Well, now they can smoke it legally, so there goes that one!

[darkangel218]

62. No it doesnt.

They will get fired if THC is found in their system.

Read up thread .

[Coyotl]

63. We'll see after someone challenges such an outcome.

[curlyred]

65. The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled there is no employment protection for medical users

since it remained barred by the federal government.

Amendment 64 states that nothing in the law affects the ability of employers to have policies restricting the use of marijuana by employees.

It's a real double standard and is bound to be challenged soon, by both medical and recreational users.

[Coyotl]

67. So, that's now an outdated standard that cannot be supported given the new legal recreational use.

So now the standard if uniformly applied would now be you can get fired for other recreational activities, like riding a dirt bike? I don't think so.

[curlyred]

68. It's an irrational feature of the law and bound to be appealed