Pot smoking in parks

[PAylor]

Just ending a long trip through many states.  Marijuana is legal in many of them.  This morning an older couple next to us was enjoying some with their coffee.   I have no problem with that.   But then they proceeded to pack up and travel!  These folks were old and had a difficulty getting around and were in a big rig!  I was fabergasted!  No advice just had to share!

[Chalkie]

I will only throw out an observation. Do you know if it was medicinal or recreational? Some folks, myself included, take medications for chronic pain. I have been told that a couple of them would, bluntly, knock some folks on their butts. For me, I take them to be able to function without pain and therefore normally with no other impairment. The same could be said of marijuana. I choose not to take marijuana, although it has been suggested, because as long as it is illegal at the federal level there is no prescription insurance that will cover it (mine for sure won't).

[sandsys]

Some people who got hooked on marijuana back in its heyday can't function without it now. Those people are old, like me, now but I'm sure glad to not be one of them. I have family still hooked and some that got off it only when they realized their kids were getting old enough to recognize the smell.

Linda

[VC 23RSS]

Lemme guess.  They had a VW Microbus.

[TXiceman]

A few years back we hosted in a Colorado state park and when doing our site checks and cleaning, we were frequently assaulted with the odor of weed.  These same folks would have a big smoke, load up the gear and kids and head down the mountain.

Ken

[Darryl&Rita]

Every law division has a "Report Impaired Drivers" number available. Use it.

[sandsys]

8 hours ago, VC 23RSS said:

Lemme guess.  They had a VW Microbus.

Nope. Just a homebuilt cover on their pickup truck.

[packnrat]

as a commercial truck driver my life is on the line every time i get on the road. ANY person who uses any drug, legal or not.

should go to jail if they are behind the wheel of any motor vehicle.

you do not need to be on a cell phone to kill another person in there car. remember you are driving at 65 mph (more?) in a 2000+ pound kinetic missile.

if i said a couple beers would make me a better driver would that make it ok for me to drink and drive? heck even a number of over the counter  pills/etc do impair one ability to drive safety. so a class one controlled substance will do far worse. and they say the pot these days is far stronger than 20-40 years back.

 

and yes there is a real medical reason for using this drug. but no real Dr will proscribe it for you.

i do know a lady who ripped up her leg and is fully disabled. she smokes to control the pain. sad she was only about 30 and was a registered nurse at the time. kinda hard to do that job when you need a cane just to walk around your home.

Edited August 10, 2022 by packnrat

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, packnrat said:

as a commercial truck driver my life is on the line every time i get on the road. ANY person who uses any drug, legal or not.

should go to jail if they are behind the wheel of any motor vehicle.

...

I understand your intent, but your statement is far to general since there are many prescription drugs many of us use that actually make us safer drivers. Insulin comes to mind, as well as blood pressure control drugs, seizure medications, and a host of others including OTA drugs like antacids, non-drowsy cold medications, etc.

[sandsys]

9 hours ago, packnrat said:

yes there is a real medical reason for using this drug. but no real Dr will proscribe it for you.

Wrong. Lots of doctors prescribe it for pain. I know some who take it by prescription.

I refuse to talk to anyone one using a phone while driving, though. I simply hang up if I hear road noise after telling them to a call me when they re parked.

Linda

Edited August 10, 2022 by sandsys
added phone comment

[Chalkie]

21 minutes ago, sandsys said:

Wrong. Lots of doctors prescribe it for pain. I know some who take it by prescription.

I refuse to talk to anyone one using a phone while driving, though. I simply hang up if I hear road noise after telling them to a call me when they re parked.

Linda

No they don't doctors are forbidden by law to prescribe marijuana, they can recommend it and many do including many pain doctors. There are some "doctors" that prescribe marijuana but they are PhD, DC or something other than MD or DO.

[palmeris]

https://mmjhealth.com/medical-marijuana-doctor/anne-lynn-morgan-m-d/

[rpsinc]

11 hours ago, packnrat said:

ANY person who uses any drug, legal or not.

My perspective is less about drugs and more about MIND ALTERING SUBSTANCES.  If you can be impaired, then the responsible thing to do is to avoid using them when operating any vehicle, esp if on the roads with others.  But if you need to use them for some condition, then dont share the road with the other folks out there.  Thank you

[palmeris]

...Beginners guide to strains....The science of getting high has now progressed to the point of being able to creative hybrid strains that have different effects to the body's organs 

Edited August 12, 2022 by palmeris
Fixed links

[Kirk W]

Interesting article, but 3 years old now.

Quote

 Written by Sian Ferguson — Updated on March 7, 2019

I have never been inside of a pot store, and I don't believe that I have seen one but can't say for sure. 

[DJohns]

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

Interesting article, but 3 years old now.

I have never been inside of a pot store, and I don't believe that I have seen one but can't say for sure. 

Kirk,

Go to Colorado. They are everywhere!

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, DJohns said:

Go to Colorado. They are everywhere!

We were there last summer but not into the larger downtown areas. I don't recall seeing any shops in downtown Loveland or Longmont. I was only in residential parts of Denver but have no doubt that there are plentiful there. 

[Lou Schneider]

On 8/12/2022 at 4:30 AM, Kirk W said:

Interesting article, but 3 years old now.

I have never been inside of a pot store, and I don't believe that I have seen one but can't say for sure. 

Come to Pahrump.  You'll find pot, gun and fireworks stores in town along with the obligitory casinos - this is Nevada, after all.  The legal brothels, gun range and fireworks safety zone are a couple of miles away from each other outside of town.  The latter two are places where you can responsibly discharge your guns and skyrockets.   In a way the first is in a similar league, I guess.  Everyone gets along fine - we believe in personal freedoms out here.

I've watched from the bleachers at the fireworks range and enjoy good, inexpensive food in the casino restaurants but I don't gamble and haven't visited any of the other places.  My choices.

Edited August 13, 2022 by Lou Schneider

[Ray,IN]

I have a full-time job just minding my own business and caring for my wife. If I witness someone driving dangerously 911 is just a button push away from my thumbs on the steering wheel. If a person is not threatening anyone it's time to MMOB.

[palmeris]

On 8/10/2022 at 6:56 AM, packnrat said:

as a commercial truck driver my life is on the line every time i get on the road. ANY person who uses any drug, legal or not.

should go to jail if they are behind the wheel of any motor vehicle.

We ALL put our lives on the line every time we get on the road. Fortunately we don't live in a totalitarian society, rather that we have enacted laws that set limits, based on science, as to what constitutes a legal impairment. We all bear a responsibility to society to adhere to these laws and conduct ourselves within them.

On 8/10/2022 at 6:24 PM, rpsinc said:

My perspective is less about drugs and more about MIND ALTERING SUBSTANCES.  If you can be impaired, then the responsible thing to do is to avoid using them when operating any vehicle, esp if on the roads with others.  But if you need to use them for some condition, then dont share the road with the other folks out there.  Thank you

Don't all drugs alter the mind in some type or fashion?  Cant' all drugs cause an impairments when used improperly?  Including OTC ones, and some can cause impairments just by their nature such as narcotics. It depends on a lot of things, including the Individuals body chemistry, as to when one becomes "Impaired" . Just because a drug is needed to treat a condition should not mandate a zero tolerance policy that excludes one from using the road. 

On 8/12/2022 at 7:30 AM, Kirk W said:

I have never been inside of a pot store, and I don't believe that I have seen one but can't say for sure. 

I cant speak for other states, but in Florida the stores have a lobby area  where you enter and must present your state issued medical marijuana ID card. They then check the state database to see that your prescriptions are current. If your not in compliance you are not allowed access into the facility.  If all checks out, an associate will take you into the secured area and work one on one with you to fulfill your orders.

Most dispensaries offer delivery services, you go online, do the verification process, pick your products and a driver brings them to you.

Either way it is a cash only transaction

[hemsteadc]

Unlike the old days, commercially sold MJ comes in all ranges of strengths and effects.  Some is made to relieve pain, and some to get you high.  We don't know what strain they had.

[rpsinc]

3 hours ago, palmeris said:

Don't all drugs alter the mind in some type or fashion?  Cant' all drugs cause an impairments when used improperly?  Including OTC ones, and some can cause impairments just by their nature such as narcotics.

I suppose that could be the case but aspirin, Aleve, Tylenol, and others like this I use at times for relief of these aching bones and I dont find that they ALTER my mind.  But then again, Oxys and others I am not familiar with are also used for pain relief at times and can ALTER my mind.  It is a matter of being responsible and making a choice given your own personal circustances.

I do understand that some pain relief is available in CBD without THC and I have not been in situations that this course of treatment would be a personal consideration for me.  Although, not opposed, it is as well a personal decision and I personally would consider its MIND ALTERING capability as part of my decision.  

There certainly are many options for each of us and we have to make our choices based on our own circumstances.

[RV_]

On 8/10/2022 at 3:11 PM, Chalkie said:

No they don't doctors are forbidden by law to prescribe marijuana, they can recommend it and many do including many pain doctors. There are some "doctors" that prescribe marijuana but they are PhD, DC or something other than MD or DO.

Sorry Gary but that is wrong. I had to go to a doctor and present my medical history and VA rating for disability and be evaluated. It cost ~ $75  then you pay for the state registration card and for renewal of the Colorado Medical Marijuana (MJ) license every year. Every year you see a MJ Doctor to verify your condition/s still exist (Medical Doctor or DO) which lets you use the dispensaries which are only for medical marijuana.  No one can buy marijuana in a dispensary without the State Marijuana registration card which must be presented and verified every time you go in a dispensary. They do not allow anyone to just look inside either.

Source: https://cdphe.colorado.gov/medical-marijuana-registry-provider-requirements#:~:text=Your physician must meet the following requirements to,of Regulatory Agencies for information about physician licenses

Then there are recreational MJ stores anyone can go in and buy MJ legally without a doctor's prescription and State registration card. The Marijuana is much more expensive and more like a liquor store. The city of Colorado Springs (CS) voted to not allow recreational MJ stores, only medical MJ restricted dispensaries are allowed because of the five military bases in and around it. Active duty folks might have need of MJ to recover from an injury but by and large active duty won't have the chronic conditions to justify a doctor's prescription for issuing an MJ registration card. However, there are lots of Prescription only dispensaries everywhere in CS.

Manitou Springs has lots of recreational MJ stores and it is adjacent to Colorado Springs and no more than 15-20 minutes from anywhere in CS.

I don't do opioids, never have. I was a medic as an 18 year old and saw what they do. I have relied on NSAIDs and even alcohol moderately when recovering from injuries and for back pain. I quit drinking and smoking more than a decade ago for continued good health. I can say that many retirees are like me. Be their pain relief DOC (Drug of Choice) is MJ or if they can NSAIDs.

I can no longer take my Alleve/Naroxin Sodium or any NSAID with Eliquis, nor can I take MJ even CBD only, which does not get you high at all. Because they can cause my blood thinner, Eliquis, to build up as they both use the same enzyme to clear out of the body, and internal hemorrhaging and brain bleeds have occurred with older blood thinners as all testing was done with Coumadin which is actually warfarin rat poison - nasty stuff and reacts with everything. So until an MJ clinical trial with Eliquis I will play it safe for pain relief and stick to Tylenol/acetaminophen only.

I can tell you that idiots are everywhere and use all kinds of drugs and at any given time some of them are sharing the roads with us jeopardizing themselves and others. Of the two groups I fear alcohol abusers driving more because alcohol makes us unafraid of what we fear sober and more aggressive. Marijuana does not have the same effects. But both are unsafe IMO to drive with if drunk OR Stoned.

I am not suggesting anyone use MJ legally or otherwise just wanted to clarify how it is done here. And that it isn't just hippies and druggies that use it anymore. Our real addiction problem is with legal Opioids and seeing normal older folks like us get addicted, then restricted, and can't get it legally, then start using heroin or drug dealers to get their Opioid fixes. They drive too and are getting Fentanyl and other weird stuff in their illegal drugs. Kids and adults can get drugs of any type in about 1/2 hour or less. Kids can get illegal drugs easier than legal beer because they would have to show ID to get beer. I have yet to see illegally smuggled beer from other countries for sale here - no profit in it. 😏Much cheaper for the legal stuff. 🖖

Edited August 14, 2022 by RV_

[Chalkie]

Wow, that was a long response. Anyhow, no, I am correct. The doctors you see are not prescribing marijuana, they are certifying that the medical condition for which a state allows medical usage really exists. They can no more write a prescription for marijuana than they can heroin, they are both Schedule I drugs which are defined as drugs, substances, or chemicals with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.  

[RV_]

Technically you're right. I stand corrected. But the steps are the same, only the terms are changed.