Interesting argument for the legalization of weed, actually.
Weed is illegal, so the average consumer of weed is limited in terms of what quality of weed is available. One can invest a lot of time and effort into a home hydroponics setup to grow higher quality weed, but that involves taking on the potential risk of arrest which carries a more harsh penalty based on the "possession with intent to distribute" charge.
On the other hand, one can just get high on lower-quality weed, spend far less money, and reduce the risk of both discovery and prosecution by having only as much prohibited material as you intend to smoke in a short amount of time. The evidence is gone once smoked, after all. It isn't as good a high and smells far worse, but it's safer and cheaper.
Now, if weed were legalized, either as a commercial product or better yet allowing home cultivation for personal use, you'd see a variety of product available. Home hydroponics can produce some high-quality smoke, after all, and commercial ventures would vary in quality just like they do in every other legal consumable market.
That's just the thing. Weed is NOT illegal in CA. The availability of medical MJ has meant that the quality of most of the weed to be had, even through illicit sources, has skyrocketed.
I'm kind of stunned the neighbors were able to *find* really bad weed these days.
And sad for Offhand Manor residents. Bad cigars are worse than bad weed in terms of smell, but not by much.
Yes, but medical use is pretty widespread among stoners, and several jurisdictions have made it their "lowest police priority".
The thing is, the availability due to the medical industry has made it so most of what is grown and distributed within the state is pretty high quality, even outside the dispensary system.
Hmm. That actually supports my theory, though. When better quality weed became available through channels that didn't lead to prosecution, the bar got raised and bad weed dwindled.
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momijizukamori and
no subject
Date: 9 May 2009 21:54 (UTC)Weed is illegal, so the average consumer of weed is limited in terms of what quality of weed is available. One can invest a lot of time and effort into a home hydroponics setup to grow higher quality weed, but that involves taking on the potential risk of arrest which carries a more harsh penalty based on the "possession with intent to distribute" charge.
On the other hand, one can just get high on lower-quality weed, spend far less money, and reduce the risk of both discovery and prosecution by having only as much prohibited material as you intend to smoke in a short amount of time. The evidence is gone once smoked, after all. It isn't as good a high and smells far worse, but it's safer and cheaper.
Now, if weed were legalized, either as a commercial product or better yet allowing home cultivation for personal use, you'd see a variety of product available. Home hydroponics can produce some high-quality smoke, after all, and commercial ventures would vary in quality just like they do in every other legal consumable market.
no subject
Date: 9 May 2009 22:01 (UTC)I'm kind of stunned the neighbors were able to *find* really bad weed these days.
And sad for Offhand Manor residents. Bad cigars are worse than bad weed in terms of smell, but not by much.
no subject
Date: 9 May 2009 22:13 (UTC)no subject
Date: 9 May 2009 23:54 (UTC)The thing is, the availability due to the medical industry has made it so most of what is grown and distributed within the state is pretty high quality, even outside the dispensary system.
no subject
Date: 10 May 2009 01:14 (UTC)no subject
Date: 10 May 2009 01:30 (UTC)