Denver After Legalization

I've lived here in Denver, CO my whole life. I've noticed quite a difference since legalization. People are more friendly. LOTS and LOTS of tourists coming in. It's an overall happy vibe throughout the state. More and more citizens are becoming comfortable with cannabis. And lots of revenue for the state too.

 

People like Colorado and colorodians because the state supports freedom.

 

What a crock.  This is just as bad as Lickenpooper looking at $2 mil in tax revs the first month and then extrapolating that to come up with about $150 mil annually.  That's cool the crime rate has gone down for a couple of months, but it's probably gone down in many places that don't have legalization.  A couple of months of data could be the start of a trend, but it's far from anything conclusive.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/legal-pot-rakes-taxes-colorado-schools-arent-exactly-222158404.html
 
After I read this it made me think that its not creating as much tax money because the gov't isnt in complete control of it yet.  Once they decided to step in to make more money buy creating a law saying you can't grow it and they start raising the taxes on it, it won't be long before its legal everywhere.

 

I think the more poignant piece in that article was another article cited therin:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/us/us-issues-marijuana-guidelines-for-banks.html?_r=0
Just like the Cole memos which allow the administration to go after dispensaries and shape the legal market, Cole once again opens operating room for banking friends of this administration (I can just see JP Morgan all over this) to launder money while they set up global grows and distribution for the pharma industry. 
 
And if they take away the ability to produce your own, there is absolutely no guarantee it will be made readily available in raw form. Pill form? Yes. So no, I don't see that as being key to making legalization work. The opposite, in fact.

 

Isn't the black market still thriving though? I guess that doesn't count as crime though since it's not illegal now. Makes sense though if I lived there I wouldn't wanna pay 60 an eighth at the store when I can get it for 20 from the grower down the street.

 

The black market is still doing good, because the only control the govt still has it illegalization in all but 2 states. But when the feds get in there there won't be a black market like it is today. Im not saying its going away for good, but its not going to as prominent that it is now. But if I can get a different variety than what I do now, Im going to the corner store and buying some. Every strain is a different high. You can get it for 20 bucks, but how good is it. I dont' think its going to be as good. Back yard grows compared to dispensaries that really take their time. No comparison there

 

it all depends who you know. the plant remains the same, it is called cannabis.

 

What people don't realize is that yes even though 1/8th of high grade cannabis is going to cost roughly $50-60 with taxes, those insane prices are slowly going down. There was over 300+ medical shops and maybe only 100 are actually recreational. It's all about supply and demand. The black market is still here in Colorado, but it will eventually diminish. This type of thing won't just happen overnight. Give it a year at the most and prices will be equal to current medical prices here. If you live in Colorado and are a daily cannabis user, than a red card recommendation would be the best fit. Medical prices are EXTREMELY affordable for me. Just give it time and prices will go down along with the black market.

 

We don't call it the black market here....we call it doing a skinny for a friend.