Legal Pot Blamed For Increase In Homeless Showing Up In Denver

Discussion in 'Marijuana News' started by Green Wizard, Jul 26, 2014.

  1. Cops and Courts
    \tLegal pot blamed for some of influx of homeless in Denver this summerBy Tom McGhee
    The Denver Post
    Posted:   07/25/2014 11:48:18 AM MDT<span>81 Comments | Updated:   about 4 hours ago</span>


    <span>[​IMG]</span><div>Dusty Taylor, 20, left, currently homeless, smokes marijuana from a glass pipe at the intersection of 21st Ave and Stout St. in downtown Denver Wednesday morning, July 23, 2014. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

    </div> 
    When Edward Madewell's mother asked him to come home after five years of homelessness and drift, he bought a Greyhound bus ticket and headed for Missouri.
    Half way there, his mother told him he would have to give up the marijuana he uses to control seizures, and switch to prescribed medicine. Madewell changed his plans and headed for Colorado where recreational weed has been sold legally since Jan. 1.
    "I'm not going to stop using something organic," he said. "I don't like the pills."
    Madewell is among the homeless lured to Colorado by legal marijuana who are showing up at shelters and other facilities, stressing a system that has seen an unusually high number of people needing help this summer .
    <div><span>[​IMG]</span><div>A young, homeless woman with the street name of "Q" smokes marijuana from a glass pipe handed to her by Dusty Taylor, 20, right, also currently homeless, at the intersection of 21st Ave and Stout St. in downtown Denver Wednesday morning, July 23, 2014. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post)

    </div>"Of the new kids we're seeing, the majority are saying they're here because of the weed. They're travelling through. It is very unfortunate," said Kendall Rames, deputy director of Urban Peak, a non-profit which provides food, shelter and other services to young people in Denver and Colorado Springs.
    Younger visitors to Father Woody's Haven of Hope, which serves those 18 and over, typically are more demanding and difficult than their elders,Melinda Paterson, the director, said. "Typically, they have an attitude. But we are really strict here. We treat you with respect ... and if they are not respectful, we ask them to leave.
    Combined with an increase in those who arrive penniless and seeking jobs in the state's strengthening employment market, the homeless influx is straining a service network already under stress, said Murray Flagg, divisional social services secretary for the Salvation Army's Intermountain Division.
    Not everyone who works with the homeless singles out marijuana as a contributing factor to their arrival here.
    "We have had an influx and the majority of them have been from out of town. I have no idea if the marijuana law has had an impact," Paterson said.
    But homeless advocates agree that numbers have swelled, sometimes dramatically, over the past year.
    The number of those who go to Father Woody's normally rises by about 50 people per month during the summer, Paterson said. This year, "we have gotten 923 new homeless over the last three months," more than 300 a month.
    About two months ago, she added, the shelter began bringing those who eat breakfast and lunch there to the table in shifts to accommodate the increase.
    "It is worrisome in the sense that how are we going to clothe and feed and find shelter for them?"
    \tThe Cannabist\tRecent Cannabist news
    Between May 1 and July 15, Urban Peak's drop in center, where homeless people 15 through 24 can get a meal, do laundry, shower or take GED and other classes, saw the number of new visitors jump by 5 percent over the same period last year, Rames said.
    Last summer, the Salvation Army's single men's Crossroads Shelter in Denver housed an average of 225 men each night.
    This summer's average is about 300 per night, and when other shelters are full, the organization provides a bed for as many as 350, Flagg said.
    In the past, the shelter's residents averaged between 35 and 60 years old. "Now we are seeing a much larger number of 18- to 25-year- olds."
    An informal survey performed at the shelter suggested that about 25 percent of the increase in population was related to marijuana, Flagg said.
    While many come to smoke without worrying about the law, others "are folks looking to work in the industry, a lot of them have an agricultural background," or other experience they expect will be in demand, he said.
    They may also have a felony on their record that automatically disqualifies them from getting a job in the highly regulated business.
    Those who do find jobs in pot shops and grow houses often don't earn enough to pay rent or buy a home in Denver's expensive housing market, Flagg said. They too can end up homeless.
    The shelters don't require anyone to explain why they came to Colorado, but some do volunteer their reasons.
    On the list of reasons given at St. Francis Center, a day-time shelter, marijuana trails only looking for work, said Tom Leuhrs, the executive director.
    While marijuana use contributes to the number of homeless, the growth in their numbers indicates that people are having difficulty moving into the work force from high school and college, Leuhrs said.
    "The economy is not supporting them. There are not enough jobs," Leuhrs said.
    He sees an almost even split between those, like Madewell, who say they use pot for medical reasons, and others who crave easy access to a legal high.
    Dusty Taylor, 20, who was standing in line for breakfast at Urban Peak this week, said he came back to Colorado, where he grew up and had been homeless in the past, after hearing weed had been legalized.
    "I said, I should go back. It was like, I don't want to catch a felony for smoking."
    Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dpmcghee
    </div> 

     
  2. why dont they just legalize weed. what a fucked up world we live in. just fucken give up on it already its 2014.
     
  3. Because meth, cocaine and heroin are better choices?

    The homeless aren't the only people moving here for cannabis access. Many families of epileptic children and other medical patients, entrepreneurs and investors, and citizens who feel freer in Colorado than places like new Jersey.
     
  4. Some people will do anything to tarnish the image of this plant, move along....
     
  5. SMH
     
    Big cities like Denver i'm sure already had a good sizeable homeless population...hell I know Seattle does, i'd love to see the media contribute Seattle's homeless population with marijuana.
     
  6. #6 Brother Urb, Jul 27, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 27, 2014
    They are not homeless because they smoke herbs.  They smoking herbs because they are homeless. :smoking:
     
    On the real, since I don't smoke cigs I have given fat roaches to homeless dudes who ask me for cigarettes and their eyes light up like you wouldn't believe.
     
  7. This is a stupid article. I've lived in Colorado my entire life and you see just as many bums around here and Denver as you would in rohnert park CA (small town in northern cali, my mom lived there for a while and when I visited you see people drinking, smoking, talking to themselves whatever... all the time) before it was even medicinally legal- whoever wrote this article hasn't lived here for very long. If anything brought the influx of people to Colorado it was the Forbes article stating Fort Collins as one of the best places to live in the country- and it is. Finest dank that's legal, right next to the mountains, tons of shit to do, and some of the cleanest tap water in the nation. Plus the air is real nice up here ^.^ I don't blame people for wanting to come here, but dammit if these terrible out-of-state drivers don't make the traffic problem 100x worse. The real problem is all of the people- AND THAT WAS BEFORE THE WEED VOTE WAS EVEN CLOSE TO 50/50. The whole overpopulation thing is obviously happening everywhere, though.
     
    The legal weed really has nothing to do with an influx of bums, the bums can just get it cheaper now. And now that nobody here really gives a shit, people pretty much just toke outside. I wouldn't advise that, as that is technically illegal (public display of use).
     
    I mean, hell, I have personally met people around here who panhandle for a living and make more than I do. I work full time at $12.50 an hour, not bad, but when you're sitting on the corner thinking about where you're going to take your next shit and you're getting paid more than I am? That's bull shit. Tax-free, too.
     
    Can't blame the lazy people for chasing their own American dream.
     
  8. homeless in denver is better than incarcerated in... elsewhere.
     
  9. Lol. They just did a drugs inc show on Seattle and all the bums. They were all tweaks but loved Seattle becuse of the liberal drug laws.
     
  10. I wonder how many people are homeless in Denver because of drinking problems? People are stupid and will find a way to harm themselves with anything, even cannabis.
     
  11. Greaaaaaaaaat this is all we need. And they had to smoke out of the most crackhead looken chillum they could find. Not cool people......not cool
     
  12.  
    It's like the homeless drunk drinking mad dog from a brown bag. For legalization to take hold and be accepted, society must decided on what is appropiate conduct and behavior in regards to consumption habits. I think we all have a pretty good hold on what that already is. This article highlights that.
     
  13.  
    Yes. We all need to decide that it's okay for anyone to do anything, as long as they're not harming another person or that person's property. Because that's exactly what Liberty means.
     
    It can be expressed in this very easy to understand clause: "Take no liberty which impinges that of another." This also applies to anyone claiming authority to use force against anyone for any reason.
     
  14.  
    Yeah, you're right. If someone wants to self destruct, they're free to blow up. But someone's got to clean up the mess. Keep it clean so society doesn't have to clean up after you, or have you live off others tax dollars. Basically, if you're living on the streets, it impinges on others rights both directly and indirectly at different points in time eventually. That's why there are laws on loitering, smoking in public, drinking in public, public intoxication, public urination, ect...Get a job, a place to live, then smoke pot. Priorities.
     
  15.  
    You have the right to look away, if you don't like the way something looks.
     
    You do not have the right to impose detrimental restrictions upon anyone, unless they are on your property, or harming someone, or damaging your property.
     
    Your false sense of entitlement to having some sort of "society" as you fantasize and envision, is not a right. Your right is to do as you please, with your own body (only), and be free from unwarranted aggression or the damaging or siezure of your property. You have no right to make others behave as you prefer, UNLESS they are unduly harming others or damaging property you own, either wholly or in part. If they are not damaging you or someone else, your opinion of their social/financial/opinion status, is entirely irrelevant. No one has the right to control others on a mere whim, out of mere elevated expectations and arbitrary preferences.
     
    If you take a liberty which impinges that of another, you have also forfeited your own.
     
    In other words: whether you "approve" of "dirty homeless people," is completely irrelevant, unless they harm someone or steal/damage property they do not own. And there are plenty of grateful and respectful homeless people out there, who would gladly embrace an opportunity to become self-sufficient, if only your ideal society would allow them such a chance, which it all too often does not.
     
    I'm not saying "people should be homeless and smoke pot," i'm saying people like you should stop overgeneralizing and demonizing them, as if they're "impinging your rights" just by being "undesirable." Because that's fucking bullshit. Seriously. They're human beings just like anyone else, just much less fortunate than those who don't appreciate or even realize how privileged they are.
     
    I'm not disagreeing with adherence to some sort of acceptable behavioral standards (public urination, etc.), but if a society doesn't allow a person a real opportunity to support themselves, how the fuck is that person supposed to just not urinate? If "public" is the only place that person is allowed to be, what do you think will happen?
     
  16. Isn't it great that marijuana can make you content with your surroundings no matter what your circumstances. I mean fuck, you could have many possessions in the world and the novelty always wears off and you want more. Weed opens your eyes to the little shit. Perspective is what makes things great, not price. If your patch is good for you, and you aren't hurting me, then I find no problem. If I was having a bad day or my mind was lacking a little drama substance then perhaps I could find numerous things to bitch about, but I know deep down I really don't give a shit. Fancy taking offence to something. Self centred consumers with survival so completely taken care of that they've developed a whole new subset of mind numbingly irrelevant issues. What the world needs is people who haven't been indoctrinated to be judgemental. It's potentially possible I'm sure.
     
  17.  
    It's not the pot, or people smoking the pot that puts them on the street. I don't know the number, by a high percentage of people living on the streets are mentally disabled. That's the issue at hand. Not that they are dirty or unsightly, or conduct themselves in a manner that does not resemble a rational, functional person in society. They fall out of the range of "normal" therefore labled, mentally disabled. How do we deal with the mentally disabled living in the streets of Denver and smoking weed in public, because smoking weed in public is illegal in Colorado.
     
  18.  
    Hmm... perhaps send some of those exorbitant weed tax fees to support (give them a way to support themselves) those homeless, in exchange for their cooperative work toward building their own intentional community, which would then, in turn, keep them employed by this hypothetical state-run coop, designed for the homeless, by the previously homeless, to help the other homeless, and provide various services and volunteer work to the greater community... which i think would help everyone. Sure, many details would need to be worked out... but i think the idea is pretty solid. Help the homeless to help themselves, by giving them a way to help both themselves and others, through some sort of service to the community. That would keep most of them off the streets, in their own area that they helped build and help maintain, and in so doing, help those who find themselves in the same dire straits they once were.
     
    As for smoking weed in public being illegal... i think that's stupid, and needs to change. They should change it so that it's okay to have a hit or two and be on your way, but not allow public smokeouts and aggressive behaviors, like blowing smoke in the faces of random pedestrians, and such. Maybe make some designated "smoke parks," or something, so that while walking around, one could take a seat on a bench, pull out a one-hitter or small/moderate sized pipe, take a hit or two and reflect for a few minutes, and then move on. They need to let it be casual, but not so casual that it gets out of hand. I don't think it should offend anyone to see a person take a couple hits off a pipe in public... but i would surely frown on people whipping out giant superjoints and smogging out a whole bus stop, or something. People should be considerate of others, and i think most of them would volunteer to be considerate, if you gave them a chance to choose, encouraged appropriate behavior, and simply allowed "society" to stigmatize certain inappropriate behaviors, rather than using police intimidation to bully people who might act a little too boldly with their preferred plant materials.
     
  19. That madewell kids mom sounds like a pretty shitty parent.
     

Share This Page