4 ms·

And marijuana use is expected to jump significantly over the next few years in North America. They don't tell who exactly expects that, nor what the chances ar

by stinos 9y ago

And marijuana use is expected to jump significantly over the next few years in North America. They don't tell who exactly expects that, nor what the chances are such expectation will hold true (nor whether it will in the long run, over the course of decades). At first sight it makes sense, but does it really? I couldn't find any large scale studies, but searching the internet seems to indicate the outcome can go both ways. There's enough articles to be found saying there's actually a decline in use after legalization (e.g. in Portugal and California). Likewise for the opposite. Conclusion to me: you can expect what you want, but without a proper scientific approach to evaluating it you just don't know for sure.

xyzzy_plugh 9y ago
I think as something becomes less taboo (i.e. decriminalization) it'll become more popular in general. Younger generations won't have the same feelings of hesitation to try it, and it's use will be more casual. I'm no expert but I feel that use is indeed on the rise.
edoceo 9y ago
There is a slight uptick in usage in WA however, remember that before legalisation there was near zero data and it was largely self-reported. Now, in regulated markets we have actual sales data to track. Volumes have been increasing in WA since 2014 but seem to be near a plateau from my point of view. Edibles, oils and pre-rolled make the product much more accessible and anecdotally I see more folks, even in BigCo comfortable talking about and even using reefer
icebraining 9y ago
Portugal didn't legalize, only decriminalize. While it's safer to use than before, it's still a black market, not something you can buy on the corner store.
echlebek 9y ago
The article makes a lot of assumptions, I feel that it's intellectually lazy. What if an employee is under the influence of marijuana? Well gosh, if your employee constantly comes to work drunk, you probably fire them. The article tries to point out that it's harder to test for cannabis intoxication than alcohol intoxication, but few businesses are going to administer a test anyways. They will just fire you if you are inebriated. So why would it be any different? The question is never posed. And then, the assumption that randomly drug testing employees is somehow normal or OK pops up, with some hand waving about how some companies are shirking their presumed responsibility towards this. In a lot of countries, you're not even allowed to do employee drug testing unless the work is dangerous. I wonder how they are coping? The article tries to paint a picture of some big complicated problem, but it smells like bullshit to me. HR departments already have ways of dealing with these problems, and the legalization of the substance has little to nothing to do with it.
mturmon 9y ago
As a California resident, anecdotally, I observe a lot more MJ use. This is of course what you'd expect after decriminalization. Quick googling does not turn up numbers. Do you have a concrete basis for your conjecture?
- chillwaves 9y ago
  Observing more because there is not the threat of legal jeopardy is not the same as more people using or people using more.
- stinos 9y ago
  Mostly just articles as I said, not a lot of concrete numbers. Here's one side of the story: http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,0... Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana. And http://norml.org/aboutmarijuana/item/marijuana-decriminalization-its-impact-on-use-2 http://norml.org/aboutmarijuana/item/marijuana-decriminaliza... has a whole (obviously cherry-picked) list of studies supporting the claim, though most links are dead. "It has been demonstrated that the more or less free sale of [marijuana] for personal use in the Netherlands has not given rise to levels of use significantly higher than in countries which pursue a highly repressive policy." etc.
jonbarker 9y ago
Use of anything that is suddenly in convenience-like stores usually goes up.

by stinos 9y ago

xyzzy_plugh 9y ago

I think as something becomes less taboo (i.e. decriminalization) it'll become more popular in general. Younger generations won't have the same feelings of hesitation to try it, and it's use will be more casual. I'm no expert but I feel that use is indeed on the rise.

edoceo 9y ago

There is a slight uptick in usage in WA however, remember that before legalisation there was near zero data and it was largely self-reported. Now, in regulated markets we have actual sales data to track. Volumes have been increasing in WA since 2014 but seem to be near a plateau from my point of view. Edibles, oils and pre-rolled make the product much more accessible and anecdotally I see more folks, even in BigCo comfortable talking about and even using reefer

icebraining 9y ago

Portugal didn't legalize, only decriminalize. While it's safer to use than before, it's still a black market, not something you can buy on the corner store.

echlebek 9y ago

The article makes a lot of assumptions, I feel that it's intellectually lazy. What if an employee is under the influence of marijuana? Well gosh, if your employee constantly comes to work drunk, you probably fire them. The article tries to point out that it's harder to test for cannabis intoxication than alcohol intoxication, but few businesses are going to administer a test anyways. They will just fire you if you are inebriated. So why would it be any different? The question is never posed. And then, the assumption that randomly drug testing employees is somehow normal or OK pops up, with some hand waving about how some companies are shirking their presumed responsibility towards this. In a lot of countries, you're not even allowed to do employee drug testing unless the work is dangerous. I wonder how they are coping? The article tries to paint a picture of some big complicated problem, but it smells like bullshit to me. HR departments already have ways of dealing with these problems, and the legalization of the substance has little to nothing to do with it.

mturmon 9y ago

As a California resident, anecdotally, I observe a lot more MJ use. This is of course what you'd expect after decriminalization. Quick googling does not turn up numbers. Do you have a concrete basis for your conjecture?

chillwaves 9y ago
Observing more because there is not the threat of legal jeopardy is not the same as more people using or people using more.
stinos 9y ago
Mostly just articles as I said, not a lot of concrete numbers. Here's one side of the story: http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,0... Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana. And http://norml.org/aboutmarijuana/item/marijuana-decriminalization-its-impact-on-use-2 http://norml.org/aboutmarijuana/item/marijuana-decriminaliza... has a whole (obviously cherry-picked) list of studies supporting the claim, though most links are dead. "It has been demonstrated that the more or less free sale of [marijuana] for personal use in the Netherlands has not given rise to levels of use significantly higher than in countries which pursue a highly repressive policy." etc.

jonbarker 9y ago

Use of anything that is suddenly in convenience-like stores usually goes up.