[Donn]

Hey Washington folks - what's up!?

So, here we are, living the life - legal, like we were hoping for when in a brief optimistic moment I joined NORML back in the '70s, and I'm super interested in how it can turn out, so thought it would be interesting to get some thoughts from people, maybe a sort of ongoing conversation where we can drop by from time to time and chip in, with a vignette of the life, or a tip on something that's about to happen.

I guess at this point, after maybe 6 months of meaningfully available legal weed where I am in Seattle, the cultural landscape as it were is still kind of dominated by the old scene, black market and medical. I know that's where a lot of us come from, but the I-502 legal world has the potential to be different, and that's what I think is really interesting, at a cultural level. I mean if you consider how "civilized" societies have adapted to alcohol for the last several thousand years, and cannabis is a lot more complex pharmacologically speaking ...

And for sense of mission, ask yourself how long we have, before we're swamped by the Altria, big pharmaceuticals, etc., and the synthetic corporate driven culture they'll hand us? Come on, let's dig in! Drop, in, say hi, show the flag.

What I hope this thread is not about, is legal advocacy etc. Maybe I-502 is botched, or not. That's covered elsewhere, and so are the other legislative actions. And I don't really mean to exclude non-Washington people, the only thing that's really specific here is that we're all looking at the same stuff on the shelves.

[Donn]

For example ... a couple days ago, I picked up a gram of "Dancehall", which tests 16% CBD and less than 1% THC. I wasn't really in any pain, other than my right shoulder has a sore spot that seems to come out when I ride my motorcycle, but it seemed like it would be a good thing to have around, in case.

And I was curious. This store has 10 different high CBD flowers at last count, the staff has their favorites, and they're talking about "recreational" use, not pain relief. For that matter, I believe they can't really talk about pain relief - the rules. So there's an interesting effect of I-502: the market for high CBD has been (I think) medical, and still is, but the recreational system can only speak to recreational applications, so they create a possibly imaginary recreational market for the stuff. Or is it real?

I didn't get high, and liked it. It's subtle. I could feel a trace of physical effect, body effects of cannabis. It was a very nice evening, I guess I would have felt great anyway? I will have to try it again some time when I feel lousy.

So anyone else ever use CBD for fun? Without prior experience with it as medication? Do they talk about that at your retail store? What kinds of settings - would you like it for partying, for example?

excited about the dancehall too

[DAT]

HI,
I have gone to 2 rec stores in my town. Purple Haze and Kush Mart. They had a large selection and it was interesting to see the product and packaging. I grow my own so I am not wasting my money on purchasing any mj products.
I have been a medical card holder for 10 years . It would be really fun to try the stuff in the rec stores out but I get ripped off enough everyday just buying food and paying bills.

The legal scene has me kinda grossed out to be honest. the best part is just being relaxed more about smoking in my car. although I have a lot more burn holes in my seat.lol

[Mknasty32]

I refuse to go to a store,
and feel that this closed door policy is shit..
freedom? Where?

[snake11]

Fuck supporting Cartel 502.

[lost360]

I will never support pesticide use and 502 can use all kinds so have fun they killing you and taking your money

[Donn]

I502 is more or less like any other kind of agriculture, the choice of organic vs. not is between the grower and consumer. Though there's no certification - growers say various things, including organic and beyond (one for example also avoids materials of animal origin), but naturally there's no USDA Organic certification - as far as the USDA is concerned, it's a Schedule 1 illegal drug!

Would you be in favor of some home-brew Washington State organic certification? I understand some California growers are "Clean Green" certified. The articles I see about that are a little vague on how pesticides are monitored, on a technical level, in the certification process. It's $2000 to be certified, and plenty of growers who say they're organic don't sign up.

For me, it's important mostly because we can't afford to trash the earth. Could turn out that all the organic vegetables I eat will prolong my life, but for example organic cotton is also a high priority because "conventional" cotton is extremely toxic. I lean towards the organic growers, but if they cheat and use miticides, at any rate most of us I-502 customers aren't getting all that much because we aren't heavy smokers. So certification would be ideal, but it isn't a deal breaker.

[snake11]

Originally Posted by Donn

I502 is more or less like any other kind of agriculture, the choice of organic vs. not is between the grower and consumer. Though there's no certification - growers say various things, including organic and beyond (one for example also avoids materials of animal origin), but naturally there's no USDA Organic certification - as far as the USDA is concerned, it's a Schedule 1 illegal drug!

Would you be in favor of some home-brew Washington State organic certification? I understand some California growers are "Clean Green" certified. The articles I see about that are a little vague on how pesticides are monitored, on a technical level, in the certification process. It's $2000 to be certified, and plenty of growers who say they're organic don't sign up.

For me, it's important mostly because we can't afford to trash the earth. Could turn out that all the organic vegetables I eat will prolong my life, but for example organic cotton is also a high priority because "conventional" cotton is extremely toxic. I lean towards the organic growers, but if they cheat and use miticides, at any rate most of us I-502 customers aren't getting all that much because we aren't heavy smokers. So certification would be ideal, but it isn't a deal breaker.

I502 is NOT like any normal agriculture. It is not a free market. They control who is allowed to play and the price of the cannabis. There will not be a large selection of farmers to choose between as there is with normal farmers.

Also saying that most i502 customers aren't getting all that much pesticides because they are not heavy smokers is ridiculous. If you buy rec that means your not a heavy smoker??? Do you have any facts to back this up or is this how YOU are?? We don't even know all the pesticides that are in the herb and the quantities. I know I don't want to smoke pesticides.

[theJointedOne]

I still haven't been to a recc store. I get everything black market. Why pay more for lesser quality.

I agree with an above poster in that the only benefit I see is more freedom to puff, which is very nice don't get me wrong.

IMHO Seattle, which dominates western WA's economic and social scene, is so blinded by the corporate greed which is plaguing this city, that all they want is $$$. Read the Seattle times, mostly conservative corporate articles, with a few liberal leaning additions to appease the aging, dying hippie generation here. 502 is just a money grab, and by trying to kill the med scene and have those users forced into taxed market is proof enough of such bullshit.

I gotta get back to CA...