[lilyelgato]

I've seen a lot of facts, partial facts, misinterpretations and completely whacky and unsubstantiated tidbits in this thread, so I have to set the record straight(er). First off, there have been no, 0, zilch, peer reviewed, credible scientific studies on the effects of pot to any part of the human anatomy because the scientific study of marijuana is illegal in the US. Some institutions are beginning to collect information, but the case histories are so short that no conclusions can be made beyond anecdotal observations. Secondly, while the state has determined that it will regulate retail pot sales, it is still up to the local jurisdictions as to whether or not they will allow retail sales, how much the sales will be taxed on a local level, and how the sales will be enforced. Some communities are looking at legalizing the sales due to the observed increase in municipal and county revenues, but most of them are putting it to their constituency as a ballot question, rather than having a council of 3 to 7 vote on such a big issue. Thus, there is no back door conspiracy against oil and gas through the legalization of weed, and many more companies are relocating to Colorado as opposed to leaving the state, due to legalization. Third, while I initially agreed with the observation that the excessive tax on weed would make the street sales go up and the retail sales peter off, this has yet to be the case. Anyone anywhere can grow up to six plants for their own personal use, but there are so many new strains that have been bred for specific qualities, that people are becoming loyal customers to specific retailers after finding their brand of choice. Weed has always been expensive due to risk, middle-men, etc. While the weed tax is high, the middle-men are mostly cut out as Colorado's pot regulations force the industry to be vertical monopolies, unlike Washington State where they are forced to be horizontal monopolies. The jury is still out on the pros and cons, but it's an interesting experiment to watch.