Few More News From Colorado and Washington
The many changes that have characterized the politics of cannabis, in both Colorado and Washington state, have turned out to be quite positive. Neither the consumption of cannabis nor cannabis-related accidents have increased in the last year, contrarily to what many anti-cannabis politicians claimed before legalization kicked in. Furthermore the number of young smokers has not increased either, which is great news. Plus, the quality of cannabis in both states has improved, organized crime has lost a lot of money, and new businesses are now thriving because of the new legal cannabis-market.
It really looks like “Phase 1”of the post-legalization era is going pretty good. However, legislators should now consider a new set of issues and rules, which are part of something we could call “Phase 2”of the post-legalization era – when cannabis slowly becomes more “normal”. For instance, lately in Colorado and Washington there have been more than a few explosions (we are talking about more or less 32 explosions in Colorado, and 5 in Washington). Nobody died, but some people were injured. How, and why? Because they were trying to produce homemade cannabis extracts. You can do the math: cannabis, plus butane, plus idiocy…equal explosions. It is therefore pretty important that the states begin to think about what people can do and what they can’t do in their homes. Supposedly, people are not allowed to produce hashish or cannabis oil at home, but they do cook their own cannabis cookies and cakes, and many wannabe experts are experimenting with dangerous processes for which they are not truly prepared (…see the equation mentioned above).
It doesn’t look like Washington and Colorado are planning on “punishing”those who try to produce cannabis extracts at home, but the legislators should seriously think about a limit for the production, or at least some kind of official guideline. In fact, one of the best things about legalization is the possibility of bringing light and knowledge in a sector where until only a few years ago there were only shadows and pseudo-experts. Now that people can buy seeds online (http://greenhouseseeds.nl/) and grow their own plants, the states should also invest in guiding the citizens towards the right kind of procedures and experiments. The guidelines that exist are certainly not enough. Hopefully, “Phase 2”of the post-legalization era will bring us great products and better regulations. We really need them both!
