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I support freedom. No one should be criminalized for using marijuana. It's ridiculous.
I could possibly support restricting marijuana usage to the privacy of ones own home and inside of certain businesses, but that's as anti-freedom as I would get.
Looks like another nevatiive impact due to the legalization of recreational marijuana.
Some People woukd rather smoke pot than live somewhere in a home.
Another arrow pointing that pot is addictive, can cause depression, and mess up your life.
It is negatively effecting the business' and tourism.
*Now notice I am not name calling anyone who smokes dope or thinks that it should be legal.
I disagree with the legalization of recreational marijuana for several reasons.
What is happening in Colorado is mapping it out.
Colorado tries to fight homeless problem that may have been triggered by pot law
The City of Denver is grappling with a growing homeless problem, and some people blame marijuana legalization for attracting a growing number of drug users now living on the street.
Colorado's homeless population jumped 13 percent from 2015 to 2016, despite that nationally, homelessness declined by 3 percent during the same time period,
While some blame pot laws, others place the blame on the state's housing dearth.
The state's booming economy has brought in people from all over the country. So many, that home and apartment construction has not kept pace, meaning even some people with jobs find themselves living on the streets of cities like Denver.
, "we have a number of service workers, folks working at construction sites, working at our ballparks, and our service industry, who cannot afford the rent.
Following complaints from downtown businesses, Denver instituted an urban camping ban to keep people from spending the night on city sidewalks, in parks and other public spaces.
Though there are no hard statistics to back it up, some people – including Charlie Berry, who grew up in Denver – say some of the homeless have come to Colorado for legalized marijuana.
"Basically, all they want to do is just come here and smoke pot,” Berry said. “When you legalize marijuana you open the door to a whole new level of hell."
Since Denver began cracking down, homeowners and businesses on the periphery of downtown say the problem has just moved outward to where they are located.
"I've definitely seen a real high increase of homeless throughout this certain area right here," says Kyle Hollingsworth, manager of the Chalet Bed and Breakfast, east of the state capitol building.
"It definitely does affect the business. There'll be people hanging out here, they might be doing drugs, they might be drinking, they might be being loud and obnoxious. It definitely scares a lot of the people away."
Hollingsworth and other business owners and homeowners say there are serious health and safety issues created by the trash, drug paraphernalia and human waste left on their lawns by people camping out overnight. One homeowner, who did not want her name used, told Fox News she woke up one morning to see a homeless man peeing right in front of her window.
Horsefeathers! The lines I put in bold print are the major reason for the growth of homelessness in Denver and Colorado Springs. In 2011, the average price for an apartment in Denver was $801.00. Now in 2017, that same apartment would rent for $1413.00. That's an increase of $600/mo in only six years. Some people's wages have not kept up with the skyrocketing cost of housing - especially in Colorado's major cities. The economy here is booming and Colorado has been viewed as a desirable place to live for some time now - even BEFORE marijuana was legalized in this state. BTW, 7 other states have also legalized recreational marijuana and that number is only going to grow. So, while legal pot may be one factor as to why so many people are moving here, it's far from the only one. And the spiraling cost of housing is the number one factor in people becoming homeless in my state.
Fox hates the idea that a blue state is doing so well, so it cherry picks the data to show how horrible it is to live here. I notice that the "Chalet Bed and Breakfast," referenced above is situated east of the state capitol building. That neighborhood which also includes the infamous East Colfax Avenue area, has been run down and a bad choice of a place to live in Denver since at least the 80's if not before. I'm not surprised in the least that the idiots who decided to run a B & B in that part of town are seeing sights that offend their delicate eyes. Should have put up the cash and started their biz in Cherry Creek or a neighborhood like it. But, of course, Fox is NEVER going to tell its viewers these things and regular Fox viewers have turned into zombies who can only mouth the party line.
So yeah, it's hell in Colorado these days with the streets of every city and town choked with homeless pot users. Better stay in your nice, safe (if run down) red states if you know what's good for you. Fox has spoken.
Though there are no hard statistics to back it up, some people – including Charlie Berry, who grew up in Denver – say some of the homeless have come to Colorado for legalized marijuana.
This article -- wherever it was pasted from, there's no link or attribution -- couldn't find any real statistics or facts but they ran with an opinion from some guy named Charlie? That's some sloppy journalism. Homelessness is up everywhere. Pot has nothing to do with it.
Rising rents probably have more to do with it, but to say pots has nothing to do with it sounds like a stretch.
Hilarious. Nebraska and Oklahoma filed that lawsuit pretty much the moment it was legalized. Have you been to Oklahoma? The most backwards state and Nebraska isn't far behind.
Yes, I have in Oklahoma City. There you'll find at least one homeless person sleeping under the underpass at the corner of I-44 and Pennsylvania when he's not holding a sign begging. Who knows how many underpasses have homeless people there.
OP, it is sad that all you can do is find negative reports about legalization and then report them here as facts. If you will allow me, I would like to post an example of how shoddy and/or corrupt reporting creates these stories.
Fox news recently reported on how pot legalization has ruined Durango. The residents and business owners were quite upset about this story, because the reporter twisted their words and wrote a story that in no way accurately represented how they feel about Durango since legalization. Please read this story from the Durango Herald, the newspaper from the very town Fox News reported on:
Remember that story comes from the town itself and from the actual business owners that Fox interviewed. Now who are you going to believe, Fox News or the actual residents of Durango?
Here are the highlights in just three years since legalization:
Marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 48 percent.
Over 20 percent of all traffic deaths were marijuana related compared to only 10 percent six years ago.
Marijuana-related emergency department visits increased 49 percent.
Marijuana-related hospitalizations increased 32 percent.
Marijuana-related calls to the Rocky Mountain Poison Center increased 100 percent.
Diversion of Colorado marijuana to other states increased 37 percent by vehicle and 427 percent by parcels.
Colorado youth now rank number one in the nation for marijuana use and 74 percent higher than the national average.
Colorado college-age group now rank number one in the nation for marijuana use and 62 percent higher than the national average.
Colorado adults now rank number one in the nation for marijuana use and 104 percent higher than the national average.
But it takes time to get accustomed to it when something is legally introduced to society. Who knows how much drunk driving deaths and alcohol caused accidents went up in Oklahoma shortly after sales of alcohol was legalized there in 1959. I bet a large number of Oklahomans in a panic headed for the emergency room after seeing in doubles from drinking too much alcohol. At least smoking or eating too much pot won't kill you. If fewer people in Colorado are dying from ODing on opioids and heroin, that's a worthwhile plus.
Some more results.
How can all these studies and first hand experiences be all wrong?
Those are NOT first hand experiences, Alalanta. They are quotes from the Rocky Mountain High Report, which was a "study" created by law enforcement. I hope you got that. It was created by law enforcement. The law enforcement industry is one of the forerunners when it comes to fighting legalization. How objective could you expect such a report to be?
On top of that, the "study" is years old, and the article you cited is almost a year old. Don't you realize that if those over-inflated and bogus numbers were real, now that it's a year later Colorado hospitals should be full. The roads should be impassible due to all the strewn wreckage. Colorado should be faltering as a state. But none of those things are true.
For some reason you can't see that it is all propaganda, created by people who feel like you do. They feel that the country will go down the tubes if marijuana is legalized, and it's now an all out effort to demonize legalization by portraying states where it has been legalized as falling apart. You did your part when you created this thread. How gullible can you be?
I have asked you this before -- please come here for a visit. It really would do you a world of good, because once you see it's still a wonderful place that pot hasn't wrecked, then it will be easier for you to handle it once legalization comes to your state. That's not an if it becomes legal there, it is only a question of when.
You talk like marijuana is being forced down our throats here, and that we hate it and we hate what marijuana has done to the state. But find some polls that ask Coloradans if they still approve of legalization. Post those results here, I dare you. I have noticed that when cornered like that, you just drop the thread or get it closed instead of posting something positive about marijuana.
Unlike you from 2000 miles away, I can report first-hand that Colorado is not only doing fine, we're doing just great! And while you are doing your marijuana research, don't forget to ask the residents of Washington, Oregon, and Alaska what they think of legalization. Notice I didn't say to find a "study", I said ask the residents.
Yes, it is pure coincidence that out of 50 states homelessness has to increase by 13% in Colorado while the rest of the country's homeless population is decreasing.
Or when rents increase 6.2% in Colorado while going up 3.0% nationally.
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