The big news for the week is about the legalization of marijuana in the US. Marijuana is a money making product and state governments are broke. Colorado’s plan is to use the income generated from the legalized marijuana for building/improving schools and infrastructure. I can hardly wait to see those awkward inscriptions on the dedication plaques for schools, streets, bridges and railroad tracks i.e. Hemp Hall…

It is hoped that the marijuana industry will create jobs. The Denver Post is already on board. Ricardo Baca, formerly the Post‘s entertainment and music editor is now the new marijuana editor. I appreciated Mr. Baca’s candid discussion on WBUR about marijuana overdoses. There were incidents where people over dosed on marijuana infused products like brownies and chocolate bars simply because they didn’t know when to stop eating … I imagine the idea of infusing marijuana into snack foods seemed like a good marketing at the time…But the reality is that chocolate and brownies are addictive enough without any infusion. No one just takes one bite of a candy bar. There aren’t enough warning notices you can put on a chocolate bar to make people limit themselves to one bite… So some smoker forgets about the ingredients in -the munchies and gets sick and or works on the job with impaired judgment.

Enough builders cut corners regarding the costs and use of materials for the almighty dollar. OMG, Massachusetts residents, you thought the Big Dig had problems!!! Imagine increased construction and safety issues if the work is signed off by and/or done by those who have smoked or eaten marijuana infused food products.
People can smoke. My concern is with their activities (like driving a car or crane) and when job performance is compromised in ways that can dangerously impact their lives as well as the lives of those around them. Don’t we have enough problems with traffic and public transit now? I’m just not ready for those high ways to heaven.
And then there are the kids. Is it good idea for parents (and other adults) to smoke anything in front of their kids? Do what you want. That’s today’s rant. Any thoughts?

 

Janet Cormier is a painter, writes prose and poetry, and performs comedy. JC prefers different and original over pretty. She loves collecting stuff, but cleaning not so much. Janet also talks to strangers… a lot. Her column now appears weekly on Oddball Magazine.