US Politics: A democratic election Prospect Theory and practice

[Fez]

There are certainly benefits to MJ legalization, and the old system was very screwed up. But anyone claiming weed is harmless is being willfully obtuse. Here's just a few of the studies finding health risks:

https://repositorio.uloyola.es/bitstream/handle/20.500.12412/4656/Theblindmenandtheelephant.SystRevCannabisHealth.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

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Evidence shows a clear association between cannabis use and psychosis, affective disorders, anxiety, sleep disorders, cognitive failures, respiratory adverse events, cancer, cardiovascular outcomes, and gastrointestinal disorders. Moreover, cannabis use is a risk factor for motor vehicle collision, suicidal behavior and partner and child violence. Cannabis use is a risk factor for several medical conditions and negative social consequences. There is still little data on the dose-dependency of these effects; evidence that is essential in order to define, from a public health perspective, what can be considered risky use of cannabis. This definition should be based on quantitative and qualitative criteria that informs and permits the evaluation of current approaches to a regulated cannabis market.

https://purehost.bath.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/242102875/Cannabis_potency_review_Clean_version.pdf

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Overall, use of higher potency cannabis, relative to lower potency cannabis, was associated with increased risk of psychosis and CUD. Evidence was mixed for depression 2 and anxiety. The association of cannabis potency with CUD and psychosis highlights its relevance in healthcare settings, public health guidelines, and policies on cannabis sales. Standardisation of exposure measures and longitudinal designs are needed to strengthen the evidence.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Valentina-Lorenzetti/publication/340444978_Adolescent_cannabis_use_cognition_brain_health_and_educational_outcomes_A_review_of_the_evidence/links/61448dff519a1a381f672643/Adolescent-cannabis-use-cognition-brain-health-and-educational-outcomes-A-review-of-the-evidence.pdf

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Systematic reviews find that adolescent cannabis use is inconsistently associated with alterations in the structure of prefrontal and temporal brain regions. Meta-analyses reveal functional alterations in the parietal cortex and putamen. Differences in the orbitofrontal cortex predate cannabis use; it is unclear if they are affected by continued cannabis use and prolonged abstinence. Longitudinal and twin studies report larger declines in IQ among cannabis users than their non-using peers but it is unclear whether these findings can be attributed to cannabis use or to genetic, mental health and environmental factors. Several longitudinal studies and a meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies suggest that there is some cognitive recovery after abstinence from cannabis. Longitudinal studies and some twin studies have found that cannabis users are less likely to complete secondary school than their non-using controls. This association might reflect an effect of cannabis use and/or the social environment of cannabis users and their cannabis using peers. Cognitive performance is altered in some domains (e.g. IQ, verbal learning) in young people while they are regularly using cannabis. There are two important messages to adolescents and young adults: First, cannabis has potentially detrimental effects on cognition, brain and educational outcomes that persist beyond acute intoxication. Second, impaired cognitive function in cannabis users appears to improve with sustained abstinence.

Is it as bad as heroin? Certainly not. It's probably not even as bad as alcohol (though that's more because alcohol really is quite bad for you). This isn't to say prohibition is correct. But cannabis isn't harmless either, yet many people (and state agencies) have treated it as such since legalization occurred.

[DMC]

25 minutes ago, Fez said:

It's probably not even as bad as alcohol (though that's more because alcohol really is quite bad for you).

Yeah this is the point.  If alcohol is legal - and it should be considering the monumental failure when it wasn’t - then so should weed.  Should it be regulated like alcohol?  Absolutely.  Which, you know, most legalization measures at least try to implement.  None of this is a compelling argument against legalization.

What I will agree with is the THC content seems to be getting out of hand in certain cases.  If you wanna regulate that I’m all for it.

[Zorral]

10 hours ago, DMC said:

Gotta say while I enjoy you making Ty look stupid and understand where you’re coming from, it seems really odd how you keep pining for the days when the mafia ran your neighborhood as if that was a better community structure.

Who said I was pining?  Other than you?  Can't you read?

I said I don't like what this incredibly stupid legalizing of cannabis STORES has done to where I live -- which includes a growing factor of danger that wasn't here before.  And that as usual here, it happens because of the unholy alliance trinity of real estate mughals, the cops and corrupt/stupid politicians, including the lazy corrupt sob -- foisted on us by the state Democratic party -- who think, like the orange fascist, that anything is or is not because he says it is or is not. 

TY said it was better than back in the day when it was  full of porn theaters, which was a statement entirely contrary to the facts there were NO porn theaters, or prostitution or drug gangs in my neighborhood. BTW, there were no tourists then either. But they sure as hell were in Times Square.

He repeatedly insists all this existed here because it was in Times Square.  He who doesn't live here, never has been here blahblahblah, because he's like the orange fascist, always in denial any infantile garbage that enters his head -- can ever be wrong or stupid or irrelevant or even harmful, particularly when it comes to what he knows nothing about.

Instead he attempts to bully, i.e. will not leave it along, but repeat repeat repeat, as a way to make people not notice he was wrong.  And just how dumb as a tactic is that?  As he does it every day in this digital space, he likely does it elsewhere and in real life too.

[Zorral]

He gets the best people!

Police Report: Trump County Chair Threatened To Rape Boss's Wife, Then Kill Him

https://www.yahoo.com/news/police-report-trump-county-chair-200407300.html

Quote

 

One of Donald Trump’s county campaign chairs in New Hampshire lost his job as a police officer after threatening to kill his colleagues in a shooting spree, murder the department chief and rape the chief’s wife in retaliation for his suspension over his relationship with a high school girl, according to a newly released report from an internal affairs investigation.

Jonathan Stone, who is currently a second-term state representative, was announced as Trump’s Sullivan County chair by his campaign on June 27, 2023. The coup-attempting former president first came to know Stone during Trump’s 2016 run, when Stone gave him an inscribed AR-15 assault rifle at a campaign stop.

At that point, it had been a decade since Stone had lost his job with the Claremont Police Department, which agreed to a settlement negotiated by the local police union that kept the investigative records secret. The documents were ordered to be released last week by the New Hampshire Supreme Court in a lawsuit by a local newspaper over Stone’s objections.

Stone, who opened a gun shop after losing his job as a police officer, did not reply to HuffPost queries. ....

 

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

TY said it was better than back in the day when it was  full of porn theaters, which was a statement entirely contrary to the facts there were NO porn theaters, or prostitution or drug gangs in my neighborhood. BTW, there were no tourists then either. But they sure as hell were in Times Square.

He repeatedly insists all this existed here because it was in Times Square.  He who doesn't live here, never has been here blahblahblah, because he's like the orange fascist, always in denial any infantile garbage that enters his head -- can ever be wrong or stupid or irrelevant or even harmful, particularly when it comes to what he knows nothing about.

Well for starters I've been to NY and FYI, those theaters weren't just in Times Square. What I was talking about was the perception of NY during that time which was not very positive. Comparatively today is much better when you're complaining about dispensaries. 

Also, there are fewer than 200 dispensaries in the city, so no, the blocks are not loaded with them. By comparison there are nearly 4,000 liquor stores in the city plus god knows how many bars. 

And there are prostitutes in basically every neighborhood in every large city. That you didn't see it doesn't mean it wasn't happening.  

[Larry of the Lawn]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

Well for starters I've been to NY and FYI, those theaters weren't just in Times Square. What I was talking about was the perception of NY during that time which was not very positive. Comparatively today is much better when you're complaining about dispensaries. 

Also, there are fewer than 200 dispensaries in the city, so no, the blocks are not loaded with them. By comparison there are nearly 4,000 liquor stores in the city plus god knows how many bars. 

And there are prostitutes in basically every neighborhood in every large city. That you didn't see it doesn't mean it wasn't happening.  

That 200 number is almost certainly wrong, possibly by an order of magnitude.  No one is sure exactly how many illegal dispensaries are operating, but if you count smoke shops selling THC products the high end estimates are 8000.

https://council.nyc.gov/press/2023/08/14/2454/

Even if it's half that you're still wrong.  

Eta:  some quick googling will tell you that there are illegal shops on almost every block in Hell's Kitchen, for example.  It's easy, just use Google Maps.  

 

 

Edited April 11 by Larry of the Lawn

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

12 minutes ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

That 200 number is almost certainly wrong, possibly by an order of magnitude.  No one is sure exactly how many illegal dispensaries are operating, but if you count smoke shops selling THC products the high end estimates are 8000.

https://council.nyc.gov/press/2023/08/14/2454/

Even if it's half that you're still wrong.  

I just read a few more recent articles that put illegal dispensaries in the 400-1,500 range in NYC. The larger problem for NY is statewide they might have nearly 40,000 of them. Best I can tell the 8,000 number comes from a lawyer making the claim and people just running with it. She got that number from taking in what she saw in an area and just calculated how many blocks there are in the city and assumed they all had the same numbers. 

[IheartIheartTesla]

The less you vote, the more you back Trump - ABC News (go.com)

538 has a recent article about some of the things we've talked about here, namely the impact of turnout and frequency of voter participation in elections.

Quote

And when we broke out respondents by their voting history, we found dramatic differences in whom they support for president in 2024. President Joe Biden performed much better among frequent voters, while Trump had a large lead among people who haven't voted recently. Specifically, among respondents who voted in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 general elections, Biden outpaced Trump 50 percent to 39 percent. But among respondents who were old enough to vote but voted in none of those three elections, Trump crushed Biden 44 percent to 26 percent.

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The fact that Trump did better among less frequent voters sheds light on another widely discussed trend: the declining levels of support for Democrats among Black and Hispanic Americans. Our NORC poll suggests that erosion is especially pronounced among less frequent voters. For instance, Biden led among Black respondents who voted in 2020 by 64 points, but he led among those who were registered but didn't vote by just 11 points. Biden's margin over Trump among Black citizens who don't appear to be registered to vote*** was also just 16 points. So it's not that Biden is uniformly underperforming with Black Americans — it's that he is underperforming specifically with Black citizens who don't consistently vote.

Well, who knows what turnout will look like in November. But still, interesting to see how high turnout for minorities who infrequently vote will be.

[Larry of the Lawn]

5 minutes ago, Mr. Chatywin et al. said:

 She got that number from taking in what she saw in an area and just calculated how many blocks there are in the city and assumed they all had the same numbers. 

I guess you could say she used your porn theater counting method, eh?

[Kalbear]

Anything is a porn theater if you count iphones and cars

[Zorral]

New York’s Marijuana Scorecard: 85 Legal Shops, 2,000 Illegal Ones
The lack of legal dispensaries and the overwhelming proliferation of illegal ones are the biggest concerns of the rollout three years after legalization

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/22/nyregion/nyc-cannabis-dispensary-legal.html?

Hochul Pushes for Cannabis Crackdown to Get ‘Some Teeth’
Legal retailers are struggling to get their footing in the face of a much larger illicit market.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/28/nyregion/hochul-ny-cannabis-marijuana-shops.html?

The Weed Store Under My Apartment Makes Way Too Much Noise
Noise complaints in New York City often go nowhere, but luckily for you, the source of the noise is an illegal business.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/14/realestate/the-weed-store-under-my-apartment-makes-way-too-much-noise.html?

Over 30 illegal weed shops surround single legal cannabis dispensary in this popular NYC neighborhood — causing haziness among ‘confused’ customers

https://nypost.com/2024/01/11/metro/hashing-out-nycs-confusing-illicit-cannabis-market/

Why Are There Still Illegal Weed Stores All Over the City?

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-are-there-still-illegal-weed-stores-all-over-new-york.html

Illegal marijuana shops on Upper West Side spark councilwoman's call for action

https://abc7ny.com/cannabis-license-upper-west-side-smoke-shops-legal/14523780/

 YES! My neighborhood has porn theaters and NYC has no illegal cannabis stores! 

 Just stop digging and give it up.  Though like a three year old, you can't stand it,  you are wrong. 

Edited April 11 by Zorral

[Kalbear]

On the weed thing - Washington state has had it for a while now and I don't see nearly the kinds of issues that that cesspool of horrible weed, porn, and non-mafia run streets that is NYC has. The idea that it should be made illegal because it's badly run is an obviously stupid thing that should be applied to far more dangerous things in the real world before it comes for pot. 

[Zorral]

1 minute ago, Kalbear said:

The idea that it should be made illegal because it's badly run i

You might notice in the many articles, nobody said that.  They are all saying as things are done now, decriminalization has created even more problems.  Nobody has even suggested rolling back the decriminalization of personal use possession, for pete's sake.  Why don't you guys actually look at the information provided, comprehend what people say, instead of being chicken little running around the sky is falling They are taking away my weed and I'll never be able to get high again, wah wah wah.

In my neighborhood right now, considering the sorts these illegal stores attract to just hang out or the crazy kids from out of town, etc. -- it is a center of Gay Pride globally. People from all over  the world arrive starting at the beginning of June.  A lot of them are feeling free for the first time from the attitudes they have to live with back home.  Others are some of the international party crowd.  They are all flamboyant and proud and happy to be where they can be who they are.  These jerks who come here to be drunk and high and flounder around pissing and vomiting do not like seeing men kissing each other . . . .  Before the pot crappers showed up their sorts would be far in the minority, so no problem.  This June, lordessa knows what will happen.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

36 minutes ago, Larry of the Lawn said:

I guess you could say she used your porn theater counting method, eh?

I literally googled a map from back in the day.

27 minutes ago, Zorral said:

New York’s Marijuana Scorecard: 85 Legal Shops, 2,000 Illegal Ones

 YES! My neighborhood has porn theaters and NYC has no illegal cannabis stores! 

 Just stop digging and give it up.  Though like a three year old, you can't stand it,  you are wrong. 

Lol, am I the one that claimed there are 3 or 4 dispensaries on every block? There are an estimated 120,000 blocks in NYC. Do the math. 

[Kalbear]

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

You might notice in the many articles, nobody said that. 

You might notice that a whole lot of people did say that, and that they've said that in this thread. 

1 hour ago, Zorral said:

They are all saying as things are done now, decriminalization has created even more problems.  Nobody has even suggested rolling back the decriminalization of personal use possession, for pete's sake.  Why don't you guys actually look at the information provided, comprehend what people say, instead of being chicken little running around the sky is falling They are taking away my weed and I'll never be able to get high again, wah wah wah.

I don't think decriminalization has caused the problems, is the point. That'd be the one that you appear to continue not to get. How it's been decriminalized and what they've allowed and not allowed is the issue. 

 

[Jace, Extat]

Goddamn, Zorral. You're taking no prisoners lately. 

[DireWolfSpirit]

I dont care if weed is legal, to each his own I say.

But as a user in my youth, I definitely concur with Fez's post, that shit does dull your senses the more you smoke it, to deny that, as tons of folks Ive heard over the years do, is misguided.

Drink and smoke away, no problem to me though.

I put up a greenhouse for garden veggies last summer, everybody seems to think im now into a cannabis grow operation.

Its for veggies you snowflakes!

[DMC]

5 hours ago, Zorral said:

Can't you read?

You really need to stop with this horseshit.  Yes, I read you in two separate posts compare the hellscape that legalization has wrought on your neighborhood with the pristine pleasantville you enjoyed back in the day - and directly credited the latter environs to the efforts of the mob.  I suppose “pining” was a rhetorical flourish on my part, but it’s a perfectly fair depiction of what you wrote.

[Conflicting Thought]

38 minutes ago, DireWolfSpirit said:

I dont care if weed is legal, to each his own I say.

But as a user in my youth, I definitely concur with Fez's post, that shit does dull your senses the more you smoke it, to deny that, as tons of folks Ive heard over the years do, is misguided.

Drink and smoke away, no problem to me though.

I put up a greenhouse for garden veggies last summer, everybody seems to think im now into a cannabis grow operation.

Its for veggies you snowflakes!

i dont know if the more you smoke it the more it dulls your senses, first it kinda depends on the person, but as a chronic smoker of weed, i would say that for me at the beggining weed had a much more strong effect on me, now not so much. but i will say that when a stop smoking, after like three days i do sleep better, and my short term memory is better, and i do feel more "awake"...hmm i guess the inmediate effect of weed on me is less potent than when i started but the commulative effect is still there

[DMC]

Also, I know it’s pedantic, but we really should distinguish between legalization and decriminalization.  Marijuana has been partially decriminalized throughout New York State since I grew up there.  Indeed, since 1977.  And in NYC it was further decriminalized in 2014 - notably to little long term effect on arrests.