topic Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked! in Community Chat

Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Annabellethecat66 — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:05:41 GMT

As many of you know (and are probably sick of it) I've mentioned that my youngest daughter lives in the heart of the city of Denver.

She loves it there and I love visiting her. I've been there several times.

I admit, the first time took a little getting used to, but my daughter is happy and it's a wonderful place. The people I meet are kind and polite (not like in the DC/Md/parts of Va area).

Anyway, my oldest daughter, her 4 children and husband are visiting the youngest daughter for a few days on their way back from visiting colleges in California.

The oldest (with her family) is exploring Denver this morning. She's been so excited to see a "Black Eyed Peas" restaurant there (they closed down near us years ago).

But the first thing she texted was a picture of a store that sells pot with a huge line as far as the picture went. The store hadn't opened yet. She was amazed at the sight!

I told her to buckle up that it's a comin' across the country. She has 4 children. Three are teenagers and she's very opposed to the use of pot for (let's call it fun). We know all about the other uses of the oil, etc and think it's a good thing.

It's similar to seeing rows and rows (3 feet wide) with homeless tents, etc, on the streets there and in some other cities.

We live in and around an area in Virginia where this is considered illegal and the police enforce it. So, it's a shock when you see it.

She's been there now for a few days but she's still shocked.

My youngest daughter has said it's supposed to be against the law there too, but it's so prevalent, they (the police) can't keep up with enforcing it. She said they do 'sweeps' but let's face it, these people have nowhere to go so they move for a short time and then move back.

There is no easy answer to this homeless problem, but someone at least needs to start.

Not all of these people are mentally unstable, druggies, etc. Due to unforeseen circumstances they've become homeless.

Some are women with children.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

patbz — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:15:30 GMT

DH has a medical MJ card but it was still a surprise when we last visited Law Vegas. There are many huge billboards advertising MJ and now there is Planet 13, the largest MJ store in the country. It's all good, as far as I'm concerned but why are many of the hotels now charging for parking (even if you are staying overnight)? Supposedly it's to help defray the cost of their new stadium; I'd guess that taxes on MJ would easily cover those costs.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

RetRN — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 21:33:21 GMT

Instead of being so flippant about it I wish people would do some research and study the facts. All is well until.... I don't think people understand. For medical purposes such as helping with seizures, nausea and vomiting, or pain it is a useful thing. But for fun, think again folks.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

proudlyfromNJ — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:28:35 GMT

@patbz wrote:
DH has a medical MJ card but it was still a surprise when we last visited Law Vegas. There are many huge billboards advertising MJ and now there is Planet 13, the largest MJ store in the country. It's all good, as far as I'm concerned but why are many of the hotels now charging for parking (even if you are staying overnight)? Supposedly it's to help defray the cost of their new stadium; I'd guess that taxes on MJ would easily cover those costs.

@patbz If we spend the night in NYC we pay for parking at the hotel. That has been true there for many years.

The same in Boston. I thought that’s the way it was in most big cities.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Snowpuppy — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:31:27 GMT

It's now legal here in MI, too although communities including mine can opt out of, uh...shops and stores selling it. It's also illegal in my community to grow it.

It's well taxed here so that was the push to get it legalized.

I don't indulge, never have. I wonder what the future holds when you drop your kids off at daycare and the employees take a smoke break? Or your nurse, doctor, hospital or nursing home staff go on their smoke breaks?

Paying to park at hotels near "shops" is likely to deter people from running in, stocking up then running to the car to light up.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

patbz — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:32:39 GMT

@proudlyfromNJ : Until about two years ago parking in Vegas was almost always free (the better to entice gamblers, diners, shoppers).

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

proudlyfromNJ — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:44:12 GMT

@patbz wrote:
@proudlyfromNJ : Until about two years ago parking in Vegas was almost always free (the better to entice gamblers, diners, shoppers).

@patbz . Oh, didn’t know, we have to fly and cab it there.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

SilleeMee — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:58:52 GMT

I've lived in Colorado since 1968. Lots of changes since I first moved here. Legalization has brought both good and bad things to this state. I don't involve myself in any of the aspects regarding it's sales or usage and I don't care if there are people who do. MJ means big money and big crime around here...a double-sided sword.

Denver is ranked no.3 in the most desirable places to live right now and for more reasons than just the pot situation.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Sadiesadie — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 19:57:30 GMT

@Annabellethecat66 : Our 2 daughters live in Denver. There is a dispensary on almost every corner. It took me by surprise the first time I saw that a few years ago but rarely notice them now.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

IamMrsG — Sat, 20 Apr 2019 20:44:40 GMT

A friend of mine, who originates from Denver but has been away for many years, went back for a visit. She told me how distressing it was to see the overall decline, but particularly the litter and refuse, that is unavoidable all around.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Tyak — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 04:05:49 GMT

@patbz wrote:
DH has a medical MJ card but it was still a surprise when we last visited Law Vegas. There are many huge billboards advertising MJ and now there is Planet 13, the largest MJ store in the country. It's all good, as far as I'm concerned but why are many of the hotels now charging for parking (even if you are staying overnight)? Supposedly it's to help defray the cost of their new stadium; I'd guess that taxes on MJ would easily cover those costs.

The casino/hotels here in Vegas are charging for everything under the sun that they can get away with because of GREED. Plain and simple. (The cost to help fund the new football stadium is such a small % that it's miniscule.)

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Annabellethecat66 — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 15:28:22 GMT

As with every single thing in life, there is good and there is ....well...bad (plain and simple...bad).

One of those good/bad things would be capitalism. People (these days, it seems) can charge anything they want for ....anything.

I am thinking about those little pieces of paper that tell a diabetic their glucose level. The cost of those little things is prohibitive....unbelievable for what they are!

As of July 2018 more than 100 million Americans have Diabetes or pre-diabetes!

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0718-diabetes-report.html

Those statistics are probably underestimated. Without the insulin (and the tabs to gauge glucose levels) a person with diabetes would die..plain and simple, they'd die.

Yet the cost of the insulin, needles and especially the 'tabs' keep going up and up and (well, you get it).

So, as someone who lives with constant pain (and has since at least 2003), I can tell you that according to ALL of the Drs I've gone to, Pot for medicinal purposes does very little to help.

I've asked so many Drs who specialize in my specific problem about pot use for the pain and my Drs all have looked at me and said, (paraphrasing), "When was the last time someone was given pot to ease or quell pain after an operation? Contrary to what you hear and read, it does not rid (or even in most cases) help someone to be able to function who is in severe pain.

Anyway, I started this post and didn't mean for it be a soap box about the cost of medicine or the foible argument for using pot for pain. I know it helps cancer patients in many good ways (appetite, etc), I know derivatives of it can help people with seizures. There are probably many more way it can help humans.

But if you want to think of it as mentioned above, you must also think of it as a medicine or drug. As we've learned with other things that started out being used for recreation, the two do not go together.

I never hear anyone mention what putting this carcinogens into one's lungs does to the lungs. Nowhere have I heard this discussed.

We saw what cigarettes did to an entire generation (Baby Boomers and those before the Boomers).

Now we are about to see how pot can and probably will do as much (if not more) to the Millennials and those after.

Why can't humans ever learn from their mistakes?

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Snowpuppy — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 15:53:09 GMT

One thing legalization will do is further the divide between the haves and the have nots.

If it's recreational, then the winners are the taxing authorities and the shops. The losers will be those who further empty their pockets on the latest I Gotta Have Some.

While not buying it won't make you rich, buying it will help you have less cash in your pockets.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Sooner — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 16:03:07 GMT

Oklahoma is now a stoner's dream as of the last election. We are growing, selling, promoting, etc. In some confused way pot is now "Okie" Dokie and we just raised the speed limit on Turnpikes to 80. Go figure. I'm stunned.

So texters and other "distracteds" (pot heads) can now go 80 from OKC to Tulsa. I'd be terrified to be on that road now.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

stevieb — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 16:06:58 GMT

I frankly wasn't clear on what this thread was about... It seemed to veer in so many directions: recreational pot use, medicinal pot use, the plight of the homeless, the state of the city of Denver, the cost of parking and on and on and on... If the focus is on the use of pot, for whatever reason, my perspective is that it should be an individual choice. It can be taxed and regulated, but no one should decide for anyone else what they choose to do or not choose to do.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Burnsite — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 16:20:12 GMT

I was in Denver several weeks ago, at a downtown hotel. I love the city, but what struck me this time were the number of homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks. It was cold still.

I didn't see any cannabis stores.

Denver's homeless looked mostly like runaway teens and perhaps younger vets. I don't usually stay downtown, so perhaps this is nothing new. I wish that our "safety nets" worked more effectively.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

SilleeMee — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 16:54:05 GMT

Denver is spiking in population. It's a very attractive place to live right now. Unfortunately with the increase in population there is also a spike in the homeless population, too.

According to the US Census Colorado is the second-fastest growing state.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

stevieb — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 17:26:35 GMT

@SilleeMee wrote:
Denver is spiking in population. It's a very attractive place to live right now. Unfortunately with the increase in population there is also a spike in the homeless population, too.

According to the US Census Colorado is the second-fastest growing state.

And while it's unlikely all that growth is due to Colorado being perceived as socially liberal and legalized medicinal and recreational pot use, one would have to suspect these are all factors... Maybe some of the more reactionary states intent on limiting their citizen's options and meanwhile taxing them into oblvion, while offering limited services, hence encouraging them to move elsewhere, might take a lesson... Yes, Virginia, I'm talking about you, among others...

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

Sooner — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 14:20:47 GMT

@stevieb wrote:
I frankly wasn't clear on what this thread was about... It seemed to veer in so many directions: recreational pot use, medicinal pot use, the plight of the homeless, the state of the city of Denver, the cost of parking and on and on and on... If the focus is on the use of pot, for whatever reason, my perspective is that it should be an individual choice. It can be taxed and regulated, but no one should decide for anyone else what they choose to do or not choose to do.

@stevieb So are we to just do away with laws? I believe we should have laws that are enforced, which lately seems to be not the case many times.

Re: Visiting Denver For The First Time and Well....Shocked!

proudlyfromNJ — Mon, 22 Apr 2019 14:30:29 GMT

@Sooner wrote:
@stevieb wrote:
I frankly wasn't clear on what this thread was about... It seemed to veer in so many directions: recreational pot use, medicinal pot use, the plight of the homeless, the state of the city of Denver, the cost of parking and on and on and on... If the focus is on the use of pot, for whatever reason, my perspective is that it should be an individual choice. It can be taxed and regulated, but no one should decide for anyone else what they choose to do or not choose to do.
@stevieb So are we to just do away with laws? I believe we should have laws that are enforced, which lately seems to be not the case many times.

@Sooner. This has nothing to do with Denver but on the California thread people don’t want to live there because of too many laws! So no answers I guess.