Thursday Open Thread

13 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread”

1. Our long journey to end the insanity of Prohibition started in Colorado in 2012 with Amendment 64.  We’re getting ever-so-close to ending our national embarrassment: The War on Drugs People of Color. 

   US Health Officials Urge Moving Pot to Lower-Risk Category

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   1. Yet, CO increased the severity of simple fentanyl possession, which has done exactly nothing to help the fentanyl problem.  I'll believe the war on drugs is over . . . likely never. 

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      1. We’ll take our wins where we can find them. An imperfect journey for sure but I do have a lot of faith in the younger generation in fixing this. 

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         1. I agree with that.  I just hope the younger generations can take over sooner.  

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   2. I really hope that this effort ( to downschedule cannabis) succeeds. It will make life easier for those of us who work with recovering addicts, and also for those of us who live in federally subsidized housing.

       Because all cannabis products are technically still Schedule 1, a simple hemp-infused lotion is "contraband" in halfway houses. My CBD sleep gummy violates my leasing agreement.

      This doesn't even touch the additional testing and charges incurred when clients use THC, even if they have a license to do so.

      THC products run a spectrum, from mild and beneficial to toxic. "Spice", in particular, an artificial synthesized THC compound  ( SCRA) which might have anything in it, has caused death and coma in clients.

      SCRA overdoses had significantly pronounced neurotoxicity and cardiotoxicity compared with marijuana.

      – Clinical Effects of Synthetic Cannabinoids Compared to Marijuana

      Maybe I'm naive, but I think if "grown" cannabis products were easier and less consequential to obtain, the nasty synthesized stuff would lose its appeal. One quality attracting people to use the SCRAs is that they supposedly don't show up on urine tests for THC,

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   3. I'm skeptical. As long as there's money to be made from civil forfeiture, why should the Feds change a thing? Those are the laws that need to change. Stop rewarding governments for upholding these regressive laws.

       

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2. Is there anything this morning that will give you a belly laugh like "Hi, I'm Ted Cruz.  A man's man, really.  Telling me how much beer I can drink?  You can just kiss my ass!!  (Twitter has disconnected the embed codes to this so you'll have to see it the old-fashioned way)

   Wait until he discovers that the big plan is to replace their gas stoves with transgender green energy ovens that connect us to the global government vaccine supercomputer!! 

    

    

    

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   1. You need to know 2 things:
      1. Rafael Edward Cruz is Canadian (at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada). Not a real 'Murican.
      2. "Health Canada recommends limiting alcohol to just 2 drinks per week"

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3. Who knew? BOTH of South Carolina's US senators are unmarried.

   Tim Scott isn’t married — and that makes GOP donors wary (axios.com)

    

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4. Is this on your radar?

   https://www.postindependent.com/news/should-garfield-re-2-switch-to-the-conservative-american-birthright-standard-voice-your-opinion-now/

    

   The Board Vice Chair also sits on the State's 1241 task force

   https://www.postindependent.com/news/garfield-re-2-school-district-board-president-tony-may-pitches-switch-to-conservative-christian-based-social-studies-curriculum/

   https://www.cde.state.co.us/accountability/accountability-task-force

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   1. Since the story was from the Glenwood paper, at first I thought there’s no way Glenwood would put up with American Birthright. But RE-2 is New Castle, Silt and Rifle, in other words Boebert country, so it might go through.

      A State Board of Education member pitched American Birthright to the State Board not long ago. It didn’t become the basis for state civics instruction, thankfully. If American Birthright isn’t on the radar of people interested in education, maybe it oughta be.

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      1. RE2 made the news briefly when Sherronna Bishop had the Pillow Guy Zoom in for a school board meeting during Covid – tragedy as farce.  Those poor board members bore he full brunt of the wingnut Covid tantrum.  Pretty sure the wingnuts subsequently flipped the Board after they drove a couple members out.  In other words, the curriculum may well pass.

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5. Good news … perhaps!

   The unemployment rate went up 0.3%. Maybe that will be cause for Jerome Powell to stop the interest rate increases.

   OTOH, 0.3% increase in unemployment may just be the start of the long-anticipated recession.

   Time will tell. Although I expect the talking heads on Faux News to pivot on a dime from crying about inflation to crying about the Biden Recession.

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