Weird News

[henry quirk]

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[xoxoxoBruce]

But they are quite profitable... for Roto-Rooter.

[Carruthers]

Legal cannabis helps homes to hit a high

Cannabis does not just make humans high, it also has the same effect on house prices.

Research has found that in those areas of Colorado that voted for full legalisation of marijuana, property values have risen on average by a groovy 6 per cent. Meanwhile in those that chose to keep prohibition, there has been a distinctly mellow response in the housing market.

The research was possible because of the way Colorado has introduced a law change, passed in 2012.
Although the state itself repealed legislation banning cannabis, it was left to the hundreds of individual municipalities to decide whether or not they wanted to allow its sale.

This in effect created a natural experiment. While the stoners of Boulder, Basalt and Red Cliff chose to join the tokers of Silver Plume in embracing the herb, nearby Severance, Cokedale and Two Buttes kept the status quo. From a purely economic perspective though, which was right?

Cheng Cheng, a researcher at the University of Mississippi, said that when he began the investigation he genuinely did not know which way the market would go in response.

By comparing property prices before and after full legalisation, and looking to see what happened in those areas with no change, his paper in the journal Economic Inquiry showed that there was a clear effect.

In the first quarter after sales were allowed, prices jumped by 3 per cent. Then they continued increasing by the same amount again, at a more steady rate.

“We think the major benefits could come from the easier and legal access to recreational marijuana, the new entrepreneurial and employment opportunities and the increased tax revenues for local governments that were created by the legalisation,” said Professor Cheng.

Does this mean, though, that Britain should follow Colorado’s lead? “If our study is any indication, marijuana legalisation could bring large net benefits for housing market participants,” Professor Cheng said. “That does not necessarily imply that everyone will be better off. ” He also said that long-term health and crime effects could outweigh those benefits.

Sometimes I find life very puzzling.

The Times

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Carruthers

Sometimes I find life very puzzling.

The Times

Get high. You'll still be puzzled, but, at least you'll be high.

[glatt]

I've been smelling plenty of pot in DC since the law changed, but most people are discretely smoking it, even if outdoors.

This morning however, there was a guy smoking a pretty big joint at the outside seating of Potbelly right next to my building. This is corporate America type stuff. It's amazing how things have changed.

[captainhook455]

Originally Posted by glatt

I've been smelling plenty of pot in DC since the law changed, but most people are discretely smoking it, even if outdoors.

This morning however, there was a guy smoking a pretty big joint at the outside seating of Potbelly right next to my building. This is corporate America type stuff. It's amazing how things have changed.

Why what law changed in DC?

[glatt]

The DC pot law is complicated, and I don't really understand it fully.

It's still illegal to sell, but possession of a small amount is fine. And giving it away is legal. So lots of pot places are selling something else and throwing a joint in for free as a gift with purchase of the other item. Smoking in public is illegal, I think, but I haven't seen it enforced.

Of course it's still against federal law, so you could be arrested at any time by one of the couple thousand feds walking around, but they don't seem to care.

DC legalized pot posession, but Congress controls the purse strings for DC and put a clause in the budget saying that the DC government can't spend even one penny on regulating pot sales. So the local government had intended to set up rules for a marketplace, but because of Congress, there are none, and it's illegal to sell.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by henry quirk

(one of the) the dumbest thing(s) in the world: moist towelettes for the bum

What? Even bums need clean hands.