There is a lot of conversation going on right now related to Lakewood City Council’s upcoming decision regarding allowing or disallowing marijuana dispensaries inside the city.
In plain English, the question is, Do we want dope shops or do we not want dope shops in Lakewood?
One of the arguments supporting allowing dope shops in Lakewood is dope shops will not be permitted to locate closer than 1000’ from a school.
That is not much of a safety zone.
How many kids can’t walk, bike, skateboard, hail an Uber on their smartphone to cover the 1000’ to get some weed?
Cannabis Oasis. City of Tacoma.
Every one of the kids on the school bus has been taught to read which includes reading the sign visible from the bus windows, Cannabis Oasis. The message for kids is, Cannabis is desirable, and you should try some.
Yes, the promotors use fancy words, Cannabis and Oasis, but the kids know there is dope inside the building. After the kids drive by the sign two times a day for nine months for up to 12 years, somewhere along the way, they will want to light up some weed just to see how good weed can be.
Are any of you old enough to remember the Camel cigarette ads, “I would walk a mile for a Camel?”
If tired adults were willing to walk a mile for a Camel, you could bet our energetic youth will walk 1/5th of a mile for some marijuana.
The Wall Street Journal reports legalizing marijuana increases use among juveniles to 65%. Marijuana becomes more accessible and marijuana becomes the new norm.
What is more important, kids or cash? Our Lakewood City Council will let us know the answer to that question in the very near future.**
**Footnote: After submitting the original version of this article on 02-21-18, I attended the Lakewood United Meeting on 02-22-18 at 7:00a. Lakewood United served as host to a Pro & Con Debate on the question related to allowing marijuana dispensaries in the City of Lakewood.
Towards the end of the meeting, Deputy Mayor Jason Whalen informed the gathered audience in a tone and with ample conviction that left no room for confusion that while he cannot officially speak for Lakewood City Council, it is his sense that the dispensary question is not and never has been about the money. Issues other than money are the focus of the council’s analysis.
Based on that sentiment, it sounds to me that kids are more important than cash.
WASTE OF TIME!!!
Mr. Wilson, so that we can better understand what you mean when you write waste of time, a couple of questions. Do you use marijuana? Do you discourage your children or grandchildren from using marijuana? Do you disagree with the Clover Park School Board when it states that marijuana should not be easily obtainable in Lakewood?
WOT
The only comments that are a Waste of Time come from David Wilson.
Jason Whalen’s comment that it “isn’t about the money” couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Why not put pot shops in Lakewood ON HOLD for 10 years to see how this whole thing shakes out? Why rush into everything new just because neighboring cities do? We could wind up with a city as poorly run as Seattle, and that would be a shame.
What’s next, jumping on the needle exchange bandwagon?
Of course it’s about the money.
Please urge members of our council to reject this proposal.
Here are the facts regarding the experiment with pot shops in Colorado done by the Marijuana Accountability Coalition. It’s not pretty. The same kinds of impacts are being felt in Washington as well: you just don’t know about it and I suspect government is OK with that.
• Colorado currently holds the top ranking for first-time marijuana use among youth, representing a 65% increase in the years since legalization (NSDUH, 2006-2016). Young adult use (youth aged 18-25) in Colorado is rapidly increasing (NSDUH, 2006-2016).
• Colorado toxicology reports show the percentage of adolescent suicide victims testing positive for marijuana has increased (Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment [CDPHE], 2017).
• Colorado marijuana arrests for young African-American and Hispanic youth have increased since legalization (Colorado Department of Public Safety [CDPS], 2016).
• The gallons of alcohol consumed in Colorado since marijuana legalization has increased by 8% (Colorado Department of Revenue [CDR], Colorado Liquor Excise Tax, 2017).
• In Colorado, calls to poison control centers have risen 210% between the four-year averages before and after recreational legalization (Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center [RMPCD], 2017 and Wang, et al., 2017).
• In Colorado, the annual rate of marijuana-related emergency room visits increased 35% between the years 2011 and 2015 (CDPHE, 2017).
• Narcotics officers in Colorado have been busy responding to the 50% increase in illegal grow operations across rural areas in the state (Stewart, 2017).
o In 2016 alone, Colorado law enforcement confiscated 7,116 pounds of marijuana, carried out 252 felony arrests, and made 346 highway interdictions of marijuana headed to 36 different U.S. states (RMHIDTA, 2017).
• The U.S. mail system has also been affected by the black market, seeing an 844% increase in marijuana seizures (RMHIDTA, 2017).
• The crime rate in Colorado has increased 11 times faster than the rest of the nation since legalization (Mitchell, 2017), with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reporting an 8.3% increase in property crimes and an 18.6% increase in violent crimes (Colorado Bureau of Investigation [CBI], 2017).
o The Boulder Police Department reported a 54% increase in public consumption of marijuana citations since legalization (Boulder Police Department [BPD], 2017).
• Marijuana urine test results in Colorado are now double the national average (Quest Diagnostics, 2016).
• Insurance claims have become a growing concern among companies in legalized states (Hlavac & Easterly, 2016).
• The number of drivers in Colorado intoxicated with marijuana and involved in fatal traffic crashes increased 88% from 2013 to 2015 (Migoya, 2017). Marijuana-related traffic deaths increased 66% between the four-year averages before and after legalization (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], 2017).
o Driving under the influence of drugs (DUIDs) have also risen in Colorado, with 76% of statewide DUIDs involving marijuana (Colorado State Patrol [CSP], 2017).
I applaud Councilmember Whalen for putting community before money but let’s get serious: the amount of touted tax revenue from two pot shops sales tax ($150,000 – $200,000 annually) is only a rounding error for an annual city budget of $80,000,000! That tax revenue would disappear into the general fund and have no impact upon city services. There’s even a question whether that tax would be collected or paid: the first pot shop in Tacoma was just shut down for failure to pay $1,400,000 in excise tax! How long had that been going on before enforcement caught up with them? You can’t take an illegal criminal business model, wave the magic wand of “legality” over it and expect it to change. Is this the kind of Lakewood you want to live in????
ok… let’s cool our heels a little. I’ve also done some research on this topic and have yet to form an opinion, BUT, seriously, you’re worried about school children seeing a cannabis store when there are a gambling establishment and bikini baristas throughout Lakewood? And, honestly, I was shocked to see cannabis billboards all over town. Seems to me with the internet, google search and mapping tools that this form of advertising should be outlawed, just as you no longer see advertisements for cigarettes.
That said, I have reviewed various documents regarding statistics, police and social aspects, of legalized marijuana on communities and did read the reports offered by John Arbeeny (above). The 125 page report that I read offering objective police stats was, for the most part, non-conclusive. Honestly, legalization hasn’t been around long enough to have any real stats, BUT, for the limited perspective there does not appear to be much to be concerned about.
As to the report, above, it is terribly slanted, and obviously so. It is offered up by a political/religious organization that is hell bent on removing pot from society, and their stats are twisted to promote their objective. For the most part I had to dismiss their findings. Case in point, the uptick in emergency room visits… you will find numerous articles and findings that the emergency room system has realized a severe uptick since ACA has afforded so many people with health insurance, a very real problem, so their claim regarding the 35% uptick in MJ related visits is most likely easily debunked as in keeping with the uptick in ALL emergency room activity. It’s not comparative. As to the 88% increase in MJ related DUIs… well, it was just recently that there has been any measure of intoxication via MJ. As far of reports of ‘concerns’… well, that translates, easily, to somebodies ‘opinion’ and has no value. Also, with legalization, just not having a local pot shop will not shield us from exposure to stoners and their public misdeeds. A little bit like putting up a chain link fence thinking it will offer you privacy.
Of course it’s about money. Just like gambling establishments and bikini baristas are about money. What are the stats regarding police activity around these locations? Does the city revenue support the expense in police activity and other city investment for allowing them?
I’d like to continue this debate, sans the hype and bs, if you don’t mind.
Thank you, Betsy for being a voice of reason!
A few points to consider:
When asked to vote on the issue of pot legalization, what did MOST voters want?
Did voters go to the polls to DECRIMINALIZE the possession of marijuana? Yes, some, like me, perhaps and WHY? Because
too many otherwise law abiding citizens were being stopped, arrested and branded as lawbreaking “criminals.”
Now it seems to be a “kids or cash” issue! Where does democracy and freedom of choice come in?
In the mid 1950’s, my friend Marty would come over once in a while to stay overnight. I lived on a small farm with my family, so Marty and I would camp out in the yard. Around midnight I would sneak into the house and get about 4 cigarettes from my dad’s pack by his chair in the living room. Marty and I would go for a walk and smoke those things. We were about 13 years old. Even in that era kids knew that cigarettes were bad for us; but they were right there. Do we imagine that today’s kids don’t know where to find their parent’s pot stash? Are we that naive. Think about it.
Ya, probably in the liquor cabinet… and, hopefully, nowhere near the tide pods. A similarly silly concern was raised when liquor stores were disbanded some years ago. It seemed obvious to me that kids partake with what they find at home. Honestly, surprisingly, I don’t think pot is taking over our lives like the opponents are suggesting. There ARE those that do partake, and there are those who DON’T. What’s changed is the source. Has legalization actually changed the level of personal participation??? … beyond a one time curiosity purchase/use.. ??? There’s a study I’d like to see the results of.
What a biased article.. The people voted for it. The city needs to start reaping the benefits of cannabis. The council has made their stance clear, now allow the voters to do what they want.
People voted to decriminalize possession and use of weed. They did not vote to have dope shops in the city. Two issues, but we only voted on decriminalization.
Joseph Boyle, not to be confused with the Joe Anonymous above. I put my name behind my opinion.