Local officials are hurting their towns by not allowing sales of legal cannabis.
I personally have been a consumer for most of my life. I raised a son and a grandson. I also have had my own business for 25 years, and I’ve seen this plant’s medicine help people who are withdrawing from opioid abuse.
Operational legal cannabis businesses are associated with significant crime reduction due to increased security and surveillance measures they have in place for their businesses.
A noticeable reduction in deaths has been seen in states with active dispensaries that offer safe, regulated products. Active consumers already live and work in the towns that are opposing storefront sales. They are not protecting their towns, but only hindering any progress or profit from legalization of cannabis. Prohibiting use or sales is just as ineffective and as problematic as alcohol prohibition because it allows sales to remain on an illicit market. These measures only create crime and violence.
The fact of the matter is that cannabis is here to stay. It’s always has been here, and it’s not going anywhere.
So here’s hoping that our towns come to their senses before the legal recreational market takes hold. Consumers will get their products in neighboring towns or just over state lines. It’s the same as it was with alcohol sales on Sundays. There are many more odors in the air that offend me or can harm me that everyone seems to deal with. So what is one more? I would rather be around a smiling stoner than a sloppy drunk any day.
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