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Health and Wellness

In Light Of The Election

Something to Smile About: Legalizing pot and the benefits beyond smoking it.

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In Light Of The Election
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Get ready, because this article is about to take a hit on your timeline. We're talking about being in between the influence.

Disclaimer: If you're against weed, I can understand. It's addictive in nature, it can predispose a person to heightened mental disorders (if the psychological disorder was already present), can induce anxiety, along with other negative effects depending on the user. Of course, pot does wonderful things too, but I'm not writing this to boast about pot (because I like it a lot and totally think it's great). I want to introduce some sensible facts.

On November 8th, pot was voted recreationally legal in Massachusetts. There is no debating whether legalizing and regulating pot in Colorado has had positive effects. "In the fiscal year that ended June 2015, recreational pot brought in a total of $129,136,316." For the state of Colorado, that's not as substantial as it may sound. That's just about a 1.3 percent increase from what they're used to. It takes $5.4 billion dollars each year to keep public schools running in Colorado, so as the legislature had promised, the extra 1.3 percent is going toward grants for upgrades in the school system as well as restore and refurbish school facilities. This information was found from Colorado's New's Leader: news9.com.

Now, imagine that in Connecticut! How badly could Waterbury, Bridgeport, Danbury or any inner city in CT use the improvement? Don't like that the pot industry contributes to schooling? Lighten up. Are you fixing the schools yourself? Do you not care because it doesn't effect you, although you may be the type of person to get down on people who are less educated than you? Hmm, rethink your perspective. Dannel Malloy, Governor of Connecticut, is rethinking his perspective on the topic. Initially reluctant to legalizing pot, Malloy claimed its legalization was "not in our best interest." After Massachusetts voters agreed to legalize weed for recreational purposes, Malloy explained in a smiling manner: "I’ve never been an advocate of that. On the other hand, of course, when multiple states move in a direction you have to re-examine your own personal thoughts on the issue." He was not surprised to see the vote pass the law, but as Massachusetts is our biggest border, he felt it deserved an open-mind, and he will "monitor the effects" of the Massachusetts pot vote.

So like it or not, Donald (smoke a) J. Trump is president and weed is becoming more and more tolerated (not directly related, they both just happen to make a majority of people uncomfortable). Chillary Clinton pointed out how our country is more divided than we had known — ain't that the truth! *Political rant: The beauty of this country is showing to be an astounding ailment at this time that is to freedom of speech and democracy! As a Chillary supporter, I'm confused about the result but I respect it, because the United States of America was founded on "We The People." People protesting are degrading democracy: just because some think Donald will ruin the country, doesn't mean anyone should disgrace what they think they're fighting for. I also feel scared for the peple who have been reported beaten and humiliated in their own neighborhoods, and I don't know how we could stand for it and let this be okay, but I do know that if we all took a huge hit of legalized weed, we could just all chill for about two to three hours.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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