Legal weed begins in Illinois: Let's go get stoned
When you work so hard all the day long And everything you do seems to go wrong Just drop by my place on your way home Let's go get stoned
The start of a new year always brings new laws. Some good, others not so much. Recreational marijuana is now legal in Illinois. The good or bad of this up to you. Two years ago, recreational weed became legal in California. I visited a dispensary in San Diego to see what it was like.
The store was packed with stoners...errr...law abiding citizens. The line was out the door. When you finally made it inside, you took a number and waited to be served. It was like being at the deli counter at your local upscale grocery store. My number was twenty-seven. Thirty minutes later, it was time to see what was new and legal in the world of weed.
Cookies, candy bars, gummies, and for us oldtimers, buds...like in the olden, golden days.
My favorite was this chocolate bar that was labeled with this warning, "eat one third and wait two hours before eating more." It reminded me of the stories you hear about edibles: "I'm not high...I'm not high...I'm not high....take me to the hospital...NOW!"
It ain't no harm You're takin just a taste But don't blow your cool And start messing up the place Let's go get stoned
I wanted to see if the Illinois dispensary experience was the same as the one in in California. I know New Year's Day is for college football bowl games. Rose, Sugar and Weedeater...hmmm...how appropriate! Maybe a little legal weed would make these games even better?
I turned on the early morning local news. Every station was leading with stories from local dispensaries. Every one had long lines that looped around the block. People started lining up overnight as if they were waiting for concert tickets in the 1970's. What a way to spend new year's eve. The wait to enter the stores was four hours with no guarantee you'd be able to get inside. FOUR HOURS!! Damn, you need weed just to deal with the long line. Another worry is that some locations could run out of product. Both those issues came true at some locations.
At three pm I decided to check things out. I headed to my local dispensary in the Lakeview area of the city. The store is a short walk from Wrigley Field. Hmmm...that'll come in handy when watching this years Cubs or dealing with the politics of the team's owners. As I got closer, I noticed a large police presence and even more private security guards. One of the guards told me to come back tomorrow at nine. Damn. I guess all the people lined up weren't getting inside either.
Oh yeah, there was also a food truck outside. Quite the entrepreneur. Did he think people were going to get their pot, light up a doobie in the street and then head over for a taco?
I think I'll wait a week for the newness of this to wear off a little. It'll be okay, I won't be going through withdrawals. If I'm jonesing for some weed, I can do what we all did before it became legal. I'll call my local teenage dealer.
It ain't no harm you're faking just a nip But make sure you don't fall down bust your lip Let's go get stoned
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