Weed Is Coming to Circle K Gas Stations in US Next Year | Hacker News Reader

Weed Is Coming to Circle K Gas Stations in US Next Year

bloomberg.com

25 pointslxm55 comments

I don't understand why this is news. Oregon is full of weed stores literally on the same property as gas stations. So a big chain is carrying legal weed... who cares?

Florida isn’t even a legal recreational state (lawyers made sure that ballot got kicked off) so this is still only for medical.

It should be noted that in most states with medical one can tell a teledoc "I have anxiety" and get a card very fast.

The problem is you document your use, which is problematic for those who own firearms, work in information security, etc.

I'd imagine along those lines, problematic for licensed pilots as well.

I can't believe you can still get 10 (scratch that, 15 after the latest amendment to prohibited persons signed this summer) YEARS in jail for licensed medical patient to own a joint next to a .22 squirrel rifle.

Firearms rights and pot freedoms fall politically on opposite sides of the political aisle so I have no real hope that's going to be fixed in the near future. There's no bipartisan incentive.

Yeah the "medical" thing is just a hand-out to the doctors who get to act as gatekeepers, and the middlemen who've popped up to funnel customers to them. $100 or whatever for a 5-minute call, if it's even that long, name any of a few things that're true for basically everyone ("sometimes I have trouble sleeping" or "sometimes I'm anxious") and that's that. Nothing about it is treated seriously by anyone involved.

I saw ads in the newspapers here in California that said it was 30 dollars for a doctor to say you need weed without even seeing you.

Soon after that we just voted to make it legal.

Florida is why this is news. East coast legal states just don't have the same attitude so far. Dispensaries on the east coast are typically quite limited on where they can operate.

Next thing you know, Uber Eats will be delivering weed.

Oh wait.. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/uber-eats-cannabis-de...

"Strange things are afoot at the Circle K" —Bill S. Preston Esq.

Title should be “Weed Is Coming to Circle K Gas Stations in US Next Year”.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K.

NPR recently introduced this story with that soundclip in their daily 30s 'offbeat news' segment:

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/20/1130134438/circle-k-chain-sig...

> FADEL: "The Circle K convenience store chain has signed a deal with one of America's largest cannabis producers to sell licensed marijuana at its Florida gas stations, a move that could be called an excellent adventure."

Next to the cigarettes?

Woah! Next thing you know they'll be selling alcohol at gas stations too.

This really is a slippery slope. Next thing you know they'll be selling:

* lottery tickets

* dubious 'testerone-enhancing' pills

* pepper spray

* junk food

* entirely too large fountain sodas

* (in some states) ammunition

And who knows what else!

- Drive through taxidermy

- Car washes

- condoms

- oil

Don't forget crack pipes.

Woah woah, that's not a crack pipe! That's a 'flower vase'!

Seriously, they already sell at least two things that do way more harm than weed ever could (alcohol and the too-large fizzy sugar waters). Arguably some of the others, too, but those stand out as plainly way more harmful than weed.

Has soda ever given anyone schizophrenia (or "uncovered" "latent" schizophrenia in people)? Or has anyone ever caused a car crash from drinking soda prior to driving? Marijuana is way, way more harmful than soda.

Yeah you can get psychosis from too much caffeine. I don't think it 'causes' schizophrenia though.

My very low effort researching of fairly low neurotoxicity psychoactive substances like marijuana/LSD/mushrooms is that they're associated with eliciting schizophrenia in those already predisposed? Personally I don't know anyone without a history of family illness that exhibited irreversible mental illness after consuming marijuana. Is it pretty rare?

> Or has anyone ever caused a car crash from drinking soda prior to driving?

I would say almost certainly yes. For reason of above caffeine induced psychosis. Admittedly it would take a LOT. But some people drink a metric shit-ton of energy soda.

I am 100% sure soda has resulted in an order of magnitude more lost years of life than MJ, total.

[EDIT] Or years of health-span, so we make sure we cover severe mental illness being triggered by it. I bet it comes out looking even better by that measure, actually.

What's your point? The reason that guns are dangerous isn't schizophrenia either, but we know that they're more dangerous than marijuana as well. Likewise it is quite evident that sugar has been causing way more harm than marijuana, albeit in a different way.

If someone close to you had to deal with schizophrenia then I am sorry. It does not however make sugar any less of a danger.

> Marijuana is way, way more harmful than soda.

While driving, probably yes. In general, no. Soda causes way more health problems.

Contraceptives omg omg omg!

"* entirely too large fountain sodas"

The slipping hazard from a potential spill is just too high.

I'm pretty sure Florida gas stations also sold "bath salts" for a while, which was a cover for research chemicals that were drugs sort-of similar to meth, cocaine, ecstasy, pcp; remember this story? https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/05/30/153989768...

My understanding is that that attacker wasn't using bath salts, and that the connection to bath salts was all speculation.

Also, I think bath salts is usually synthetic cathinones, i.e. functional analogues of khat, and not derivatives of meth, cocaine, ecstasy, or pcp.

Could be wrong, I'm just some guy on the internet.

See https://www.foxnews.com/us/medical-examiner-rules-out-bath-s... and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_cannibal_attack

All of those things are legal. Marijuana is not.

it is in many states (though FL only medicinal, so I'm guessing CircleK's there require you to show your document.

https://disa.com/maps/marijuana-legality-by-state

It's still illegal at the federal level though, so even in those states, you're still committing a crime by using it.

It's a weird situation. As far as the State is concerned, you have not committed any crime or wrongdoing. But if you are investigated by the FBI then they could classify it as a crime. Thankfully most people aren't investigated by the Feds.

> * (in some states) ammunition

seriously?? I did not know that

Electric cars are going to make it hard to explain to the wife/parents/kids/probation officer/etc why you're stopping at the <all vices sold here> store. Gasoline made a great cover.

If they have chargers. I think that takes more time than filling up gas. It might still work :)

One of the benefits of EVs is that unless you're on long road trips (300+ miles), you don't need to charge anywhere other than places you park for long periods anyway (e.g., home and work), which means going to a convenience store in one just to charge would be highly suspicious.

Do they still carry newspapers?

what dat?

I've got a Tesla and I'm at gas stations alllll the time for my vice (Zyn tobacco-less nicotine pouches).

When I have to, I'll park at a pump and walk inside. That always feels a bit weird (the opposite of ICE'ing an EV spot: https://electrek.co/2021/12/09/tesla-system-prevent-gas-cars...).

... oh, legally. OK.

Far out!

Am I understood right that it is legal to drive while being smoked in Florida? In our country this is a recipe for losing your driver license.

Legal to smoke cigarettes and drive. Not legal to smoke cannabis and drive.

They also sell beer in gas stations too!

Dispensaries generally have to comply with regulations to put the items in a paper bag and staple it shut. If you get pulled over and the bag is still shut - no problems. Consider it equivalent to 'open container' concept for alcohol.

(In USA if you are of legal drinking age, it is okay to drive with closed containers of alcohol and generally very not okay to drive with open containers)

Clarification: Open is okay if it isn't easily accessible (e.g. in the trunk), or you're a rear passenger in some types of hired vehicles (long distance buses, limos)

Open container laws aren't even universal. In 10 states open containers are legal, and in most of those passengers can legally drink. In (of course...) Mississippi not only that, but the driver can drink too, as long as they stay below 0.08

Wow, that is baffling! Today I learned!

Counties and cities can have open container laws too, so just because the state doesn't have the law doesn't mean you can legally do it.

That's pretty interesting. I was curious, so if you trust The Zebra[0], Mississippi has pretty average DUI problems despite pretty average alcohol consumption.

[0] https://www.thezebra.com/resources/driving/most-dangerous-st...

Anecdotally, my experience growing up in the rural south of the USA (not MS) is that the police would often let things slide for a member of the community that they knew. I.e. rather than a formal DUI, the individual would get a ride home and have to pick up their keys at the sheriff's office in the morning. This type of sentiment could be aligned with lax open container laws which could affect such data.

It's not legal anywhere, though the name varies. Most states would refer to this as either a DUI (driving under the influence) or DWI (driving while intoxicated).

America has drive-thru liquor stores.

Indeed, but that doesn't mean it's legal to start drinking while in your car.

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