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Comment by nobody9999 | Hacker News Reader

>That's evidence of increased public/open-air consumption, which is to be expected with legalization

>Don't need to hide it anymore, especially if the local police don't have much to do otherwise

Yep. At least in New York City before legalization, using cannabis in public earned you an arrest and a night in jail despite the fact that it wasn't even a misdemeanor, just a local code violation with a $50 fine.

That was done consistently (I know several folks who were caught up in such chicanery) for decades to deter folks from using in public.

But enforcement was spotty and, as usual, melanin content played an outsized role in determining who would be "enforced."

Thank goodness that's not happening anymore.

Edit: Fixed prose ('we' --> 'were')>

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I have DEFINITELY noticed an increase in public usage yeah. Which is strange because that was not legalized in Ohio. Smoking a joint in your car going down the road or at the park is as illegal as it ever was.

I’m sure overall usage numbers are up because I know a lot of people who started using it after they could buy it legally, but those people are all also infrequent users and I’m sure are not driving high. The people who would be deterred by weed being illegal are probably all in the “won’t drive stoned” category. (I’m sure many infrequent users pre-legalization, myself included, were never much worried about the legality but don’t drive high because we like being alive, and we continue to not do so now.)

My fragrant walks around town put me in proximity to neighbors kicking it on their own property, visible and aromatic but not crossing the threshold into what I would consider to be 'public usage'. They're in their garage on folding chairs with the door open, or in the yard, or on a back porch.

In addition to the distinctive smell of marijuana, there is often a recreational fire (wood smoke), and/or a BBQ (sizzling meat). It's publicly visible and apparent, but on private property.

I have never been that social, haven't accepted a pass in decades, don't imbibe myself (despite my internym), and don't recommend it to young folk, but I must be getting a microdose and a minor contact high from the gentle breeze that floats through town more often since legalization.

Second hand smoke is real, yo. The wind blows.

So now children are exposed to psychoactive drug fumes in our parks, with no way to avoid them. Ideal, such progress.

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