But surely there have been downsides, too, even if they're not the ones that fear-mongerers predicted. Can anyone in Colorado speak to what those are?
Something is a bit off here.
Sure, but you can still have a pretty bad time if you take too much and/or are very sensitive. It's known to cause tachycardia in some people, which is not something to be taken lightly.
People, especially those of retirement age, tend to ignore the serving size for aspirin, to the point of 30k deaths per year.
THC is still rolling with a zero body count.
The patriarchy cannot save us from our own ignorance.
Again, zero body count but tons of fear about something people have been doing since there were people.
Oh, and regulations mandate all edibles be served in child-resistant packaging.
But seriously, I live and work in Downtown Denver and have seen no change for the worse, and frankly haven't heard any evidence that any of the assumed negative effects (ie: increase usage among teens and youth) have happened. Denver is one happy (and healthy) city.
Legalization is a no brainer that is simply being held up nationwide due to outdated moral inertia.
Second there is a big fear of increased DUI. The framework for legalization required that there be a penalty for DUI, which has been pegged at 5 nanograms of THC per millimeter of blood. This has its own problem, primarily that somebody who is no longer under the influence can still test positive if they are a heavy user. Officers need better tools at their disposal to determine if a driver is actually a danger while driving. This seems no different than legal pills that people also drive while under the influence. This might be a technology problem since there is no way to tell if a person is under the influence of cannabis.
The third big fear is that organized criminal elements will be attracted to the legal market in an attempt to launder their black market sales. There was a big bust of legal grows and dispensaries earlier this year which was supposedly related to cartel sales out of Miami. This seems like the real reason the DEA should be involved in cannabis legalization. So they can determine who is playing by the rules and who is trying to subvert them.
Without much quantitative data, the qualitative affects of legalization seem to have a positive impact on people's lives and the general communities around Denver in my personal opinion.
I absolutely am not suggesting kids should be allowed pot, just that I think the hysteria is overstated.
E.g., earlier onset of psychosis symptoms, etc.