Colorado is making BIG money from tax revenues from the sale of legal marijuana. Colorado may pull in $155 million this year, which is more than anyone expected. This news is making other states look at Colorado with envy. State legislatures all over the country are struggling to balance their budgets, so this source of easy money is causing state legislators and governors to reevaluate their views on drugs.

It’s a big topic, here in New Jersey. Philip Morris is not actually considering releasing a pot cigarette, despite the buzz on the Internet; it was a hoax. But this hoax had legs, because most people believe that legal pot is on the horizon.

I’m not a huge fan of the legalization of pot. I’m quite happy with my legal vices and don’t need more options. My friends, who like to wake and bake, seem to have no trouble finding product, but the people who really shouldn’t have access to the drug (ie my kid) have sufficient road blocks. I find it odd that we’re de-stimatizing pot, while tobacco is vilified.

I hate to be the uncool blogger, but the idea of a bunch of semi-employed 20-somethings sitting around a rental apartment getting baked all day is kind of depressing.

Same-sex marriage policies have somehow become joined with pot legalization policies. Pot is the new gay marriage. Maybe Andrew Sullivan is to blame for that coupling. But they are substantially different. We have no idea of what the social implications of the legalization of recreational pot use. Colorado may see a short-term rise in revenues in taxes, but then may have to shell out double the money for rehab centers five years down the line. We really don’t know what will happen.

So, I think we should keep legal pot in Colorado for ten years, not let it expand past its borders, and monitor the impact. Does legal pot increase consumption? Does it create a class of baked dudes with dreadlocks and skateboards? Does pot become a gateway drug for harder drugs? Does it increase the need for state-run rehab centers? Does it increase the number of people who drive, while high? Or does it have a minimal negative impact?