I am relatively lucky to live in a state that is full of awesome people with strong values.
The people I was with and I have been at the forefront of multiple positive social changes in this nation, especially before the movements started in adjacent areas.
For instance, our lake house neighborhood implemented a marijuana decriminalization program back in the day. They made it a $5 finet to be caught with minor amounts of cannabis, & the ticket was mailed to the offender’s property. This wasn’t the first instance of a city-wide decriminalization effort done in the country, however it became of the most notorious as critics tried to pin a tremendous amount of crime in the neighborhood on that law which had little effect among public opinion. In actuality, the law stayed around plus increased to $25 in 1990 when the fines were reviewed by the city. This state has both medical marijuana & recreational marijuana products at this point. Although medical marijuana patients pay lower prices at pot shops by avoiding state & neighborhood taxes, they also have to pay money to the state every year to keep their card. There is a particular tradeoff, however anyone else can actually make their way into a pot shop & purchase products as long as they’re over the age of 21. In our state the taxes aren’t completely crazy yet, however some areas in CA have combined taxes of over 26% on all recreational marijuana sales. Some states also tax medical marijuana purchases too, with CA being a particular example. It makes myself and others seriously proud to be residing in our up-to-date state knowing that marijuana would only get more lavish if I chose to transport to the west.