License & Registration

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Back a few years ago I spoke at a safety seminar in Vegas. One of the other speakers was a police officer from Colorado.

It was just after pot was legalized out there. The officer was there to warn us about guys working high and how dangerous it could be.

Obviously being high while working at heights is trouble, but the officer also spoke about how his job had changed.

Even routine traffic stops took on a new flavor.

“Guy was driving 33 in a 65. I pulled him to the side of the road, and when he opened the window it was like a scene out of Cheech & Chong.

I asked him for his license and registration and he immediately handed me his license and then he leaned to the glovebox looking for the registration. His movements were slow, slow, slow and I almost laughed as I watched him.

A good three minutes later he found the registration and it took another minute to realize that he had to turn and hand it to me. He said, ‘Here’s the registration, dude, but I have no idea where my license is.’

I held up the license he had handed me five minutes ago and asked, ‘Is this it?’

He said, ‘Dude! How’d you do that?’ Like I was doing a magic trick.”

Now, we are going to have scenes like that here in New York. Recreational use will lead to more abuse. It just goes that way, and of course, men and women getting high on the job can’t happen...

...but it will.

It already does, actually, but it may become more of a problem.

“The edibles are the concern,” the officer warned us. “They sell it in every candy known to man, and you might think a guy is having a Peppermint Patty after eating his sandwich but what he’s really doing is having four servings of weed. By 2:00, everyone is blasted.”

That was a good presentation because I remembered a lot of it.

Thought of it when the law was passed here in New York.

I can’t say that I’m dead-set against making marijuana legal. I think it is less harmful than booze, but it will present some challenges for a safety guy.

I’ve had to report guys for booze in the past. A whole bunch of guys fell to their deaths back in the 70’s...

...about 5 years ago a painter was discovered in the port-a-potty, dead of an overdose, his works still in his arm.

What a way to go, huh?

In the shitter.

Ah well.

The world is changing.

Think of that when he see someone driving 30 down the highway.

Legal weed, here it comes!

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