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Will thinking about pot as more of a cocktail than drug change the way you vote in November? (AP Photo/File)

How smoking pot is like enjoying a single malt scotch

BY Alyssa Kleven  on October 10, 2012 @ 4:47 pm (Updated: 6:14 am - 10/11/12 )

He was just sitting on the beach watching the sandflies jump into the flame. Then, Seattle Times editorial columnist Bruce Ramsey wrote about his experience on the beach.

It wasn't the sandy time that has had people talking - it's what Ramsey was doing on the beach. KIRO Radio's Luke Burbank thinks he might as well have been drinking a single malt scotch. After all, that's what a respectable Northwesterner would have been doing.

But Ramsey wasn't enjoying liquor, the 61-year-old was smoking pot.

In November, Washington voters will consider a yay or nay on I-502, in the initiative that would legalize marijuana. According to Ramsey, while it's highly contested by Washington residents on both sides of the issue, what he hasn't heard is a personal argument.

What about the people that want to light up, because they enjoy it?

Ramsey said that when he was 19 or 20, he smoked frequently, but it tapered out over time. "I've lived a sober life. I've worked and had a family and done everything else everyone does, and I wasn't interested in that."

Of course, he wasn't interested in courting a legal case. Being a public figure as a member of the Times editorial board didn't hurt his disinterest in the illegal, but as he believes, mostly inane, drug.

After smoking a blend called "Thor's hammer" and putting pen to paper, the response has been widely positive. He got notes from a number of readers, including one state senator.

While Ramsey makes the case for marijuana's recreational use, Luke said that for his friends that is marijuana's only use. These friends have their green card - a prescription - from the doctor so they can get their pot. Yes, they say it's for stress. Luke said one of his friends was stressed and used the doctor's visit as a therapy session more than anything else. But even then, the intent had been to use the drug recreationally.

According to recent poll numbers 57 percent of voters are in favor of I-502. About 10 percent are undecided, with 33 percent saying they will vote against the legalization of marijuana.

It won't be until November, that we learn if lighting up on the beach will hold the same consequences as enjoying a fine, single-malt scotch.

Alyssa Kleven, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Alyssa Kleven is an editor and content producer at MyNorthwest.com. She enjoys doting over her adorable dachshund Winnie - named for Arcade Fire front-man Win Butler.
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Comments (33)


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  • Wild Bill wrote...
    good story...
    October 10, 2012 5:45 pm
    Pot is far less damaging than alcohol. I say this as one who has abused both. Any drug, or anything, really, can be addictive. However, for most people, pot wouldn't cause much of a problem, and it would generate revenue. Anyway, if Luke Burbank says it's ok, then it is. After all this is THE BURBANK!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ScaughtFive wrote...
    Yer Right, Lucky...
    October 10, 2012 5:48 pm
    ...and when you combine both in moderation, it's bloody marvelous.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Luke, your obsession with intoxicants is getting out of hand.
    October 10, 2012 5:51 pm
    I've no doubt that Ramsey has never had a problem with pot and never will. ... It's for people like him that Marijuana should be legal. .. And for true medical use also.

    But just remember (if you can) that as even the finest of blends can be abused, so can the green. And if you smoke weed while drinking, you just might do a bit too much of both. ..... That's also the reason why - if you do have a problem with Nancy Whiskey, lay off the pot. Or sure as anything, you'll invite her back in.

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  • Integrator wrote...
    @ron
    October 11, 2012 9:23 am
    very true. You know what else is true tho, if you drink alcohol while drinking, you might do too much. If you sniff glue while drinking, you might do too much. If you drink and have sex, you might do a little too much. If you eat McDonalds, you might do it a little too much. We can't make laws saying "You're free, in moderation." We have to just trust people to make decisions for themselves on matters that don't affect others. And smoking and driving will still be illegal. It's driving while impaired, that includes anything that can limit your ability to drive, from cough syrup to cocaine.
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  • ron prevost wrote...
    Integrator - if you drink too much and have sex -- you won't.
    October 11, 2012 10:07 am
    And if you smoke pot and ear at McDonald's, you will eat a bit more than too much.

    Did you miss the part where I said "Marijuana should be legal." ???

    Otherwise, my note was that pot just might revive a desire to drink is some people who otherwise have laid off booze.

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  • ElenaT wrote...
    Please explain
    October 11, 2012 1:49 pm
    "too much sex"
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    No, it doesnt work that way..
    October 10, 2012 6:15 pm
    Ok, listen up..: The "Buzz" from alky to pot is not one and the same. Gawdam!! That's what we tried to hammer down to our parents. Cops rarely arrest an out of control pothead. I'm not sure I've ever seen an out of control pothead. Gateway Drug?? Lets roll bacl the calendar a bit and maybe, just maybe start with tobacco circa 1600. Luke is a 21st century nerd in adult clothing. Speak from experience Luke, not your parents lectures.
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  • Snout wrote...
    No it is not.
    October 10, 2012 6:47 pm
    I can enjoy a 17 year old Glengoyne and then continue with the rest of my evening. If I smoked pot, I'd end up stoned and listening to bad music and thinking that I had the solution to the world's problems. After my sniffer glass of Glengoyne or Talisker I could still function. After smoking that Mexican yard waste, I'd be useless and so would you. Don't EVER equate a single malt with that crap again you wannabe hipster, you!
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  • Integrator wrote...
    @snout
    October 11, 2012 9:29 am
    yes, but you can't slam 6 rum and cokes and go about your evening can you? You're talking about excess on one hand, and a luxury on the other. It's not up to you to make something illegal because you enjoy one and not the other, or can "handle" one and the other turns you into a stereotype.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    Do we really want another 90 years of gov oppression after just wrenching control of liquor sales away from the state?
    October 10, 2012 8:08 pm
    YES marijuana and hemp should be legalized, but I-502 is a terrible law that will create as many if not more victimless criminals than we have today and force yet another black market culture. The law is too restrictive, penalizes pain patients, caters to a select few growers, and punishes every user through ridiculously high taxes, VOTE NO on I-502 and demand a realistic law.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Nickatnyt wrote...
    I love booze,
    October 10, 2012 8:33 pm
    but I can't stand pot or whiskey (regardless of which snooty name it has). Give me a bottle of silky Cab and I will nurse that nectar of the gods for hours. Have to echo @ron prevost, Burbank is a boozaholic, but the state and other establishments profit from it so who really cares.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hipcheck wrote...
    I-502 ??
    October 10, 2012 9:18 pm
    I'm for legalization of pot, but I-502 is not the way to begin legalization. It will actually make pot more incriminating.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    The right of anybody to swing his or her fist
    October 10, 2012 9:39 pm
    ends at the tip of the neighbor's nose. "If it harm none, do as thou will."

    As far as legalizing pot for use by adults, not much has improved on this statement in the last 43 years:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Izts5y5Fw8Y#!

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  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    EVERYONE has a favorite drug
    October 10, 2012 10:56 pm
    How smoking METH is like enjoying a single line of coke...same difference
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  • fartforce1 wrote...
    RON, Not the same at all, not even close.
    October 11, 2012 3:30 am
    Both cocaine and Meth are seriously addictive. For meth and coke people will sell children into prostitution, forgo eating to get high and the effects on the body both have are horrific. Only alcohol is similar, pot is not.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Integrator wrote...
    @Ron_spins
    October 11, 2012 9:32 am
    and who are you, or me, to say that they can't enjoy what they enjoy, as long as it doesn't hurt others? You wanna do a line of coke in your house and talk your friends ear off while they simultaneously talk your ear off, go for it!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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