Denver shelters cite legal pot in homeless upswing

[Jazzy]

Denver shelters cite legal pot in homeless upswing

Chris Easterling was sick of relying on drug dealers in Minneapolis when he needed marijuana to help ease the pain of multiple sclerosis. They were flaky, often leaving the homeless man without the drug when he needed relief the most.

So he moved to Denver, where legal pot dispensaries are plentiful and accessible.

Easterling is among a growing number of homeless people who have recently come to Colorado seeking its legal marijuana and who now remain in the state and occupy beds in shelters, service providers say.

The shelter has seen an increase from 730 people a day in 2013 to 780 people this year, and as many as 300 new faces a month. Not all of them are pot-smokers, Luehrs said, but many have said they were drawn to the state because of legal marijuana.

About a third of this year's newcomers cited legal weed as a factor in moving to Colorado, said Kim Easton, the director.

Many of the older men, like Easterling, live exclusively on disability benefits and use them to buy pot, since there's nothing to stop someone from using welfare benefits to obtain cash to use at pot shops.

Nice to see welfare benefits being spent wisely.

Your thoughts?

 

[DrLeftover]

There's a significant difference between somebody who needs it to relieve symptoms of a serious illness and those who just want to get high.

Those who are homeless because of their addiction to it as a recreational activity are no different than the old homeless wino.

But, that's not Politically Correct to say. So we must all be wringing our hands and sorry for their plight and spend more tax money from working stiffs to accommodate them, and get them all the pot, and BBQ corn chips, they want.

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

People have been abusing their welfare money since the system was implemented. I'm sure people on welfare in all states do shady things like buy drugs, pay for prostitutes, etc